the three-hour race, only to be
passed by Rockstar Energy
Husqvarna's Craig DeLong at
the seven-mile marker of lap
one. DeLong rode strong and
held the lead ahead of AmPro
Yamaha's Ricky Russell, last
year's champ Magna1 Motor-
sports' Husqvarna's Jordan
Ashburn,
Canadian motocrosser
Tyler Medaglia and FMF/KTM's
Johnny Girroir. DeLong held the
lead by as much as 20 seconds
until the halfway mark when
Russell, Kelley and Girroir went
by. Girroir dogged Kelley for
half the race and ran in second
behind his KTM teammate for
a while but then dropped back
with stomach issues.
ship point standings with Baylor,
who finished second in Florida,
at 55 points each.
"I got a bad start and just kind
of managed the first two laps,"
said Kelley. "I was trying to make
passes, but at the same time I
was riding real smooth, trying to
rest my whole body. I'm happy it
wasn't six laps. I didn't even see
the two-lap card and I'm like, oh
boy, it's going to be brutal, but in
the end it felt pretty good."
Tely Racing Rocky Moun
-
tain ATV-MC KTM's Ben Nelko
grabbed
the holeshot to start
after a nasty crash at the Lead
Belt National Enduro in Missouri
during the summer. At the Wild
Boar, it appeared he was ap-
proaching the form he held mid-
season last year, even though he
had
re-injured his leg two weeks
before at an enduro.
"It feels damn good to get this
win," said Kelley. "This race is
brutal. Man, every year you don't
know what to expect, whether
your body is going to hold on
or not because it's a battle of
attrition more than anything.
Whether you go fast, slow, try to
cruise, it zaps you the same, but
I had a solid race."
With the win, Kelley is knotted
up at the top of the champion-
ROUND 2 / MARCH 5, 2023
HOG WALLER RACEWAY / PALATKA, FLORIDA
OFF-ROAD I GRAND NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
P80
Opening-round winner Steward
Baylor was second overall, despite
finishing lap one in 13th place.
