IN
THE
WIND
P32
RUSSELL VICTORIOUS AT
STEELE CREEK GNCC
T
he AMSOIL Grand National
Cross Country (GNCC) Se-
ries presented by Maxxis set its
sights on the ltegendary Steele
Creek Campground for round
three of what is now shaping
up to be a competitive season.
FMF/KTM's Kailub Russell put
an abrupt stop to Josh Strang's
win streak and reclaimed the
center spot on the XC1 podium,
marking his first win of 2016.
Russell's win came after a three-
hour battle with Strang, Chris
Bach and a returning Charlie
Mullins.
The weather can always be
a factor with GNCC races, and
this round has a history of throw-
ing the racers a curveball. On
Friday, heavy rains turned the re-
gion into a wet and sloppy mess,
however strong winds rushed
in Saturday evening and trans-
formed the once waterlogged fa-
cility into one of the best tracks
in recent memory, much to the
delight of thousands of spec-
tators who flooded the North
Carolina hills.
FMF/KTM's Charlie Mullins
made his return to the GNCC
racing a memorable one by rip-
ping the XC1 Holeshot and set a
blistering pace through the first
few laps. After recovering from
a double-wrist injury last year, it
was just the confidence boost
that Mullins needed. Mullins'
pace showed he still had what it
takes to run out front, however,
his day was cut short when the
severe pounding started to af-
fect his wrists. Mullins called it a
day after relinquishing the lead
to his teammate, Russell. While
the lead would swap back and
forth multiple times, it was Rus-
After
recovering
from a knee
injury in the off-
season, Kailub
Russell finally
got back to his
winning ways
at round three
of the GNCC
series.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
KEN
HILL
