NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 55 ISSUE 10 MARCH 13, 2018 P71
"I got a very, very good start, which was
kind of surprising," said Baylor. "I think every-
one pinched in tight in the first turn and I was
on the outside and I just hit it in third gear
and pulled into the lead."
Baylor sprinted hard during the first few
laps in an obvious attempt to pull away from
the field. Strang pushed hard too, despite
fighting off the effects of the flu, which had
stricken the Aussie off-road star at the begin-
ning of the week. At the end of three laps,
however, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna
Factory racer was weakening and losing
momentum. Unable to grip the bars, Strang
started to slip back into the pack where he
eventually settled into ninth.
"I was sick all week and with the rough
track today it just sapped all my energy," said
Strang. "It's a real bummer because I felt
great for three laps and then I just couldn't
hold on any more."
Baylor held a solid lead over Russell and
Duvall just before starting lap five, but a mis-
take in one of the mud holes allowed Russell
to pull within striking distance.
"Like a moron, I missed my line and I
went down and tweaked my front end," said
RUSSELL, BAYLOR AND
DUVALL SHARE THE PODIUM
IN FLORIDA
