OFF ROAD
7
TH
ANNUAL KENDA OZARK 100
NOVEMBER 29, 2014
HARDWOOD HILLS RANCH/MANSFIELD, MISSOURI
P96
track, about 50 yards before the
finish, allowing Blythe to retake
the lead and the win.
Baylor dominated the night
race. The 2012 national enduro
champ had very few problems
navigating the three special ele-
ment sections compared to the
race of the top riders.
On the final lap, Fahringer was
able to close in a bit on Baylor,
but the Husqvarna rider got stuck
in the element called "Something
Special" and lost about two min-
utes getting back on track.
"I could see Stu at the top of
the hill when I got there, and I
thought I might be able to catch
him," said Fahringer. "But I chose
a bad line and got hung up about
halfway up."
In the end, Baylor's 1-2-1 race
tally was more than good enough
to take the overall.
"That stuff was really intense,"
said Baylor. "I don't want to say
it's tougher overall than the Ten-
nessee Knockout, but it has sec-
tions that are tougher, although
you get a break in between them.
They have nice, flowing single-
track in between each of the ele-
ment sections."
"This was a good way to get a
little momentum built up before
the 2015 season," added Baylor.
"This was a really fun race and I'll
be sure to mark it on my calendar
for next year."
Blythe struggled on the big hill
climb in the night race and ended
up finishing third. Fortunately his
second- and first-place finishes
in the first two races of the day
put him in second overall in the final
standings.
"I was fourth going into the woods
after the start of the night race,"
said Blythe. "I was trying to push so
I could stay with those guys and I
just hit a rock that was hidden by the
leaves and went down. I knocked
my helmet light off, so that made it
difficult to see, but I was able to pit
and duct tape it back on. I actually
had a good last lap, and I caught
up with Nick, but I just couldn't get
close enough to make a pass."
(Right) Zach Ingram rode a
solid race for fourth overall.
(Below) Steve Leivan rounded
out the top five.
