[Update: Friday, Feb. 17]
Justin Brayton will be forced to miss round seven of Monster Energy Supercross this weekend in Minneapolis due to a concussion sustained in Arlington last weekend.
In an announcement made on Instagram, Brayton said he hopes to return next weekend in Atlanta.
Below is his full statement.
Bummed I won't be lining up in Minneapolis this weekend for what would be the closest race to home (Iowa) for me. Thankfully I'm feeling good and if all goes well I'll be on the line next weekend in Atlanta.
It's a game of inches in the first turn of a Monster Energy Supercross race, and on Saturday night Smartop/MotoConcepts Honda's Justin Brayton lost that game. He nearly pulled the holeshot but ended up going down in the first turn, and after that, well, you know there are 20-some riders and bikes about to do some damage.
As Brayton points out in his Instagram post below, his head was run into by Justin Bogle's fork leg and out went the lights for him. The Arlington 450SX main was red flagged and restarted while the Alpinestars Medic Center crew attended to Brayton. He was eventually able to get up under his own power.
Brayton has missed some races with concussions before but says this is the first time he's even been knocked unconscious (an athlete can get a concussion without being knocked out). He's in the concussion protocol now and we'll have an update on his status for the weekend as we get closer to race time.