VOLUME 58 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 14, 2021 P105
Kelley got off to a slow start
with a fifth at the 2021 season
opener in South Carolina but
won at the following round in
Florida. He then took the points
lead with a second behind
Steward in Georgia. It was a
lead he would hold until round
11 in Millfield, Ohio, when Baylor
took over by the slimmest of
margins. Kelley's run of six
runner-up finishes was frustrat-
ing, to say the least, especially
rounds 10 and 11 when he led
both races only to be passed on
the final lap by Baylor.
"I think it was two races where
I led the majority of the race and
then got passed on the last lap,"
says Kelley. "That was a bummer
to lead the whole race and feel
like I was the fastest guy and then
just get passed halfway through
the last lap, because I just was
doing everything I could but just
couldn't hold him off. It wasn't be-
cause I got tired. It was just a little
mishap. The track was technical,
and I was just going fast, and I
had a crash and broke my shifter,
and that was all she wrote."
I LIKE THE IRONMAN
AND I WANTED TO PUT
IN A SOLID ROUND
TO WRAP UP THIS
CHAMPIONSHIP, THEN
THE WEATHER THREW
A HUGE CURVEBALL.
Kelley leads GNCC rival
Steward Baylor. The two
battled to the bitter end.