Baylor Scores The Mountaineer
GNCC Win
W
ith just three rounds re-
maining in the 2021 sea-
son, this year's Grand National
Cross Country Series Champion-
ship chase is going to be a nail
biter.
After missing the open-
ing round due to injury, Am-
Pro Yamaha's Steward Baylor
slowly clawed his way back into
championship contention, and
tightened the points race this
weekend by claiming his sixth win
in 10 rounds at the Mountaineer
GNCC at Summit Bechtel Re-
serve in Beckley, West Virginia,
as the series returned from its
usual summer break.
Baylor came into the West
Virginia round sitting nine points
behind FMF/KTM's Ben Kelley,
but with the win has pulled to just
four points out of the lead.
Baylor dominated the tough
and technical race, taking the
lead midway into the opening lap
and pulling away to a 1:17.4-sec-
ond lead at the finish.
"I really like this course be-
cause of how technical it is—it's
like Snowshoe," said Baylor. "I
got off to a mediocre start, but I
bullied my way through and was
able to get up front pretty quick.
From there, I just kind of paid
attention to the pit boards and
maintained my lead. The track
was demanding. You could push
IN
THE
WIND
P56
GNCC racing returned after the
summer break, and Steward Baylor
came away with the win at The
Mountaineer GNCC in West Virginia,
putting himself in strong contention
for the championship with three races
left.
PHOTOS: KEN HILL
