VOLUME 62 ISSUE 43 OCTOBER 28, 2025 P81
it'll make the off-season and all
those long hours well worth it.
Knowing all he needed to do
was finish the race in at least
13th, Kelley played it safe to the
finish, taking a 10th to claim the
overall championship in a very
dramatic race, making Kelley
the first repeat GNCC champion
since Kailub Russell did it in
2021.
Kelley was happy to get the
stressful last two races under
his belt. "We worked hard for it,
but the XC1 title wasn't my sole
Witkowski was pleased to
end the year with the win in front
of his home-state crowd. "Last
night I was like, 'Man, I can do
this,' and I just told myself I can
win," he said. "Today I just felt
so good. The bike felt awesome,
and I think that was the key fac
-
tor. I got a good start, and it just
felt
effortless. They always say
when you can win, it feels easy,
but that was truly an awesome
day, and I'm just so blessed that
the day went that smoothly.
I've never actually done this, so
On lap four, disaster struck
Davis, the KTM rider pulling
into the pits and taking a chair,
reportedly still having problems
from the effects of a concus
-
sion. Meanwhile, Steward Baylor
Jr dropped
out on lap four with
back pain.
Witkowski was precise,
looking comfortable with a siz
-
able lead on lap five ahead of
Draper.
Witkowski's win was his
first overall GNCC victory, with
Barnes in second overall and
first in the XC2 class.
Cody Barnes made
it a double win for
Honda, topping the
XC2 class and was
second overall.
