With the monumental weight of a championship on his shoulders, and the very recent memory of his KTM seizing during Friday’s race, Charlie Mullins went out and absolutely dominated the final race of the season, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind why he was the series points leader and soon-to-be champion of the series. All Mullins needed was a 9th place finish to secure the championship, he could’ve ridden around at a comfortable pace and wrapped up the title, but he instead chose to push for the entirety of the race, you’ve got to respect that! Kailub Russell also put in a strong performance after going from 2nd to 4th on the last lap on Friday, KR was looking for some redemption and he got it. Running his fastest lap on the 5th lap of the race proves that Russell is figuring out how to run fast in the XC1 class and I’m convinced he’ll be a player in the championship in 2012.

XC1 PRO CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap #	Worst Lap Time	Lap #
1	1	CHARLES MULLINS	0:26:48	2	0:27:40	4
2	2	KAILUB K RUSSELL	0:27:19	5	0:27:58	4
3	3	PAUL WHIBLEY	0:27:34	2	0:28:30	6
4	11	CORY BUTTRICK	0:27:34	2	0:27:53	3
5	4	TOBY PRICE	0:27:35	3	0:28:29	4
6	6	JEDEDIAH HAINES	0:28:23	3	0:30:10	6
7	5	JESSE ROBINSON	0:28:58	5	0:29:24	6
8	7	SCOTT WATKINS	0:28:58	2	0:30:28	4
9	8	CODY M WEBB	0:29:01	2	0:33:30	6
10	12	THADDEUS DUVALL	0:29:35	2	0:29:38	3
11	9	ERIC C BAILEY	0:30:14	6	0:32:37	4
12	10	KENNETH S GILBERT	0:30:28	4	0:58:52	3
13	13	JOSHUA V STRANG	N/A
14	14	JIMMY JARRETT	N/A
15	15	NATHAN KANNEY	N/A

With the championship already wrapped up in the XC2 class, and Steward Baylor back on his actual race bike instead of the borrowed bike he raced on Friday, it would’ve been easy to assume that Baylor would pin it on Sunday and go for one last win of the season, but that wasn’t the case. Jordan Ashburn, Friday’s race winner, switched to a YZ 250 2-stroke to do some testing to see if he wanted to run it for 2012 and jumped out to an early lead on the smoker, but was run down in the end by charging FAR/Husqvarna teammates Jason Thomas and Andrew DeLong. The Husky boys would separate themselves from the pack, and DeLong would lay down his fastest lap of the race on the last lap, using that burst of speed in only his third race on the Husqvarna to take his first-ever XC2 Pro Lites win. With Baylor, Ashburn, Delong, Thomas, Morgan Moss and more all returning to the XC2 class for 2012, it will definitely be a dogfight for that championship!

XC2 PRO LITES CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap #	Worst Lap Time	Lap #
1	1	ANDREW R DELONG	0:27:27	6	0:29:06	4
2	4	STEWARD BAYLOR JR	0:27:36	6	0:29:23	5
3	3	JORDAN ASHBURN	0:27:52	2	0:29:23	4
4	2	JASON THOMAS	0:27:57	6	0:28:28	4
5	5	MORGAN MOSS	0:28:10	2	0:30:04	4
6	18	JASE A LEWIS	0:28:42	2	N/A
7	14	TED E MULLINS	0:28:46	3	0:42:41	4
8	6	AJ STEWART	0:28:56	3	0:30:11	4
9	8	JUSTIN BONITA	0:29:03	3	0:30:14	5
10	10	RORY MEAD	0:29:11	2	0:31:07	6
11	9	ZACK NOLAN	0:29:14	2	0:30:15	4
12	7	STEVEN SQUIRE	0:29:20	2	0:30:39	6
13	11	ZACKERY SMITH	0:30:02	3	0:30:43	5
14	15	ALEX DORSEY	0:30:04	3	0:43:08	4
15	16	NICK DAVIS	0:30:15	3	0:31:05	2
16	12	RYAN LOJAK	0:30:19	3	0:33:17	5
17	17	JARED JORDAN	0:31:13	2	0:41:53	3
18	13	TREVOR COBB	0:31:23	3	0:31:48	5
19	19	ROMAN DUMONTIER	0:38:26	2	N/A
20	20	CODY GRAGG	N/A

Mullins was a man on a mission Friday until his bike seized.

The best lap times of Friday’s XC1 Pro Class race don’t quite tell the story of what really went down, with the top 4 rider’s times only being separated by four seconds you’d think that it was a close battle. Charlie Mullins jumped out to an early lead at Loretta’s and really put the hammer down pulling out to a rather large lead over the rest of the field, before as we all know, his bike expired on the 6th lap of the race. Paul Whibley ended up taking the win and pushing the championship back to Sunday’s race with Buttrick and Strang rounding out the podium, but there wasn’t much of a battle down to the finish between those three.

XC1 PRO CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap #	Worst Lap Time	Lap #
1	14	CHARLES MULLINS	0:23:00	2	1:04:08	6
2	2	CORY BUTTRICK	0:23:01	7	0:23:51	4
3	1	PAUL WHIBLEY	0:23:02	7	0:23:53	4
4	3	JOSHUA V STRANG	0:23:04	7	0:23:38	4
5	4	KAILUB K RUSSELL	0:23:11	5	0:23:42	2
6	13	THADDEUS DUVALL	0:23:22	2	0:55:24	4
7	10	TOBY PRICE	0:24:03	2	0:28:41	5
8	6	NATHAN KANNEY	0:24:13	2	0:26:07	6
9	5	RUSSELL BOBBITT	0:24:19	2	0:25:58	6
10	7	SCOTT WATKINS	0:24:20	2	0:25:24	6
11	15	JIMMY JARRETT	0:24:25	2	0:24:31	3
12	8	JESSE ROBINSON	0:24:28	2	0:26:14	6
13	9	KENNETH S GILBERT	0:24:54	2	0:25:37	6
14	12	JEDEDIAH HAINES	0:25:19	2	0:33:43	6
15	11	CODY M WEBB	0:25:33	4	0:34:58	2

Ashburn pinned it early in Friday's race, and as you can see in the picture was up with XC1 riders like Kailub Russell.

Jordan Ashburn was a man on a mission Friday, quickly dropping the rest of the XC2 Pro Lites pack on the first lap and moving up into the XC1 riders quickly. He was running 2nd-overall for a good portion of the race, battling back and forth with Kailub Russell early on, setting the fastest lap of his class by 44-seconds over French rider Romain Dumontier on a guest ride for Obermeyer Yamaha.

XC2 PRO LITES CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap #	Worst Lap Time	Lap #
1	1	JORDAN ASHBURN	0:23:29	3	0:24:31	6
2	5	ROMAN DUMONTIER	0:24:13	2	0:28:59	7
3	2	STEWARD BAYLOR JR	0:24:15	5	0:25:06	6
4	3	ANDREW R DELONG	0:24:23	2	0:24:59	4
5	4	JASON THOMAS	0:24:47	2	0:25:15	6
6	7	DUSTIN M GIBSON	0:24:50	2	0:26:11	4
7	10	JUSTIN BONITA	0:24:51	2	0:28:45	7
8	21	CODY GRAGG	0:24:52	2	0:27:48	5
9	6	TED E MULLINS	0:24:53	2	0:26:00	6
10	13	STEVEN SQUIRE	0:24:53	2	0:26:54	3
11	9	JASE A LEWIS	0:24:54	2	0:27:17	7
12	18	RORY MEAD	0:24:55	2	0:40:38	6
13	8	AJ STEWART	0:25:02	2	0:26:21	4
14	19	MORGAN MOSS	0:25:23	4	0:43:38	2
15	11	ZACK NOLAN	0:25:24	2	0:26:40	7
16	12	ZACKERY SMITH	0:25:38	4	0:26:48	2
17	14	SHANE OBANION	0:25:38	6	0:27:58	2
18	17	NICK DAVIS	0:25:46	2	0:37:06	6
19	15	JARED JORDAN	0:26:34	3	0:29:27	7
20	22	RYAN LOJAK	0:26:39	4	1:01:42	3
21	16	TREVOR COBB	0:26:59	4	0:27:42	5
22	20	ALEX DORSEY	0:27:09	5	0:42:29	2

Charlie Mullins could be riding the best he ever has in the final stretch of this season.

After being bested by his teammate Kailub Russell at the Power Line Park GNCC, Charlie Mullins went to Indiana for the Ironman GNCC looking to make a statement at the race and for the championship and did so by dominating the race, taking advantage of yet another round of bad luck by defending champion Josh Strang and fending off a mid-race attack by Paul Whibley. Whenever Whibley would close the gap on Mullins, Charlie seemed to have another gear he could click into and pull away again, ultimately laying down the fastest lap of the race by 16-seconds on the last lap of a very rough Ironman track. After losing the National Enduro championship in the final round to Russell Bobbitt, many wondered how Mullins would handle the pressure of the GNCC title and so far he has handled it flawlessly and is on the verge of clinching the title this coming Friday at Loretta Lynn’s.

XC1 PRO CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap #	Worst Lap Time	Lap #
1	1	CHARLES MULLINS	0:29:40	7	0:30:26	4
2	3	PAUL WHIBLEY	0:29:56	3	0:32:54	7
3	2	THADDEUS DUVALL	0:30:10	7	0:31:17	4
4	8	CORY BUTTRICK	0:30:15	3	0:40:55	4
5	5	JIMMY JARRETT	0:30:26	2	0:31:46	7
6	6	RUSSELL BOBBITT	0:30:26	2	0:31:39	4
7	11	KAILUB K RUSSELL	0:30:26	2	1:23:39	4
8	4	JOSHUA V STRANG	0:30:29	5	0:32:07	3
9	14	JESSE ROBINSON	0:30:44	2	N/A	N/A
10	10	NATHAN KANNEY	0:30:59	2	0:54:40	4
11	7	SCOTT WATKINS	0:31:11	2	0:33:56	7
12	9	ERIC C BAILEY	0:31:25	2	0:35:16	7
13	13	KENNETH S GILBERT	0:32:11	2	1:26:19	3
14	12	JEDEDIAH HAINES	0:32:26	3	0:32:42	2

Baylor and Ashburn put on a show battling for the win in the XC2 class.

Steward Baylor and Jordan Ashburn separated themselves from the rest of the XC2 Pro Lites pack early on at the Ironman and ended up battling it out for the majority of the race, which was probably the most exciting battle on the track. With FAR/Husqvarna’s Jason Thomas racing with a broken hand, Ashburn saw the potential to slip into 2nd-place in the series points and was obviously going for it, and Baylor saw another opportunity to lengthen his already healthy points lead and he wasn’t backing down either. Baylor ended up taking the win as well as the fastest lap all but securing his first-ever XC2 Pro Lites championship, and Ashburn’s second-place in the race did bump him into second overall in the points. This could set us up for a barn burner in Ashburn’s homes state of Tennessee at Loretta’s, as Baylor will be able to go for it without much worry, Thomas will be back with a surgically repaired hand, and Andrew DeLong will have 2 more weeks on his new Husky to be ready to battle for his first win, and not to mention Morgan Moss who is looking as comfortable as ever on his new Yamaha!

XC2 PRO LITES CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap #	Worst Lap Time	Lap #
1	1	STEWARD BAYLOR JR	0:30:27	2	0:31:54	4
2	2	JORDAN ASHBURN	0:30:31	2	0:31:44	6
3	3	ANDREW R DELONG	0:30:34	2	0:33:11	7
4	5	MORGAN MOSS	0:30:45	2	0:33:24	7
5	4	RORY MEAD	0:31:08	2	0:32:55	5
6	9	CODY GRAGG	0:31:11	2	0:36:22	4
7	7	STEVEN SQUIRE	0:31:18	2	0:34:08	5
8	15	TED E MULLINS	0:31:43	3	1:08:13	4
9	6	JASON THOMAS	0:31:58	3	0:32:48	7
10	16	NICK DAVIS	0:31:58	3	0:59:13	5
11	8	RYAN LOJAK	0:32:06	2	0:35:41	6
12	12	ZACK NOLAN	0:32:06	2	0:38:25	6
13	10	AJ STEWART	0:32:25	2	0:36:39	7
14	11	ZACKERY SMITH	0:33:15	2	0:36:54	7
15	13	TREVOR COBB	0:35:32	4	0:36:40	6
16	14	MAT G HERRINGTON	0:35:34	2	0:37:28	6

KR set the fastest lap for the second race in a row, only this time he was able to get the W.

At quite a few races this year–Big Buck, John Penton, Unadilla, Somerset–Kailub Russell and his teammate Charlie Mullins have gotten out front and set a blistering pace, separating themselves from the pack, only for Russell to succumb to Mullins or another XC1 veteran (like Paul Whibley at the Penton) in the closing stages of the race. It seemed inevitable that if he continued to run up front for the majority of the race he would eventually win a race, and this past Sunday was definitely Kailub Russell’s day. On one of the most slippery tracks I’ve ever ridden (in the morning) KR put together solid lap after solid lap. On a track with multiple notorious mud bogs and tricky hill climbs that wreaked havoc with nearly every rider on the track, including the second through fifth place riders in XC1, Russell didn’t have a single crash in the entire 3-hour race. He said afterwards he was riding cautious, which is what you needed to do on such a treacherous track, and it worked as his mistake-free strategy gave him the fastest lap of the day with a 24:22 five laps into the race, a testament to his fitness, and he tied for the best worst lap with Thad DuVall at 25:05. I can’t wrap this up without giving a mention to DuVall, who after enduring another tough year in the XC1 Pro Class, proved he still has the speed to run with the top guys in the series carding his first podium finish (and first top-five) since the second round of the series in Georgia back in March.

XC1 PRO CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap #	Worst Lap Time	Lap #
1	1	KAILUB K RUSSELL	0:24:22	5	0:25:05	7
2	3	THADDEUS DUVALL	0:24:30	7	0:25:05	4
3	4	PAUL WHIBLEY	0:24:37	5	0:25:07	3
4	2	CHARLES MULLINS	0:24:44	2	0:25:11	7
5	5	JOSHUA V STRANG	0:24:48	6	0:25:25	7
6	11	CORY BUTTRICK	0:25:01	2	0:33:32	6
7	6	JIMMY JARRETT	0:25:32	2	0:26:31	7
8	8	NATHAN KANNEY	0:25:38	2	0:27:30	6
9	9	JESSE ROBINSON	0:25:42	2	0:28:03	7
10	10	SCOTT WATKINS	0:25:44	2	0:28:11	7
11	7	MIKE LAFFERTY	0:25:46	2	0:26:43	7
12	13	JEDEDIAH HAINES	0:26:25	3	0:39:09	4
13	12	ERIC C BAILEY	0:26:49	2	0:32:36	6

After a tough 3-race stretch, Steward Baylor took control of the XC2 championship with his win at Power Line Park.

After grabbing four wins in the first six races of the season, Steward Baylor hit a bit of a slump missing the podium in three consecutive rounds (The Penton, Unadilla, and Somerset) but he found his early season form in Ohio jumping out to an early lead and never looking back, leading every single lap of the race and taking the win by over 2-minutes over Jordan Ashburn with Jason Thomas another 1:25 behind him. Baylor put down his fastest lap of 25:14 on the second lap of the race making a break from the pack, but got some company from a charging Ashburn in the middle stages of the race and responded with another quick lap on lap 6 of 7 to stretch out the gap again. The win was a devastating blow to Jason Thomas’ title hopes as Baylor now sits 38-points ahead of Thomas whose lead over 3rd-place Jordan Ashburn has shrunk to only 9-points with the very consistent Andrew Delong only another 3 points back. While all hope isn’t lost for Thomas, he really needs to win these last three races to still have a shot at the title and to at the very least secure 2nd place in the points.

XC2 PRO LITES CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap #	Worst Lap Time	Lap #
1	1	STEWARD BAYLOR JR	0:25:14	2	0:26:16	3
2	2	JORDAN ASHBURN	0:25:33	2	0:27:05	6
3	5	ANDREW R DELONG	0:25:44	2	0:28:27	7
4	3	JASON THOMAS	0:25:46	3	0:26:34	7
5	6	MORGAN MOSS	0:25:48	2	0:28:59	7
6	13	TED E MULLINS	0:26:06	2	0:42:04	5
7	4	RORY MEAD	0:26:10	2	0:26:45	7
8	8	AJ STEWART	0:26:36	2	0:28:22	6
9	7	NICK DAVIS	0:26:43	2	0:28:01	5
10	15	RYAN ECHOLS	0:26:51	3	0:30:36	5
11	9	STEVEN SQUIRE	0:26:53	2	0:28:13	7
12	18	ZACK NOLAN	0:27:01	2	0:27:22	3
13	10	RYAN LOJAK	0:27:05	2	0:28:20	7
14	17	CODY GRAGG	0:27:07	2	0:30:14	4
15	12	MICHAEL J MCGINNIS	0:27:20	2	0:32:03	6
16	11	ZACKERY SMITH	0:27:42	3	0:29:14	7
17	14	TREVOR COBB	0:29:03	2	0:30:38	6
18	16	JARED JORDAN	0:29:31	4	0:30:57	5
19	19	DAVID S KILGORE	0:34:31	1	N/A	N/A

Both of the aforementioned things played out as expected at this year’s race with the pros beginning to lap riders on the second lap of the race and continue to do so throughout the day, and the track became unbelievable rough and gnarly as more and more rocks came to the surface. You can see all this playing out in the lap times as pretty much everyone in the XC1 and XC2 classes (minus Josh Strang) ran their fastest laps of the day on the first full lap of the race (the 2nd lap if you’re looking at the results). Charlie Mullins and Kailub Russell made a breakaway on that lap the really set the tone for the rest of the race, pulling out to a then 46-second lead over 3rd-place rider Chris Bach on that lap and separating themselves from the rest of the field. The gap between 2nd and 3rd would never get any smaller than that throughout the race, with the gap between first and second closing and opening as each rider traded good laps and bad laps.

In this week’s Stopwatch we did something a little different, including each rider’s worst lap in the table for comparison. We all know in GNCC racing one fast lap won’t do a whole lot for you, but keeping consistent and eliminating mistakes is the name of the game. You’ll notice that the riders who eventually finished on the podium had the best worst laps of the field.

XC1 PRO CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap #	Worst Lap Time	Lap #
1	1	CHARLES MULLINS	0:19:06	2	0:20:21	6
2	2	KAILUB K RUSSELL	0:19:08	2	0:20:30	8
3	4	NATHAN KANNEY	0:19:36	2	0:21:12	9
4	14	THADDEUS DUVALL	0:19:36	2	0:33:35	4
5	5	CHRISTOPHER BACH	0:19:38	2	0:22:18	9
6	7	JEDIDIAH HAINES	0:19:42	2	0:23:07	9
7	3	PAUL WHIBLEY	0:19:45	2	0:21:09	9
8	6	JIMMY JARRETT	0:19:48	2	0:21:42	9
9	9	MIKE LAFFERTY	0:20:05	2	0:24:14	9
10	8	RORY MEAD	0:20:06	2	0:22:20	8
11	10	KENNETH S GILBERT	0:21:02	2	0:23:27	9
12	15	CHRIS SPEAR	0:21:17	2	0:29:08	5
13	13	JOSHUA V STRANG	0:21:38	3	0:56:41	1
14	12	JEFF BRYANT	0:22:02	2	0:26:43	6
15	11	MICHAEL STRYKER	0:22:10	3	0:28:59	8
16	16	RYAN PURVIS	0:23:41	2	0:26:44	4
17	DNF	CORY BUTTRICK	N/A

While we saw a great battle in XC1 between Chris Bach, Nate Kanney and Paul Whibley throughout the middle of the race, there was an even better battle happening in the XC2 Pro Lites class between Jason Thomas, Jordan Ashburn, Jesse Robinson, and Andrew DeLong. You can see this in the results as the span of their best laps is all within a 6-second range of each other. While Robinson ran into issues on the 3rd lap and dropped back from that pack, the other three continued to battle throughout the day with the race coming down to the last lap on the last hill before the finish. Going into the last lap Jordan Ashburn was 10-seconds behind then leader Jason Thomas, but kept the gap close enough to take advantage of Thomas’ misfortune when he was taken out by lappers (remember me mentioning them in the opener?) allowing Ashburn to slip by in an alternate line up the hill and grab the win. While Ashburn did set the fastest lap of the day on the second lap, it was his push on the last lap that kept him in contention showing how important fitness (and luck, because Jason Thomas is fit) plays into GNCC racing. While he lost another heart breaker at Unadilla, all isn’t lost for UK8 as he made up seven points on the class points leader Steward Baylor who finished 4th, getting UK back within one race worth of points at 24 back of Baylor.

XC2 PRO LITES CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap #	Worst Lap Time	Lap #
1	1	JORDAN ASHBURN	0:19:50	2	0:21:12	8
2	8	JESSE ROBINSON	0:19:52	2	0:22:54	8
3	3	ANDREW R DELONG	0:19:55	2	0:22:10	9
4	2	JASON THOMAS	0:19:56	2	0:21:22	9
5	5	SCOTT WATKINS	0:20:32	2	0:23:06	9
6	4	STEWARD BAYLOR JR	0:20:40	3	0:22:09	9
7	7	AJ STEWART	0:20:41	2	0:22:46	8
8	6	ZACK NOLAN	0:20:57	2	0:22:29	7
9	17	NICK DAVIS	0:20:57	2	0:57:42	8
10	20	TED E MULLINS	0:20:58	2	0:24:27	5
11	10	STEVEN SQUIRE	0:21:07	2	0:23:25	7
12	11	BRIAN LAWSON	0:21:07	2	0:24:46	8
13	19	BEN W BOUWENS	0:21:11	2	0:22:36	5
14	9	RYAN LOJAK	0:21:35	2	0:23:00	7
15	12	ZACKERY SMITH	0:21:50	3	0:25:19	7
16	14	TREVOR COBB	0:22:07	2	0:26:24	8
17	18	DILLAN J GARMLEY	0:22:18	4	0:23:30	5
18	13	JARED JORDAN	0:22:29	2	0:25:38	8
19	15	TYLER SCHULTES	0:22:50	4	0:25:39	5
20	22	SHANE OBANION	0:22:53	2	0:31:35	3
21	16	GARY R BUSH	0:23:16	2	0:27:10	8
22	23	MORGAN MOSS	0:28:12	2	N/A	N/A
23	21	BRAD J HOFFMAN	0:32:52	5	0:43:54	3
24	24	GRANT L MARYOTT	N/A
25	25	CODY GRAGG	N/A

Strang pushed hard over the final laps, setting the fastest lap of the day, but wasn't able to reel in Mullins.

The real story in the XC1 class at the Big Buck GNCC isn’t about the fastest lap of the race, which Josh Strang set with a blistering 28:01 on the last lap of the race–but that’s only because it ended up not changing the results of the race. While Strang was struggling to get going on the first two laps of the race, Charlie Mullins and his teammate Kailub Russell were pulling out a huge gap over the rest of the field, leaving Strang with a 1-minute deficit with four laps remaining in the race. As Strang started ticking off fast laps, it looked as though we could see a last-lap battle between himself and Mullins like at Steele Creek, but Charlie was able to pick up his pace on the last lap, laying down his fastest lap of the day with a 28:17, enough to hold off Strang by 14-seconds at the finish. With nine rounds left in the series Mullins and Strang are establishing themselves as the two fastest and fittest riders in the series. How crazy is it that they both put in their fastest laps on the last lap!? If anyone else in the field wants to beat these two riders they need to find some speed and gain some fitness over this three-week break.

XC1 PRO CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap Number
1	2	JOSHUA V STRANG	0:28:01	6
2	1	CHARLES MULLINS	0:28:17	6
3	3	KAILUB K RUSSELL	0:28:20	2
4	5	RUSSELL BOBBITT	0:28:48	2
5	4	CORY BUTTRICK	0:28:59	4
6	6	PAUL WHIBLEY	0:29:05	6
7	7	NATHAN KANNEY	0:29:33	3
8	10	MIKE LAFFERTY	0:29:36	4
9	9	JIMMY JARRETT	0:29:45	2
10	11	KYLE T SUMMERS	0:29:45	2
11	8	CHRISTOPHER BACH	0:30:01	2
12	12	GARRETT EDMISTEN	0:30:10	3
13	15	NICK S FAHRINGER	0:30:24	3
14	13	SIMO KIRSSI	0:30:35	2
15	14	KENNETH S GILBERT	0:30:35	2
16	16	JEDIDIAH HAINES	0:30:44	3
17	18	DENNIS DAGOSTINO	0:31:34	3
18	17	ADAM BRITT	0:32:31	2

Jordan Ashburn showed great speed and finally the consistency to be able to finish on the podium.

The always unpredictable XC2 Pro Lites class saw three riders lead portions of the race, with Steward Baylor pulling out to an early lead, Jason Thomas leading a lap in the middle, and Jordan Ashburn grabbing the lead late in the race. Everyone knows that Jordan Ashburn has speed to run up front, he’s set fast laps at the previous three rounds but he hadn’t been able to turn that speed into a solid podium finish. But that changed at Big Buck as Ashburn and Baylor had an epic battle coming into the finish area on the last lap, reminiscent of the Mullins v. Strang duel from Steele Creek only for Ashburn to tag a inside corner marker and go down in a heap allowing Baylor to take the win. Ashburn was able to dust himself off and grab second-place and his first-ever XC2 podium with Jason Thomas rounding out the top-3 after a big crash set him back. After proving he has the speed with setting the fastest lap of the day with a 29:04, and the endurance to be there at the end of the 3-hour race, how will Ashburn rebound after coming so close to a victory?

XC2 PRO LITES CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap Number
1	2	JORDAN ASHBURN	0:29:04	2
2	1	STEWARD BAYLOR	0:29:13	6
3	3	JASON THOMAS	0:29:14	2
4	6	BRAD BAKKEN	0:29:53	2
5	4	ANDREW R DELONG	0:29:57	2
6	5	SCOTT WATKINS	0:30:15	3
7	7	MORGAN MOSS	0:30:15	2
8	8	CODY GRAGG	0:30:34	2
9	9	SHANE OBANION	0:31:07	4
10	13	STEVEN SQUIRE	0:31:08	3
11	17	RYAN ECHOLS	0:31:17	2
12	10	ZACKERY SMITH	0:31:26	2
13	12	AJ STEWART	0:31:31	2
14	15	HAYDEN OKELLEY	0:31:41	3
15	14	ZACK NOLAN	0:31:42	2
16	11	RYAN LOJAK	0:31:46	4
17	16	TREVOR COBB	0:33:32	2
18	19	TED E MULLINS	0:34:12	2
19	18	MAT G HERRINGTON	0:36:51	3
20	20	JARED JORDAN	0:38:37	2

Strang may have been fortunate to get the win, but his two fast laps of the race kept him in the hunt.

We all know the finish of the 2011 Steele Creek GNCC XC1 race will go down in the history books as one of the craziest finishes in GNCC history, probably right behind the crazy finish in 2007 at the same location when Barry Hawk passed Glenn Kearney in the last turn as Kearney passed out and crashed into a scoring lady and broke her leg. While the only thing broken at this year’s finish was Charlie Mullins’ heart, it definitely ranks right up there in the “Crazy Finish” category!

After leading the first lap of the race, Josh Strang relinquished the lead to Charlie Mullins and Mullins promptly began to build a cushion over his championship rival. After 4 laps of racing, Mullins was over 24-seconds ahead of Strang and it was looking like it would be his race to win. But then Strang put down the fastest lap of the day on lap 5, a blistering 21:22 that cut that 24-second deficit down to a manageable 2-seconds and the race was on.

Watching Strang and Mullins battle the last half of the race reaffirmed why they were the #1 and #2 riders in the championship in 2010. Riding faster laps than anyone in the field, they stretched their lead over 3rd-place rider Cory Buttrick to over 2-minutes by the finish and put on a hell of a show for the massive Steele Creek crowd. While Strang put down his fastest time on lap 5, it was his 2nd fastest lap on the final trip around the course that put him in position to take the win. The 21:27 he set after a crash during that lap allowed him to remain on Mullins’ rear wheel and with two pass attempts in the final turns he applied the pressure that ultimately led to a Mullins crash and his win.

Going into the 4th round of the series at Big Buck, it’ll be interesting to see how Mullins rebounds from his devastating finish and if anyone else in the field will be able to challenge the reigning #1 and #2 and current points leaders in the class.

XC1 PRO CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap Number
1	1	JOSHUA V STRANG	0:21:22	5
2	2	CHARLES MULLINS	0:21:26	2
3	3	CORY BUTTRICK	0:21:41	2
4	4	KAILUB K RUSSELL	0:21:45	2
5	7	JIMMY JARRETT	0:21:56	2
6	5	PAUL WHIBLEY	0:21:59	2
7	19	THADDEUS DUVALL	0:21:59	2
8	6	SIMO KIRSSI	0:22:01	2
9	8	RUSSELL BOBBITT	0:22:08	2
10	10	MIKE LAFFERTY	0:22:10	2
11	9	NATHAN KANNEY	0:22:26	3
12	13	CHRISTOPHER BACH	0:22:38	2
13	11	NICK S FAHRINGER	0:22:56	2
14	12	GARRET EDMINSTEN	0:23:04	2
15	14	JUSTIN WILLIAMSON	0:23:34	2
16	18	KENNETH S GILBERT	0:24:20	5
17	16	FERNANDO MACIA	0:24:44	2
18	15	JEDIDIAH HAINES	0:25:02	7
19	17	DENNIS DAGOSTINO	0:25:54	6
20	20	CHRIS SPEAR	0:26:20	5

Jason Thomas got his first win of the season in NC but will have a pack of riders gunning for him next round.

If you had told me before the season started that Jason Thomas wouldn’t have a win after two rounds of the series I would’ve told you that you’re nuts. UK8 was able to win last year’s Florida GNCC over defending class champion Kailub Russell and I figured he was a shoe-in for the win there this year, but obviously I was wrong. After two rounds and two winners (Steward Baylor and Jesse Robinson) it appeared that the XC2 class would be far more unpredictable than originally anticipated. But, after a dominant win in North Carolina Jason Thomas is now sitting in first in the points with a comfortable lead and a lot of confidence rolling into South Carolina. His fastest lap of the race was 15-seconds ahead of last week’s lap time runner up, Jordan Ashburn.

While UK will be rolling into South Carolina with a lot of confidence, Jesse Robinson and Steward Baylor will be rolling in looking for redemption after bike problems kept them both off of the podium, as well as the aforementioned Ashburn who has to be tired of running up front and laying down fast laps only to wind up finishing outside of a podium spot.

XC2 PRO LITES CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap Number
1	1	JASON THOMAS	0:21:33	2
2	11	JORDAN ASHBURN	0:21:58	2
3	3	BRAD BAKKEN	0:22:14	2
4	2	ANDREW R DELONG	0:22:25	2
5	10	MORGAN MOSS	0:22:28	3
6	5	STEWARD BAYLOR	0:22:31	4
7	4	SCOTT WATKINS	0:22:38	2
8	20	TED E MULLINS	0:22:50	2
9	14	JESSE ROBINSON	0:23:04	3
10	8	AJ STEWART	0:23:20	2
11	22	NICK DAVIS	0:23:21	2
12	6	ZACKERY SMITH	0:23:31	4
13	9	SHANE D HUFFORD	0:23:38	2
14	7	SHANE OBANION	0:23:49	2
15	12	STEVEN SQUIRE	0:23:54	2
16	21	CHARLES W HUEGEL	0:24:05	2
17	16	JARED JORDAN	0:25:00	3
18	13	RYAN LOJAK	0:25:02	2
19	15	TREVOR COBB	0:25:06	2
20	17	NATHAN B SULLIVAN	0:25:27	3
21	19	CODY GRAGG	0:26:11	4
22	18	MAT G HERRINGTON	0:29:41	3
23	23	JAMIE B HOLCOMB	0:35:25	2

This is the only view Whibs gave the competition on the last lap. | Photo: Krista Shaw

For the first time in a while the XC1 Pro Class had a six-rider-freight-train at the front of the pack well past the two-hour mark, making the racing as exciting as pretty much any GNCC I’ve been to. The lead changed seemingly every mile and riders were shuffling positions from 1st to 5th on a pretty regular basis. It was hard to tell watching the race if the guys at the front of the pack were really pushing hard or if they were all kind of biding their time, waiting to make a move later in the race. The pace began to pick up on lap 5 and continued to do so all the way through the last lap, with the top-four riders all setting their fastest lap on the last lap! How gnarly is that? After two and a half hours of racing these guys push the pace even further and really put it down. It was awesome to watch as you could see the guys really hammering in various sections that just a few laps before it didn’t seem like they could go any faster through, but they obviously could. As you can see in the lap time chart, Paul Whibley put down the fastest lap of all as he went for the win. Whibs isn’t the rider you think of in the XC1 Class when it comes to raw speed, you think of Whibley as the “Badger,” the guy that has better fitness than any rider and will stay there until the end and wear you down. But at Georgia Whibs padded his lead by 8-seconds on the last lap over two of the arguably fastest riders in the series, Josh Strang and Thad DuVall. With the top-3 in the overall points separated by only 3 points it will be interesting to see how these races unfold moving forward. Will someone start trying to make a break early, hoping to have a cushion until the end or has the speed gap closed up to the point where it’s going to be a sprint finish, whoever has the most left in the tank and doesn’t crash on the last lap sort of situation. I don’t know for sure, but I think we’re in for one of the most interesting seasons in a long time.

XC1 PRO CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap Number
1	1	PAUL WHIBLEY	24:58	7
2	2	JOSHUA V STRANG	25:07	7
3	3	THADDEUS DUVALL	25:17	7
4	4	CORY BUTTRICK	25:28	7
5	5	NATHAN KANNEY	25:42	5
6	6	CHARLES MULLINS	25:49	2
8	7	GARRET EDMINSTEN	26:22	2
7	8	JIMMY JARRETT	26:20	2
9	9	RUSSELL BOBBITT	26:29	2
11	10	MIKE LAFFERTY	26:45	4
12	11	SIMO KIRSSI	27:19	2
15	12	KENNETH S GILBERT	28:04	2
16	13	RYAN GAINEY	304	2
18	14	DENNIS DAGOSTINO	31:35	3
14	15	CHRISTOPHER BACH	27:39	3
10	16	KAILUB K RUSSELL	26:44	2
20	17	CHRIS SPEAR	34:12	2
17	18	FERNANDO MACIA	30:21	3
19	19	JUSTIN WILLIAMSON	33:46	2
13	20	JEDIDIAH HAINES	27:33	2

Jesse Robinson took the win in Georgia and set the fastest lap. | Photo: Krista Shaw

The XC2 Pro Lites season is shaping up to be nearly as good as the XC1 Pro class this year. As I said in this week’s Fly Racing Post-Race Show, with the departure of Kailub Russell to the XC1 class, a lot of riders smelled blood in the water knowing that this could be their year to take the title.  We’ve had two winners in two races and neither have been the #8 Husqvarna of Jason Thomas, my preseason pick for the championship (and I’m still not ruling out that he will get the Husky dialed-in and reel off a string of wins at any time). Steward Baylor took a huge win in Florida and after some of the great off-season races he looked like he could be the man to beat for the season. But at Georgia, Jesse Robinson capitalized in a big way on a big crash by Thomas and arm pump problems for Baylor and pretty much dominated the class taking the win by over 40-seconds and put down the fastest lap in the class by 2-seconds over Jordan Ashburn in the process. After two races there isn’t much settled in this class on who is the favorite, but it looks like we could be in for an awesome three-rider battle for the championship.

XC2 PRO LITES CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap Number
1	1	JESSE ROBINSON	0:26:17	2
3	2	STEWARD BAYLOR	0:26:43	7
5	3	JASON THOMAS	0:26:57	6
4	4	BRAD BAKKEN	0:26:44	2
2	5	JORDAN ASHBURN	0:26:19	2
8	6	ANDREW R DELONG	0:27:23	3
6	7	TED E MULLINS	0:27:00	2
7	8	SCOTT WATKINS	0:27:16	2
12	9	SHANE OBANION	0:27:58	2
11	10	ZACKERY SMITH	0:27:51	7
16	11	SHANE D HUFFORD	0:28:22	7
14	12	CHARLES W HUEGEL	0:28:08	3
17	13	MORGAN MOSS	0:28:56	3
15	14	STEVEN SQUIRE	0:28:20	2
9	15	AJ STEWART	0:27:38	2
19	16	NICK DAVIS	0:29:14	4
18	17	NATHAN B SULLIVAN	0:28:58	3
22	18	TYSON D EZELL	0:29:48	3
21	19	JARED JORDAN	0:29:46	2
23	20	CODY GRAGG	0:29:48	5
25	21	TREVOR COBB	0:31:10	3
24	22	SHANE KLIMEK	0:29:54	3
13	23	RYAN ECHOLS	0:28:00	3
20	24	ZACK NOLAN	0:29:36	2
10	25	RYAN LOJAK	0:27:40	2

Charlie Mullins | Photo: Krista Shaw

The insane amount of dust at this year’s Ironman GNCC made for a rather strange race in the XC1 pro class. Paul Whibley and Kailub Russell jumped out to big leads early, using the dust cloud they created to keep the rest of the pack well behind them and pretty spaced out. After Russell dumped his bike in a creek and it hydro-locked, Mullins inherited 2nd-place and came through scoring a whopping 46-seconds behind Whibley! Mullins put the hammer down on the second lap and knocked 25-seconds off of Whibley’s lead with a blistering 24:27 lap time, nearly 20-seconds faster than Thad DuVall’s 3rd-lap 24:46. Unfortunately for Mullins, his YZ sucked in too much dust and he was forced to drop out of the race after only 4 laps. The same fate was met by 3rd-fastest lap rider, Josh Strang, who put down a 24:49 on lap 4 to pull within 1-second of Whibley and then put down another sub-25-minute lap on lap 5 to take the lead. Unfortunately his RMZ couldn’t take any more dust and he was forced to pull into the pits and retire on lap 5. The trio of Mullins, DuVall, and Strang were the only three riders on the day to dip below 25-minutes, (first lap was 1-mile short so doesn’t count) but DuVall was the only one of these three riders to be able to finish on the lead lap, but, that’s GNCC racing for you!

XC1 PRO CLASS LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap Number
1	13	CHARLES D MULLINS	0:24:27	2
2	2	THADDEUS DUVALL	0:24:46	3
3	11	JOSHUA V STRANG	0:24:49	4
4	1	PAUL J WHIBLEY	0:24:52	2
5	3	CHRISTOPHER BACH	0:25:00	3
6	4	GLENN J KEARNEY	0:25:22	3
7	15	BARRY HAWK	0:25:33	2
8	6	JIM JARRETT	0:25:36	2
9	5	CORY J BUTTRICK	0:25:40	3
10	7	JARROD BEWLEY	0:26:08	6
11	8	JUSTIN WILLIAMSON	0:26:38	2
12	14	JEDEDIAH HAINES	0:27:10	2
13	9	KENNETH S GILBERT	0:27:15	7
14	10	ERIC BAILEY	0:27:32	4
15	12	DENNIS DAGOSTINO	0:28:48	2
16	16	JORDAN ROSE	0:29:00	2
17	17	RUSSELL A BOBBITT
18	18	COREY M ARBOGAST
19	19	DENNIS JONON
20	DNF	TOBY PRICE
21	DNF	KAILUB K RUSSELL

Jason Thomas set the fastest XC2 lap time and took the win as well.

With Kailub Russell making the move to the XC1 class, the stage was set for Jason Thomas to take control of the XC2 class. With a slew of 2nd-place finishes and two wins coming into the final round, Thomas was without a doubt the man to beat. Steward Baylor did his best to keep Thomas honest in the dust, but UK7 put down a class-best 25:27 lap time on lap 2 and built an 18-second buffer between himself and the rest of the pack and he kept, and grew that lead as the race progresses. Thomas’ FAR teammate, Morgan Moss put in the 2nd-fastest lap of the day on lap 2 with a 25:47, the only rider other than Thomas to break the 26-minute mark on the day but Moss ended up finishing 5th-place in the class.

XC2 PRO LITES LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap Number
1	1	JASON THOMAS	0:25:27	2
2	5	MORGAN A MOSS	0:25:47	2
3	3	STEWARD L BAYLOR	0:26:02	2
4	2	JESSE ROBINSON	0:26:12	4
5	4	TED E MULLINS	0:26:39	2
6	8	GREGORY FUNK	0:27:11	2
7	6	JOHN A MASCHINO	0:27:37	4
8	7	BRIAN K LAWSON	0:27:37	2
9	9	CODY A GRAGG	0:28:28	3
10	10	DANIEL B SIMS	0:29:07	2
11	11	MAT G HERRINGTON	0:31:34	2
12	12	NICK S DAVIS	0:32:18	2
13	13	BRANDON S HOUTS
14	14	NATHAN M ALERING

Strang didn't make it easy on himself, needing to put in the fastest lap of the race on the last lap to take the championship.

After suffering one of his worst starts of the year, Josh Strang methodically worked his way through the pack at the Power Line Park GNCC, making his way inside the top-5 by the end of lap two. But, a crash on lap three put Strang back to 7th position, as the trio of Paul Whibley, Glenn Kearney, and Charlie Mullins began to pull away from the rest of the pack. Coming into the race everyone know that if Strang finished ahead of Mullins, the championship would be decided. As exciting as the battle for the lead was between Whibley and Kearney, everyone was on pins and needles watching as Strang cut the gap between him and Mullins from 13-seconds on lap 5, to 8-seconds going into the final lap. With less than 20-seconds to go in the race, Strang was able to make a pass on Mullins and secure his first-ever GNCC XC1 Pro Championship. With each of the aforementioned riders laying down their fastest lap on the last lap of the race, it really shows how intense the racing action is in the pro class. Congrats to Josh Strang on his championship as well as for being the only rider this past Sunday to dip under the 24-minute mark with a race-best time of 23:52.

XC1 LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap Number
1	3	JOSHUA V STRANG	0:23:52	7
2	1	PAUL J WHIBLEY	0:24:01	7
3	4	CHARLES D MULLINS	0:24:04	7
4	2	GLENN J KEARNEY	0:24:06	7
5	5	BARRY HAWK	0:24:34	2
6	17	JIM JARRETT	0:24:34	2
7	14	CHRISTOPHER BACH	0:24:38	3
8	15	THADDEUS DUVALL	0:24:43	2
9	6	MICHAEL LAFFERTY	0:24:50	3
10	7	CORY J BUTTRICK	0:25:08	2
11	8	TOBY PRICE	0:25:14	2
12	9	JUSTIN WILLIAMSON	0:26:00	2
13	10	KENNETH S GILBERT	0:26:11	2
14	12	JEDEDIAH HAINES	0:26:28	3
15	18	ERIC BAILEY	0:26:42	2
16	11	JORDAN ROSE	0:27:04	2
17	13	DENNIS DAGOSTINO	0:28:00	5
18	16	MATT D WEAVER	0:30:17	4

Kailub Russell had to work his way up to a charging Scotty Watkins to take the win and secure his 2nd XC2 title.

With the intense battling going on in the XC1 class, early in the day it looked like the XC2 race was going to be a blow out as Scotty Watkins had pulled out to a 30-second lead after the 2nd lap, and kept that same margin through lap three. As with XC1, we had the scenario in our head for what would land Kailub Russell the championship–basically he needed to win and Jason Thomas finish 3rd or worse. After the 3rd lap with Thomas dropping back over a minute behind Russell, the chance was there if KR could catch up to Watkins out front. Just as we were watching the clock as Strang slowly reeled in Mullins, we began doing the same in XC2 and on lap 5, Russell was able to make the pass stick on Watkins and eventually cruise to a victory. Unlike in the XC1 class, the XC2 boys for the most part put in their fastest lap early in the race (lap 1 was short so didn’t count) with Russell edging Watkins for the fastest lap by a mere second on lap number 2. Congratulations to Kailub on his 8th race win of the season and his 2nd consecutive XC2 Pro Lites championship.

XC2 LAP TIMES
Lap Time Rank	Finish	Rider	Best Lap Time	Lap Number
1	1	KAILUB K RUSSELL	0:24:41	2
2	2	SCOTT WATKINS	0:24:42	2
3	3	JASON THOMAS	0:24:53	2
4	4	STEWARD BAYLOR	0:25:30	2
5	10	JESSE ROBINSON	0:25:34	3
6	6	ZACH NOLAN	0:25:57	2
7	5	MORGAN A MOSS	0:26:02	2
8	14	GREGORY FUNK	0:26:05	2
9	9	JOSHUA T GAITTEN	0:26:14	2
10	7	JEFFREY GIBSON	0:26:41	2
11	11	MARK J FORTNER	0:26:59	2
12	12	DAVID A SNYDER	0:26:59	2
13	16	BRETT M ZOFCHAK	0:27:23	2
14	13	TRAVIS GREEN	0:27:39	4
15	8	BRIAN K LAWSON	0:27:40	3
16	15	NICHOLAS HUNTER	0:31:31	2