Courtesy of RacerX
March 4, 2018 7:25am
by Jason Weigandt
Racer X: At the triple crown in Anaheim, the track was fairly simple. The dirt was pretty solid. It didn’t change too much throughout the night, but tonight it seemed like every main event was almost a completely different style of track. Take us through those main events and how it changed and how maybe that affected the outcome tonight.
Marvin Musquin: Everybody knows that here in Atlanta we have really, really good dirt. It develops a lot of ruts. To do three main events like that, it was definitely a crazy track for that. We made it through. We’ve seen unfortunately a lot of crashes, especially off that big triple. There were some sections on the track where it was really sketchy. You really had to be really precise, on point, and safe. I’m glad I ended up on a good note in the last moto. Going three main events like that, especially on the last moto, we had a sighting lap and you could see the track was really, really rough. But I’m glad I made it.
Jason Anderson: The West Coast one, obviously Anaheim, I think the track was a little bit more simple. I think the racing was harder in a sense to where a lot of the other guys were just as fast as us, so it made it if you got a bad start, it was so hard to pass some of the guys because the track was a little bit more simple and dry. Tonight I think the other element that we had was the track just broke down. It was so rutted. I think that last moto it was pretty insane. The far rhythm section was sketchy and the whole track in general. It was crazy how much it broke down, but it was a true East Coast track for sure.
Eli Tomac: I’m with these guys. It just broke down a little bit more each race. For us, we didn’t quite get the starts tonight to be competitive. That fifth really hurt us in that first moto there. That was a little bit of a bummer. But it’s racing. Just glad to get through it healthy. The three starts with all of us out there is pretty gnarly. Just like I said, glad to get through it.
Could you guys just talk about that first race? It was crazy. You guys were passing each other almost every lap. Justin Brayton ended up winning. Just give me the perspective, all three of you, of what was going on in that first race? Because it looked like about six guys could win.
Anderson: I started behind Brayton and Christian [Craig]. I felt like for me I was playing defensive and trying to pass them at the same time because I had three of the fastest guys that I’ve been racing against—Eli, Marv and [Blake] Baggett. They want to get by me and pass those two and I want to pass the guys in front of me, but the track was a little bit like heat race-smooth. It’s harder to pass them because I feel like they were riding good and attacking the track just as good as we were behind them.
Musquin: I wasn’t part of the battle in the first moto. I didn’t get a good start. But at one point I was by myself and then I was able to catch the group, but it was not enough. I got Craig, but then I was behind Baggett and ended up fourth. It was a little bit of a bummer because the battle up front, I felt like I had really good speed but it was too late for me to get those guys.
Tomac: I got close to that second-place pack and I made a good run one time up the whoops, but then just like I went backwards. I missed the triple in that next rhythm section and then Marv got by me. At one point I was in a really good spot and then I just got shot off the back and got a little bit tight. It didn’t go the way I want it to go, but it’s racing.
Jason, congratulations on giving Husqvarna their first win in Atlanta. You’ve now won the first race in the Mercedes Benz Stadium. Fifty-eight starts, seven wins. You’re tied with Jeff Emig, Johnny O’Mara, and David Vuillemin. You got the red plate. You’re the only racer to be in the top four the whole year. What’s your program and just consistency that has come into your racing this year?
Anderson: As far as my program, absolutely nothing has changed. I’ve always believed in what we’ve done. I think the biggest thing for me right now is obviously my starts are better. I’m putting myself in a better situation. I think it’s just experience. It’s my fourth year in the class and I think I’ve learned a lot and somewhat progressed with the way my race craft is and just putting myself in better situations. I think that’s about it.
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Racer X 2018 Atlanta Triple Crown The Conversation