Seely Takes Fourth in Texas

The AMA Supercross series headed to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for round seven, and it was a night of mixed emotions for Team Honda HRC. Cole Seely finished just shy of the podium and teammate Trey Canard was ninth.

After the main-event gate-drop, Seely rounded the first turn in fourth aboard his CRF450R and made quick work of the rider in front of him. He maintained third position for the majority of the race, but with track conditions getting increasingly difficult with each passing lap, the Californian began to fall off the pace, allowing Jason Anderson to close in. On lap 14, Seely relinquished one position, ultimately taking the checkered flag in fourth. Canard had a challenging night, completing lap one in 15^th place and working his way up to 10^th before going down in a turn. He put together another impressive charge, advancing from 17^th to ninth by the end of the 20-lap race.

NOTES

• It was another short week for Team Honda HRC, as the squad participated in its second press day of the season. On Thursday, Cole Seely interviewed with local CBS channel 11 News before joining Trey Canard and GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle to teach Dallas Cowboys Senior Sales Consultant Dana Jones how to ride a CRF150F.
• On race day, Team Honda HRC was honored to have retired Navy SEAL Morgan Luttrell—twin brother to Marcus Luttrell, coauthor of New York Times bestseller Lone Survivor—stop by for a special visit. Morgan Luttrell is a big supercross fan and was happy to get a behind-the-scenes look at the team’s activities before meeting Canard and receiving an autographed jersey.
• The team also hosted a special family whose son Liam has participated in Ride for Kids events in the Dallas area during his fight with brain cancer. The family received tickets and a rig tour and got to meet Canard and Seely before joining the team for dinner.
• During the daytime qualifying practice, Canard turned the fourth-quickest lap with a 50.618-second time, while teammate Seely was seventh at 51.181.
• Slotted in 450SX heat 1, Canard got a top-10 start and quickly began working his way toward the front. While the Oklahoman was running fifth on the final lap, a rider in front of him went down, allowing Canard to take over the final transfer spot. Seely and Bogle weren’t as lucky in heat 2 as bad starts forced them into the semis, where they ultimately secured transfer positions.
• This weekend, the Honda Red Riders head to Atlanta for round 8. On Friday, the riders will make an appearance at Douglasville’s Freewheeling Honda from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

THE FOCUS: Dallas Children’s Medical Center

 For the second time this season, the Red Riders were given a special opportunity to visit pediatric brain tumor patients thanks to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Ride for Kids, for which Honda is the presenting sponsor. The visit took place on Friday at the Dallas Children’s Medical Center, where Trey Canard, Cole Seely and GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle spent time in several playrooms, hanging out with young patients before making bedside visits to children who weren’t well enough to join earlier. The riders autographed posters for each of the children and handed out Honda gift bags, each of which included a T-shirt, beanie and stickers. Fox Sports 1 footage from the visit was used in a small feature that aired during the broadcast and will be included in an episode of “Chasing the Dream” to air later this season.

“I’m really happy we get the chance to come do these visits when we’re in town,” Canard said. “It’s so often that we take advantage of the small things in life and don’t realize how blessed we are, so to be able to come and put a smile on children’s faces when they’re going through so much, really puts everything back into perspective. They don’t know who we are or what we do, but they love having visitors, which is what matters.”

“Today was a lot of fun,” Seely added. “We played games with some kids, colored and crafted with others and even played air hockey and video games. It’s really cool to be able to make an impact on someone’s day, even if it’s just for a moment.”

Press contact:

Mandie Fonteyn // Dispatch Communications // mandie@dispatchco.com // +1 (951) 537-0454