OFF-ROAD
GRAND NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY SERIES, PRESENTED BY SPECIALIZED
ROUND 7 / JUNE 28, 2020
MILLFIELD, OHIO
P54
BY SHAN MOORE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEN HILL
I
t's quite appropriate that Kailub Russell won
the John Penton GNCC on a factory KTM,
since John Penton was the person who
originally imported KTM motorcycles into the
U.S., which, early on, were called Pentons.
The John Penton GNCC is one of the lon-
gest-running races of the series.
Although he now lives in North Carolina,
this is where Russell grew up, at the very
track the John Penton is now held. Russell
hadn't won here since 2016, and since he is
retiring from GNCC racing at the end of the
season, he was determined to finish off his
final John Penton GNCC with a big win. And
he did just that, taking a 59-second margin
of victory ahead of Babbitt's Online/Monster
Energy/Team Green Kawasaki's Josh Strang.
Russell battled early-on with FMF/KTM
teammate Ben Kelley and then ended the race
leading Strang to the checkers. Strang kept
Russell honest by not allowing him the luxury
of having enough time to recover should he
crash hard like he did at Camp Coker.
Kailub Russell
(1) chalked up
his 66th career
GNCC win but his
first John Penton
win since 2016.
KAILUB RUSSELL CHALKS UP 66TH CAREER WIN
RUSSELL MASTERS