back through them so I wouldn't
get penalized. I didn't want any-
body to think there was anything
unfair going on. I turned around
and that allowed Josh to get by."
After missing the opening
round due to injury, Steward
moves into fifth overall in the
series standings with the win, 19
points off the lead.
When Steward doubled back
for the placard, Strang took
control of the race and led by 18
seconds at one point, but then a
mistake allowed Steward close to
within seconds on lap six. Strang
gave an all-out push when Stew-
ard made the pass for the lead
just miles before the finish.
"He passed me and then it was
on from there," Strang said. "He
was going flat out. I was just go-
ing flat out trying to force him into
a mistake or something. Frus-
trating to get second, but at the
same time I felt like I rode a good
race."
"We came up behind a lap-
per, and then he just peeled off
in front of Josh, and it cleared
up the good line for me, and I
was able to make the pass," said
Steward. "It was definitely thread-
ing the needle. It was wheel to
wheel. The rest of the way I could
feel him all over me. It was clean
and honest racing."
After moving to the front on the
opening lap, Steward actually
did a bit of self-policing when he
went outside of a double-placard-
marked area on lap three, which
allowed Strang to take the point.
Going outside a double placard-
marked area can cost a rider a
heavy penalty and requires a rider
to double back and ride between
the placards.
"The third lap I had about a
second on Josh," said Steward.
"I actually went around the double
placards that the protests had
been going on about. So, I turned
around on the track and went
OFF-ROAD
AMA GRAND NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY SERIES, PRESENTED BY SPECIALIZED
ROUND 4 / MARCH 28, 2021
MOREE'S SPORTSMAN'S PRESERVE / SOCIET Y HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA
P70
Josh Strang was the
victim of Baylor's
late-race charge, but
a second puts him just
three points out of the
championship lead.
