wasn't really paying attention to
time and mileage. I still had a
really good run in the test, and
I only lost the test, I think, by 15
seconds or so."
Despite the mistake, Grant
closed out the remaining four
tests with two wins and two sec-
onds to take the win.
"In the later tests I was able
to make up a little bit of time
that I lost in the second test,"
added Grant. "After that, I knew I
needed to just have a consistent
day and ride it out; as long as I
kept it on two wheels, I knew I
could come out of here with a
good result."
Steward was unsure how he
would hold up in the Georgia
heat. "I came in kind of strug-
gling," he said. "I felt pretty rough
this week and was trying to get
back into the swing of things,
but with the summer heat, it was
pretty brutal trying to get back
into it, and I wasn't able to ride
as aggressively as I would like to
have been."
Toth was nursing a recent
injury, as well, having suffered
a groin injury the previous week
at a GNCC. Toth won test four
and was pleased to land on the
podium in third.
"The first test I was riding
okay, but too timid," said Toth. "I
struggled gripping the bike; I was
just sitting down and using all
arms. I just couldn't squeeze the
bike like I should be able to."
Lafferty was not nearly as
happy with fourth, since he came
into the Cherokee with a lot of
momentum after winning the
Lead Belt a month earlier. Like
Grant, Lafferty also entered a
test late and suffered the conse-
quences.
"Just a tough day," said Laf-
ferty. "I was late to a bunch
of check-ins, and it cost me a
bunch of time. Other than that,
I rode good, but just kind of
bummed. I wasn't the only one.
A lot of people were doing it, but
it bit me."
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's
Craig DeLong rode a consistent
race to finish fifth overall, scoring
two fourth's and four fifth-place
finishes in the six tests.
"It was good, but mediocre,"
said DeLong. "I was kind of in
the mix there the first two tests,
but I really struggled in the third
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 24 JUNE 14, 2022 P39
Steward Baylor
finished just a few
seconds behind his
brother, Grant.
