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250 Words: Daytona

Monday, March 7, 2011 | 3:40 PM

Coming out of the amateur ranks, there was a lot of hype surrounding Justin Barcia and Dean Wilson. Both riders were immediately slapped onto a couple of the premier rides, Barcia with GEICO Honda and Wilson with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki. Both riders lived up to the hype winning races and both have championships in their futures, no doubt about that. And coming into the 2011 Supercross Lites Eastern Regional series, most of the talk centered around Wilson and Barcia and which one is going to win the title.

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Baggett is a contender for 2011 and beyond.
Photo: Simon Cudby

However, there was another amateur rider that was right there with those two throughout their careers. Blake Baggett was as fast as those two many times, but in his last year as an amateur, Baggett had a few underwhelming rides and that was it, he lost his chance. After Loretta Lynn’s in 2009, Baggett was forced to go it alone at the last three nationals of the season. A fourth place in a moto at Steel City helped him get a ride with the Rockstar Suzuki team for 2010, giving him a spark.

Last season saw Blake win the Dallas SX and he put in some great rides outdoors before an injury ended his year. For 2011 he’s back on Kawasakis riding for Pro Circuit and Saturday night in Daytona he dominated the main event for his second-career supercross win. He’s second in the points and he’s going about this championship the way he entered the pro ranks.

Quietly, underrated, and very, very fast.

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The Conversation

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kx573 wrote: 3:51pm March 7, 2011

thats awesome!

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wrote: 4:03pm March 7, 2011

Blakes dad " That was SICK"...and RC goofed saying "Baggetts looking for his first SX win "

I notice Bagget uses a mouth piece.....any other riders use those? I did when I played hockey, not racing....

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Welker wrote: 8:09pm March 7, 2011

Underdogs unite!!!! go for it Blake.

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atc110 wrote: 9:42pm March 7, 2011

great race for Blake! but quite a yawner for the rest of us. daytona usually is boring but the top 5 were seperated by 10sec each...wow

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EpicA wrote: 6:29am March 8, 2011

@Rick Melon - I've seen it in road racing. At least MotoGP Valentino Rossi uses it.

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Christoffer Andersen wrote: 7:12am March 8, 2011

it was a really good rice for bagget, but i hope justin barcia will win the next race :)

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HEN817 wrote: 11:01am March 8, 2011

good job blake,justin is putting himself in the drivers seat to win the champinship,with that broken wrist.he new deano was not going to factor in too much as the race went on.as far as sipes he got done playing with him.and last but not least his team told him not to push it ,finsh in the race where he was and walk out of there with the points lead.

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brocky2727 wrote: 11:45am March 8, 2011

I rock a mouthpiece. Had quite a few concussions and they not only save your teeth, but can help reduce the impact transferred from your jaw to your skull, sloshing the brain that much harder. Is sloshing a word? lol

Barcia was my pick over Blake and Dean-the-Ween this year. With Bam-Bam Barcia hurt, I give the nod to Blake beating Wilson.

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FoyBoy517 wrote: 9:25am March 14, 2011

i watched blake in houston lastyear and told my dad,hes gonna come up fast..watch,he came out strong in heats and surprised everyone,im pullin for baggett all the way..whats wrong with a mouthpeice..thats one of the smartest things to do,not to mention,prolly keeps mud out of his teeth..

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