Heading into Ventura, I was
nervous. For sure. I mean, I
get nervous at every race,
but this was a whole
different deal – we're in
the big leagues now.
So, it was nerve-wracking
for sure. But I kind of went
in there open-minded,
thinking anything could
happen. I was just hoping to
make the Main. I thought I
was fast enough to do that
and hopefully finish
mid-pack or something.
We went out for practice,
and I was pretty high up the
leaderboards. I thought I
got lucky. I didn't really
feel that great – I felt
pretty mediocre, to be
honest. I’ve definitely had
days where I felt better on
the bike. And then after
qualifying, I pulled off the
track and someone in the pit
was holding up “P1.” “P1?
Sweet!”
That was a confidence
booster. I knew we had some
good speed, but still, it’s
qualifying. You’ve just got
to do one good lap. It’s
different when you have to
do a whole race with that
speed. So, I was still
kinda… I wouldn’t say
skeptical, but I wasn’t
getting my hopes up or
anything like that.
When it came time for the
heat race, it was pretty
sweet starting from pole,
for sure. I got an okay
start but kinda got pinched
off going into Turn 1. I was
probably running second or
third coming off of (Turn) 2
on the first lap. I think (Evan)
Renshaw was out
front. I tried to run the
bottom and get underneath
him, but he was running such
a good line.
I figured I should explore
some different lines. I got
a really good drive going
into 1, and I was able to
roll around on the outside
of him and take his line
away. I remember once I got
into a lead, I was like, ‘Oh
crap, I'm in the front! I'm
in first right now…’ And
then I was like, ‘Okay,
let's settle down.’
I was able to find a real
good line and stick with it.
Winning that heat was sweet
for sure.
Still, it wasn’t until the
(1st Impressions Challenge)
that I started to think we
actually might have a chance
in the Main. There I was pit
up against the top three
guys.
I just remember getting a
good start and putting my
head down. I was able to
kind of run my high line,
and I didn't really see
anybody after that.
Chase (Saathoff) and Trevor
(Brunner) were
congratulating me going down
the back straight after I
won the dash, and I didn’t
know what I was supposed to
do next. I yelled to Chase,
“Where do I go now?”
My parents were super chill
all day. My whole family,
everybody around the pits,
they weren't getting super
hyped up or getting my hopes
up or anything like that. I
think that helped a lot. I
was just laid back most of
the day, being real chill.
I got a good start in the
Main. I think Chase went
around me on lap 1 or lap 2.
I was behind him for about a
lap, and then I was able to
get around him. But right
when I did, they pulled out
a red flag.
I was super amped up. My
heart rate was through the
roof. I was happy to get a
good start, but I knew I
needed to do it again. And
then Kristen Beat was trying
to interview me, but I was
sitting there freaking out.
I was just leading a pro
Main minutes earlier. I
didn't know what to say.
We lined up for the restart,
and I got such a good start.
I was able to put my head
down and run my race. I saw
Chase trying to peek up
underneath me a couple
times. I wouldn't say that
motivated me to go any
faster, but it definitely
kept me on my toes.
That was the hardest I’ve
ever ridden. Midway through
the Main, I was like, ‘Okay,
we’ve got to be close to the
end, right?’ I looked at the
clock and saw we still had
three minutes left. ‘Okay...
better chill out.’
When I saw the two laps to
go flag, my arms were
noodles. Those last two
laps, I was all over the
place. I was just hoping
that I had a big enough gap
that those mistakes weren’t
going to cost me.
