"I feel awesome," said Girroir.
"That was great. I felt good the
whole race. Couldn't ask for
anything more."
Girroir was injured at the start
of last year but came into this
year healthy and ready to go.
"Yeah, I felt good," added
Girroir. "I went to ISDE after the
season was over and didn't have
much of an off-season. I was
right back down in Florida. I
kind of never skipped a beat this
off-season. I guess it shows and
paid off. I feel good for this sea
-
son. I love Florida. Sand whoops
are next, so let's get it.
"I felt good right from the
start," the winner said. "I kind of
just maintained the gap at the
front; I was hitting my marks
from start to finish, didn't make
many mistakes, and it was a
good race. I learned a lot last
year and have been working
hard with the team, learning
when to go fast and when to
back it down, which paid off
today. I feel fit and strong, had
a really good off-season, so I'm
excited to keep this going."
Most of the pre-race hype
centered around Steward Baylor
and his new team, Rocky Moun
-
tain Red Bear Kawasaki. Stew-
ard appears due for a champion-
ship and has missed out on a
few due to bad luck and other
difficulties. At Big Buck, Steward
got off to a poor start but was
able to work his way within sight
of the winner, Girroir, by the fin
-
ish. Steward was up to second
by lap three but lost two places
during a slow gas stop.
"I made it tough on myself,"
said Steward. "My bad start
didn't do me any favors. Mid-
part of the race, I kind of took
a little breather, and then we
had the slow pit stop. Basically,
I was wanting to make that
charge after the pits. I knew I
needed a lot of time to get up
there. Man, it was so tough to
pass. What few lines there were
out there that were left made
just a few passing places. We
had made it to where it was just
stop-and-go, and you had to
ROUND 1 / FEBRUARY 18, 2024
BIG BUCK FARM / UNION, SOUTH CAROLINA
OFF-ROAD I THE PROGRESSIVE GRAND NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY SERIES, PRESENTED BY SPECIALIZED
P52
Steward Baylor came
from behind to finish
a close second.
