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INTERVIEW I 2023 GRAND NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPION CRAIG DELONG P76 be able to be the first one to get a second win that was a huge confidence booster for me. And just how I did it. I got the start and was up front all day. It was dusty, but I had to put myself in that position to do that. It's pretty crazy, honestly, to be able to just, for one, get my first win in one season but also be able to be the one that has the most wins the whole year. Then, the championship as well. So, ev - erything kind of happened fast. Definitely a lot of emotions." DeLong won in varying conditions, from mud to dust, proving he is a solid all-around off-road racer. "Yeah. That's something we strive for," he says. Even while winning, DeLong tried to put the championship race out of his mind, which many racers often do, but out - siders don't believe. "Honestly, up until when I had the points lead—even when I had the points lead—I know people will probably call bullshit or something like that, but I honestly didn't let it get to me a whole lot, which is surprising. I'm not sure if it was just one of those things where I didn't see myself there. So, it was kind of like it wasn't happening. But honestly, I was calm the whole season. Even when Stew and I were tied at the Mountaineer, that was a pretty good race be - tween us. We were tied in points and battling back and forth. Going into that race, I don't think I was nervous or anything. "One thing I can tell if I'm nervous or not is by how much I can eat in the morning. Hon - estly, I had no issue all year with being able to eat my breakfast or stick to the routine, which is a good sign that I wasn't nervous. I think also that comes back to the preparation I had in the be- ginning of the season but also over summer break. I was ready to go out and win. I think that was something that I realized and was ready to do." Baylor is known for coming on strong at the end of the race, but when DeLong had the lead, he could stay focused and not worry about anyone, even Bay - lor, slipping by to steal the win. "Yeah, at certain races, I felt that. In Georgia, I was battling with Stew in the mud. It was me, Stew, and Ricky Russell. There were a couple of us together. All of a sudden, I was there by myself. I was looking around because I didn't know what happened. Then it was like I snapped my fingers, and I had 30, 40 seconds on them. Five miles before, we were within five seconds of each other. So, it was one of those things where I had the team tell me what I had, obviously, with the gap." There were two other races where Baylor had issues. If Baylor won in the final race of the year, then DeLong only needed 13th overall to win the championship, but the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider went out and won. "He had a problem at the Mason-Dixon," said DeLong. "He was back in the pack and wasn't really up front, and it was dry and dusty. I wasn't too concerned about him making a huge push there to catch me because there wasn't really a lot of time to be made up out on the track. Then, the last one was at the Buckwheat, I think DeLong gave his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Team its first GNCC Championship.