VOL. 54 ISSUE 25 JUNE 27, 2017 P47
Thad Duvall was busy pushing his way
through the pack after a sixth-place check-
in on the first lap. The lead changed on the
third lap when FMF/KTM Factory Racing's
Kailub Russell moved into the front, with
Duvall and Ricky behind him.
The infamous Howard's Hole played out
to be the turning point in the race, where all
three front-runners took a different line. Un-
fortunately for Kailub, his selection wasn't
ideal, and both Ricky and Toth got around
him.
The N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha teammates
continued leading the way, while Duvall con-
sistently rode in third. Not much changed
between the podium contenders once the
two-lap board came out. Ricky Russell
raced his way to his first-ever overall victory
atop of Snowshoe Mountain.
"I really have no words," said Ricky. "I've
been close, but not like this today. We were
going back-and-forth all day and it was a
good race. I had one side of the mountain
dialed, but the other side, toward the end,
I was struggling with the mud. I'm just at a
loss for words; it's awesome."
R. Russell's teammate, Toth, also had his
best ever-finish where he crossed the line
in second overall. This would mark the XC2
250 Pro rider's first overall podium. Nearly
four minutes behind Toth, was Duvall in third
who rounded out the overall podium. K. Rus-
sell placed fourth overall, and third in class.
Beta USA's Jordan Ashburn put forth an
impressive ride, where he finished just off
the XC1 Open Pro podium, and fifth over-
all, after starting outside of the top-ten.
After leading the first lap on adjusted time,
JCR Honda's Trevor Bollinger maintained
a steady pace to finish the race in sixth
overall.
Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/KR4/ Husqvar-
na's Grant Baylor and SRT/KTM's Steward
Baylor followed in seventh and eighth over-
all. RPM/KTM's Chris Bach rounded out
the top-10 overall.
With Toth holding the top spot in the XC2
250 Pro class, Coastal Racing/Husqvarna
teammates, Craig Delong and Layne Mi-
chael, rounded out the class podium. JCR
Honda's Austin Lee and Solid Performance
KTM's Jesse Groemm followed in respect-
able fourth and fifth place finishes. Jason
Thomas, Hunter Neuwirth and David Quilled
filled the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class po-
dium. CN
XC1:
1. Ricky Russell (Yam)
2. Thad DuVall (Hus)
3. Kailub Russell (KTM)
4. Jordan Ashburn (Bet)
5. Trevor Bollinger (Hon)
XC2:
1. Josh Toth (Yam)
2. Layne Michael (Hus)
3. Craig Delong (Hus)
4. Austin Lee (Hon)
5. Jesse Groemm (KTM)
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
KEN
HILL
Josh Toth made it an
N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha
sweep in second
overall. He was also
first place in XC2.
