NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 55 ISSUE 8 FEBRUARY 27, 2018 P81
"It busted out a few teeth and I
had a pretty bad headache for
the rest of the race. Let's just say
I won't be eating anything but ice
cream for a few days."
Russell passed Duvall with a
half lap to go and started his final
push to the checkers, as Duvall
latched onto the KTM rider's rear
fender in an effort to stay in the
hunt.
"Kailub got by me and Stew on
the last lap and I could tell by his
posture he was ready to push, so
I latched onto Kailub and we both
started charging," said Duvall. "I
really wanted to win, and I tried
everything on the last lap, but he
just out-ran me at the end."
Duvall pushed Russell all the
way to the checkered flag, and
was about a bike length behind
when Russell took the checkers
and the check.
"Once I got into the lead I
knew it was go time," said Rus-
sell. "I saw that Thad was right
behind and he gave me a good
race to the finish."
Thad crossed the finish just
behind Russell for second, while
Baylor was almost two minutes
back in third.
"After I took that rock to the
mouth I tried to focus but it was
a lot easier to follow than it was
(Left) Kailub Russell got the
GNCC championship going with
the win, which is a rarity for him.
(Below) Thad Duvall finished a
very (very) close second.
