PHIL NICOLETTI - GRIT 248 250SX

GRIT-248 | 250 SX

May 20, 2024 9:45 am

Though the East/West Showdown was considered one of the most daunting formats in all of Supercross, veterans like Phil Nicoletti were anything but timid as they arrived at the Nashville venue. His expertise had led him on a stellar trajectory throughout numerous seasons of the past, and wouldn't let him down as this point in career. Nevertheless, he burst onto the raceway and immediately appeared rather swift through the array of ninety and one-eighty degree corners this track provided. He was rather adventurous when racing through the sand, too - storming to the far outside, but managing to possess speed that rivaled those atop the leaderboard as all was said and done. He embodied that intensity as well, for the heat race that followed...racing against fellow members of his division, including Ryder DiFrancesco to earn a standing near secondIn the earliest of stages. Flying over the "SX" double, he landed and again, seemed to flourish when entering into the sand section with an abundance of speed. Departing onto the start straightaway and near the finish line, he would seem to drift a bit to the outside in the corner that proceeded the concluding double on the race-course...however, his ability to pivot amongst the apex and valiantly dash into the obstacles thereafter was enough to keep Jordon Smith and RJ Hampshire at bay...until a red flag was thrown on behalf of his teammate, Garrett Marchbanks. Now forced to restart in a single-file line, Nicoletti would (again) have to re-spike the heart rate en route to the checkered flag! Unfortunately, he was unable to defend the runner-up standing from the aforementioned championship contenders...resulting in a finish of fourth, which was still, an accomplishment to be proud of given the roster he was competing against! Hoping to take his advancement as high as a top-ten finish, he quickly gathered a pace that was similar to race leader, RJ Hampshire. Though not quite on par with the athlete atop the leaderboard, he managed to display remarkable speed in the segment of the course where both turns before and after the whoop section were key points in his arsenal. He was able to garner traction where others couldn't, monitoring the Suzuki machine of Anthony Bourdon who trailed him through the moguls, as he converged into the bend that was dual-purposed for a first corner as well. Powering over the array of singles that crossed the start straightaway, his speed amongst the final eight to nine minutes was in-line with the average of lap-times in the earliest stages...all the while defending advancements from athletes like Ryder DiFrancesco, whom he'd briefly come together with in the corner before the finish line. Nicoletti's line of defense was one that couldn't be infiltrated, and as a result kept opponents like Pierce Brown, Coty Schock, and Daxton Bennick behind him as the finish line neared - earning tenth overall, for a remarkable performance in Music City!

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