AMSOIL AMA GRAND NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY SERIES, PRESENTED BY MAXXIS
VOL. 51 ISSUE 13 APRIL 1, 2014 P83
at rounds two and three. Only
three points behind Mullins in the
championship chase, Russell
now has the opportunity to break
the cycle and become the first
back-to-back champion since
David Knight's run in 2007-2008.
Russell's outlook is one that
you would expect from a cham-
pion, "It's definitely frustrating
what happened in Florida but
you know, you've got to play with
the cards you're dealt and I just
put my head down the last two
rounds."
Not only did Russell capture
the win at the FMF Steele Creek
GNCC, but the Ohio-native and
now North Carolina resident, fin-
ished over two minutes ahead of
his teammate and current points
leader Charlie Mullins in front of a
large hometown crowd.
It was a factory FMF/KTM
sweep on the opening lap as
Steward Baylor grabbed the
$250 All Balls Racing XC1 Hole-
shot Award before immediately
hooking up with Russell out front.
By the time Mullins was settled in
the second-place spot, Russell
had put over a minute on the rest
of the pack.
Mullins expressed frustration
on not being able to catch a very
focused Russell at round three.
"I tried to ride good and charge
but I wasn't really making up any
ground," Mullins said. "I rode as
hard as I could. On the second-
to-last lap, I had a pretty good
crash in the sand and Strang
