VOL. 51 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 9, 2014 P181
Mullins had taken the win each time; giv-
ing him four straight wins and a healthy
lead in the series standings. However,
the series broke wide open when Mul-
lins broke his wrist while practicing the
week before the Virginia round, which
gave new hope to DeLong and everyone
else in the top 10 of the standings.
"After Charlie Mullins got hurt, I went
into Virginia thinking I could win it, but
I ended up getting fourth, which made
me mad," says DeLong. "In a way, it
sort of lit a fire under me. I told myself
I wasn't going to finish off the podium
for the rest of the season and I went out
and did that."
The next race was in Marquette,
Michigan, and DeLong blew away the
competition, winning every test but two
and taking the win by a minute over 2012
National champ Steward Baylor.
"That was a huge turning point in the
year for me," says DeLong. "It gave me
the confidence that I could get it done.
My mental strength to that point had
been really low, and the win just gave
me the confidence to carry on, knowing
I could win."
DeLong credited his big turnaround
to a mental adjustment.
"Before Michigan, I had been over-
training, and I pretty much wore myself
down," says DeLong. "I would get to
the races and I would be tired. It was
a tough year, too, dealing with all the
new equipment. But I just kind of had a
mental adjustment before the Michigan
race, and it paid off."
DeLong followed up the win in
Michigan with third-place finishes in
Pennsylvania and South Carolina and
another win in Colorado. Heading into
the series finale in Indiana, DeLong
carried a 13-point lead over second
place in the standings.
"My goal going into the Indiana race
was to win, but I ended up having one of
my worst days ever riding; I couldn't do
anything right. I was so nervous before
that race, I couldn't even eat breakfast,"
says DeLong. "I was falling like three
times in the first test, and I was getting
frustrated. Finally, Andy told me to settle
down and just ride, and I did that and I
calmed down and started turning in some
good test times during the afternoon, and
I was able to finish on the podium."
DeLong's third in Indiana was more than
enough to capture the 2014 title, which
marked the first time that a Husqvarna
had won the enduro title since Terry Cun-
ningham in 1986.
Andrew DeLong
stepped it up when
he needed to and
was rewarded
with his first AMA
National Enduro
Championship.
"I told myself I wasn't going
to finish off the podium for the
rest of the season and I went
out and did that."
