OFF ROAD
KENDA AMA NATIONAL ENDURO SERIES
ROUND 2/MARCH 23, 2014
BLACKWELL, TEXAS
P90
Jesse Groemm, who was sec-
ond at the series opener earlier
in the month, struggled in Texas
and ended up a disappointing
seventh.
Shane Hufford bettered his
eighth-place finish in South Caro-
lina by four places, moving up to
fourth in Texas.
So, you see that all of this mish-
mash benefited the consistent
Mullins and is left already hold-
ing a healthy 21-point lead in the
standings after just two rounds!
The point is that most of the
riders that did well in the South
Carolina sand struggled with the
fast and slick conditions in Texas
- except for Mullins. And he wel-
comed the conditions.
"The course was extremely
dry, the driest I've ridden since
probably at Six Days in Italy, but
it's kind of a nice change of pace
considering my last race was a
full-on swamp," said Mullins, re-
ferring to the GNCC in Georgia
the week before. "This is a lot dif-
ferent from the races back east.
It's really rocky, really dry; I don't
think it ever rains here. There
are basically very few trees and
it's fast and flowing. Sometimes
there are some tight and techni-
cal places, but for the most part
it's faster than back east. Overall,
it's a cool race and I enjoy com-
ing here."
And while Mullins seemed to
be charging all day, Grant Bay-
lor used a different approach en
route to his runner-up finish.
"I came in here trying to be
as smooth as possible and try-
ing to have an error-free race,"
said Baylor. "I didn't crash once
all day and I didn't blow too many
turns."
(Above) Grant Baylor had a career-
best second-place finish.
(Above right) Andrew DeLong got
Husqvarna on the board with a third.
(Right) Shane Hufford finished with
an improved fourth over his previ-
ous-round eighth.
