A Privateers Journal - Clayton Miller #147
April 13, 2006, 7:37am
Clayton Miller and his Honda of Houston CRF250 started the season with great anticipation. From St Louis to Houston, the Amp'ed AMA Lites Supercross East Coast division was filled with nothing but talent. It would take getting back to home to Houston and Reliant Park to break-out.
Walking into a Supercross event is almost like being a rock star. The opening ceremonies give you chills, the pyro makes you jump and goose bumps fill each arm as the nations best riders line up for the world's greatest ariel ballet on two wheels. Clayton was one of those riders earning his way onto the main stage.
After all the testing and training starting last September, the east coast swing hit Houston bringing the series to its point paying finale. The day was nothing short of rewarding to the young Texan. His day qualifiers would not start out smooth but by the time he qualified, Clayton only had two fellow Texans in front of him placing him third in the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) and earning that spot to move onto the night program.
In Heat Race #1, Clayton had the last gate pick by virtue of his results in the day qualifiers. This placed him outside and with the longest route to the first turn. No doubt coming out of the first turn was no much different. With 19 other riders in front of him, the first lap was a matter of dodging all the riders on the ground. By that time, getting to the top 9 was a tall order. Clayton had picked his way to 12th by putting some consistent lap times but on the last lap a miscue landed him on the ground in the middle of the whoops. Since he couldn't get the bike refired quickly enough, he did not receive the checkered flag and one shown one lap down in 15th position.
It was time for the dreaded LCQ Race. No one wants to go to the LCQ in the Lites class. The AMA only takes the top four riders for the main and with 22 riders trying to transfer, all bets are off. With a gate pick that found Clayton again on the right side of the starters box, the first turn was no advantage. While Clayton got a good jump out of his gate, he was pushed outside when all the riders hit the 180 degree left-hander. After clawing his way through the first lap melee, Clayton would complete the LCQ in 12th place.
Now that the AMA East Coast Supercross Lites season is over there are only a few weeks to train for the Outdoor Nationals. The news of the day is that on Tuesday, April 4th Clayton torn his right ACL and may be requiring surgery and will have to go under the knife. This will remove him from competition for the entire 2006 AMA Motocross Nationals. In the meantime Clayton would like to thank his sponsors and supporters.
MILLER ELECTRIC, DUNLOP, SHIFT, JM RACING, HONDA OF HOUSTON, GARY BAILEY MX SCHOOL, SPY, SILKOLENE, FMF RACING, EBC BRAKES, RENTHAL, CUT-N-EDGE GRAPHICS, ALPINESTARS, TSUBAKI, CONCEPT HAULERS, WISECO, ENGINE ICE, VORTEX IGNITIONS, WORKS CONNECTION, SANO SYSTEMS, KICKER AUDIO, OGIO, DC SHOES, ONE INDUSTRIES, PRO CLEAN, MOTION PRO, CTi2, NGK, UNIVERSAL, DIGITAL RAGE, MOTO-XREPORT.com, WHITE BROTHERS, EMIG RACING, VP RACE FUELS, HINSON CLUTCH COMPONENTS, www.FREESTONEMX.com, and www.CLAYTONMILLER.com.
Walking into a Supercross event is almost like being a rock star. The opening ceremonies give you chills, the pyro makes you jump and goose bumps fill each arm as the nations best riders line up for the world's greatest ariel ballet on two wheels. Clayton was one of those riders earning his way onto the main stage.
After all the testing and training starting last September, the east coast swing hit Houston bringing the series to its point paying finale. The day was nothing short of rewarding to the young Texan. His day qualifiers would not start out smooth but by the time he qualified, Clayton only had two fellow Texans in front of him placing him third in the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) and earning that spot to move onto the night program.
In Heat Race #1, Clayton had the last gate pick by virtue of his results in the day qualifiers. This placed him outside and with the longest route to the first turn. No doubt coming out of the first turn was no much different. With 19 other riders in front of him, the first lap was a matter of dodging all the riders on the ground. By that time, getting to the top 9 was a tall order. Clayton had picked his way to 12th by putting some consistent lap times but on the last lap a miscue landed him on the ground in the middle of the whoops. Since he couldn't get the bike refired quickly enough, he did not receive the checkered flag and one shown one lap down in 15th position.
It was time for the dreaded LCQ Race. No one wants to go to the LCQ in the Lites class. The AMA only takes the top four riders for the main and with 22 riders trying to transfer, all bets are off. With a gate pick that found Clayton again on the right side of the starters box, the first turn was no advantage. While Clayton got a good jump out of his gate, he was pushed outside when all the riders hit the 180 degree left-hander. After clawing his way through the first lap melee, Clayton would complete the LCQ in 12th place.
Now that the AMA East Coast Supercross Lites season is over there are only a few weeks to train for the Outdoor Nationals. The news of the day is that on Tuesday, April 4th Clayton torn his right ACL and may be requiring surgery and will have to go under the knife. This will remove him from competition for the entire 2006 AMA Motocross Nationals. In the meantime Clayton would like to thank his sponsors and supporters.
MILLER ELECTRIC, DUNLOP, SHIFT, JM RACING, HONDA OF HOUSTON, GARY BAILEY MX SCHOOL, SPY, SILKOLENE, FMF RACING, EBC BRAKES, RENTHAL, CUT-N-EDGE GRAPHICS, ALPINESTARS, TSUBAKI, CONCEPT HAULERS, WISECO, ENGINE ICE, VORTEX IGNITIONS, WORKS CONNECTION, SANO SYSTEMS, KICKER AUDIO, OGIO, DC SHOES, ONE INDUSTRIES, PRO CLEAN, MOTION PRO, CTi2, NGK, UNIVERSAL, DIGITAL RAGE, MOTO-XREPORT.com, WHITE BROTHERS, EMIG RACING, VP RACE FUELS, HINSON CLUTCH COMPONENTS, www.FREESTONEMX.com, and www.CLAYTONMILLER.com.
