Atlanta (March 2, 2019) Round 9 in Atlanta this past weekend wrapped up the first of two East / West Shootouts for the 250 SX Class. The next shootout will be in Las Vegas at the Final Round. It was a tough night in Atlanta for the Troy Lee Designs/ Red Bull/ KTM Race Team. Both Jordon Smith and Shane McElrath put in a solid effort all day after dealing with some prior injuries heading into the weekend. Struggling all day with his wrist injury Smith pushed through and managed to get a spot in the Main Event with a 6th Place Finish in the East Coast Heat Race. Shane McElrath came out early and fast winning the West Coast Heat Race. This marks McElrath's first heat race win of the season.
After a bad Start in the Main Event for both riders, the track layout made it difficult to make passes. With Championship points on the line, both riders managed to salvage points. Shane will move to third place in points on the West Coast after a sixth-place Overall Finish.
East Coast teammate Jordon Smith will move to fourth place as we head into Daytona this weekend.
Team Honda HRCs Cole Seely was slotted in 450 heat 2 were he got off the line to a fourth-place start but made swift and impressive passes in the first rhythm lane to take over the early lead. Seely continued to ride composedly up front for the entire nine-lap race, taking the win. This marks the Californian’s second heat race win of the season and the ninth of his career.
Although it wasn’t reflected in his final finishing result, Seely rode strong in the main event, mounting a noteworthy come-from-behind-performance as he made his way from 21st to 10th during the 26-lap race. Seely got off to a poor start and made several mistakes on the opening lap, falling to the back of the pack, but he put his head down and overtook half of the field before the finish.
