Justin Brayton has a lot of momentum heading into the 2010 AMA Supercross season. Newly signed with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGRMX), the former Arenacross star finished out the 2009 season with a moto win at the final round of the AMA National Motocross series, and then backed it up by taking the King of Bercy title at the Bercy Supercross in November. Both wins were a first for Brayton (first 450-class outdoor national moto victory and first 450-class supercross win). In addition to a new team, Brayton will be sporting a new number on the front of his YZ450F in 2010 – #23. We spoke with Brayton the day before the SX opener in Anaheim to get his perspective on the new season.

You had a pretty incredible finish to last season. What was it like from your perspective?

It was awesome to win at Steel City; it was a dream of mine to get a win like that. I signed with Joe Gibbs Racing right after that, which was a big step for me. I moved to North Carolina, and then went to Bercy and won that, and then I did a couple more overseas races and won those too. So it’s been a really good off-season and we’re going to try to keep it going at Anaheim.

Do you feel like you’re on a roll and you can keep that momentum going?

I don’t know if it’s momentum, but I work hard and I do my own thing, the team’s great and the bike’s awesome, so there’s no reason I can’t be up there battling at the front. I’m not going to put any expectations on myself; I’m just going to go do my thing.

Joe Gibbs Racing is certainly one of the top teams when it comes to resources.

Yes, I think going in I had an idea of the resources we would have available to us, but now that I’m there it’s crazy the things we can test. If there’s something on the bike I feel the team can try to make better, the next day we have a new part which makes that specific thing better. It’s a great thing; I love to test and to make the motorcycle better and I think that’s a huge part of racing at this level. The top 10 guys are all talented and they all work hard and it just comes down to making the bike work for you.

Was it a big switch from the KTMs you were riding to this new Yamaha?

It’s a big difference. I never had any issues with the KTM – it gets a bad rap – but I had a great time over there, it was an awesome two years I had with KTM. But coming over here, the Yamaha is an awesome bike, and right when I jumped on it it turned good and went through the whoops good, we just had to do some fine tuning from there and it made it twice as good. There’s no complaints with the bike at all.

This is your first Supercross season on a 450, how do you feel about the class?

This is where I’ve always wanted to be and the timing was right to go to Joe Gibbs racing. Everything is working out perfect for me – I’m on one of the best teams, and the 450 class is where I think I belong. I ride a 450 well and I think I’ve proved that in some of the races I’ve ridden and I’m looking forward to getting some experience this year and some good results.

Are you a goal-setter?

Yeah, I’ve set some goals for myself. I think they’re all realistic goals, I just need to ride like I’m capable of riding and I think I’ll meet my goals. But I’m not going to force anything tomorrow night, I think there’s a lot of hype around Anaheim I, and a lot of people forget there are 16 other races we gotta do and I want to be there at the end, not just at the beginning.

You pocketed a lot of money at Bercy, so have you bought any toys with any of it?

Nah, I haven’t purchased anything. That was a good weekend for me, along with the other races over there, but I just put it away. I’m not a flashy guy; I just buy what I need – I need to eat and have shelter and that’s about it. Actually, I don’t even need a car, Toyota gave me a Tundra pickup to drive.