podium in third. The Tennessee
rider has consistently been at
the front of the field all year, and
it's only a matter of time before
he gets his first win.
"Smooth was fast here today,
so I just trying to get good trac-
tion everywhere and go through
the bumps nice and smooth,"
said Ashburn. "We did that, and
we led almost the whole race.
I kind of got tired the last lap
and didn't make the hill climb.
It took the wind out of my sails.
Two races in a row I didn't
make the hill the last lap, but it's
good. We're still learning. We've
been at it a long time, but we're
progressing. We're just inching
towards the center of that box."
for most of the race.
"On that first lap, I tried to
pass someone in a slick corner,
and I felt that knee pop, and
I wasn't able to straighten my
knee after that," said Baylor. "I
was still able to run the pace,
and I put myself in good position
for the end of the race. With two
to go, I had a mishap on a log
and went down. On the last lap,
I put some pressure on Ben and
he went down on the very same
log, and I was able to pass him."
After having his moments up
front, Ashburn rounded out the
Kelley rode well enough to
win the race, but a mishap in the
final stretch halted his chances.
"I got into the lead and had
about an eight-second gap
about halfway through the last
lap," said Kelley. "I knew I had
it, but just something happened
in the tight woods there, and I
crashed and got caught up in
a tree and it sheared my shifter
off, so my bike was stuck in third
gear. So, in that time, Stew was
able to get around me. I gave it
my all, but stuck in third gear, it
was tough to finish the lap. I kept
charging. Just came up short."
On the first lap of the race,
Baylor aggravated an old knee
injury and was forced to sit down
ROUND 11 / SEPTEMBER 26, 2021
MILLFIELD, OHIO
P74
OFF-ROAD I GRAND NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY SERIES
Ben Kelley looked to have
the win in hand, but the race
was one lap too long. He still
grabbed second.
