Sprint Enduro , AmPro Yamaha ’ s Steward Baylor Jr started his first GNCC race of 2021 in the back of the pack , slowly working his way up to third place by the second lap , about 30 seconds behind Russell and Ashburn . Coming in on lap three , Russell ran into some bad luck with lap riders and a bent shifter ; making a few mistakes in the palmettos ultimately cost him the lead and set him back to fourth place , allowing Ashburn to momentarily take the lead . Unfortunately , the lead was short-lived , as lap traffic struck again , slowing Ashburn enough to allow Ben Kelley to make a smooth pass .
Plagued by clutch issues , Stu Baylor would have to pit on lap five , losing his hold on third place .
Coming to the end of the sixth lap and the checkered flag , Ben Kelley and Jordan Ashburn held a 50-second lead over the rest of the pack . Mere minutes before seeing the finish line , Ashburn took a hard crash and a fender to the chest , breaking the subframe of his bike and allowing Babbitts Online Monster Energy Kawasaki ’ s Josh Strang to make a final charge for second place . Ashburn was successfully overtaken and had to settle for a third-place finish .
“ I was pretty content with following and just kind of seeing what pace everybody wanted to run ,” said Ashburn . “ The track deteriorated
VOL . 6 ISSUE 4 - APRIL 2021 // PAGE 51