Slaw Dog
The opening round of the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Championship took place over the weekend and Slaw is here to break it all down for you because Chili don’t know s*** about dem woods.
With Kailub Russell retiring from full-time GNCC work (FYI: Hearing lots of rumors of him racing Lucas Oil Pro Motocross this summer. You heard it from Slaw first) after eight straight titles, the championship is pretty wide open with Stu Baylor, Thad Duvall and Josh Strang all vying for title.
Who Won
Well, no one apparently told that to Grant Baylor (Stu’s bro), who won the opening at Big Buck in Union, South Carolina, on his KLM Milwaukee GasGas.
“I can’t believe it, I really didn’t expect this coming into the first round,” said Baylor. “After last year I just had a really rough year, I just can’t believe it, I came into the first round and got the win. I got a pretty good start there and got into the lead group of guys. We were all battling pretty hard. Toward the end I found myself with Thad on the last two laps. I had Thad [Duvall] right on my back wheel, and toward the end I knew I just had to drop the hammer and break away from him. Last lap I gave it all I had, I broke away a little bit. I couldn’t be happier.”
Where Was Stu Dog?
In case you didn’t know, Stu is my favorite rider in history. If you don’t follow off-road racing you may have never heard of the Stu, but he’s amazing. A straight shooter from Belton, SC, the Stu adds a certain flair to GNCC. Unfortunately, Stu suffered a gnarly injury racing National Enduro and wasn’t able to line up this weekend. Don’t worry, doggies, he’s still going to win this title! Stamp it!
The Podium
Duvall missed most of last season due to a torn ACL but took second in his return to racing.
“I felt like I rode really good all day,” he said. “Just struggled at the beginning of the day to get going. Then we got into lappers and I kinda got stuck. So I just put my head down, managed to come back and get the lead. I got the pit board Grant was coming. This track, it’s just a bulldog kind of track and I knew he would be good at that. I tried to ride my own race and he got around. He was just riding a little out of my comfort zone, and in the first race I didn’t want to be laying on the ground. I felt strong all day, bike was working awesome, just hats off to Grant today.”
Australian Josh Strang took third.
Results and Standings
XC1 Pro Event Results:
- Grant Baylor (GAS)
- Thad Duvall (HQV)
- Josh Strang (KAW)
- Jordan Ashburn (HQV)
- Ben Kelley (KTM)
- Ricky Russell (GAS)
- Layne Michael (YAM)
- Josh Toth (KTM)
- Cory Buttrick (BET)
- Benjamin Herrera (SHR)
*Overall National Championship Standings:
- Grant Baylor (30)
- Thad Duvall (25)
- Josh Strang (21)
- Jordan Ashburn (18)
- Ben Kelley (16)
- Ricky Russell (15)
- Michael Witkowski (14)
- Layne Michael (13)
- Craig DeLong (12)
- Lyndon Snodgrass (11)
*Indicates that the Overall National Championship Standings will determine the 2021 National Champion.
XC2 250 Pro Event Results:
- Michael Witkowski (YAM)
- Craig DeLong (HQV)
- Lyndon Snodgrass (KAW)
- Evan Smith (HQV)
- Cody Barnes (HON)
- Jonathan Girroir (GAS)
- Liam Draper (KTM)
- Jesse Ansley (KTM)
- Ruy Barbosa (HON)
- Thorn Devlin (BET)
XC2 250 Pro Series Standings:
- Michael Witkowski (30)
- Craig DeLong (25)
- Lyndon Snodgrass (21)
- Evan Smith (18)
- Cody Barnes (16)
- Jonathan Girroir (15)
- Liam Draper (14)
- Jesse Ansley (13)
- Ruy Barbosa (12)
- Thorn Devlin (11)
Watch It
If you missed the race, you can watch it live on RacerTV:
Gallery
Mike Vizer was in attendance at the opening round and sent some sweet photos over. Give Mike a follow on the gram for some banger photos and videos and stuff about his cat.
