second race in a row , his third-place finish at the Muddobbers giving him back-to-back third-place finishes in the series .
“ I knew it was going to be hard pack and slick , so I came up early and rode a lot , so I was prepared and I felt good ,” said Russell . “ I started off strong and was right in the mix all day .”
Russell made what he called a “ stupid ” mistake in the fifth test , which he admitted “ kind of killed me .” “ Even with all that , I wasn ’ t that far off , so I was happy that I was able to salvage a decent test after making that many mistakes ,” said Russell . “ Me and Toth were only seven seconds apart there , and then he pulled another seven on me . So , then the last one , I pulled seven back on him , but he still beat me by seven for second place . But Grant was kind of checked out .”
Am Pro Yamaha ’ s Steward Baylor had a rare off day , admitting the Indiana course was never one of his favorites .
“ I just struggled ,” said Steward . “ Today Grant and Toth were riding well , which they always ride well here . And this is one of those tracks where Russell has done well in the past , as well . My results didn ’ t show it , but I rode I think the same as I have in the past here . This just hasn ’ t been one of my strongest tracks .”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna ’ s Craig Delong has been flirting with podium finishes all year and grabbed a runner-up finish two races ago in Ohio . However , a bad choice of tires slowed the Pennsylvania rider in the opening test in Indiana and after swapping tires to start the second test he was consistently around fifth the remainder of the day for fifth overall .
“ I didn ’ t really realize how dry it was , so I kind of stuck with my normal setup for tires , which was a little bit off for how dry the course was ,” said DeLong . “ I thought it would have been okay , but it was drier than I expected , so I struggled a little bit with the feeling I wanted in the dry , slick , hard pack dirt . Overall , I was a little off the pace in the first test . Then I made a change for the second test , which turned out to be a better choice and I was just kind of in that third , fourth , fifth place area . Overall , I just struggled a little bit with lappers with where I could catch them on the course . It just seems like where I would catch them would just be bad spots . I was a little frustrated because of that , so I kind of had a little bit of anger . I tried to carry that throughout the day and just turn it into good results . I had a couple little tip-overs and that kind of cost me a little bit . Other than that , it was just a good day . I was able to make up some points and we ’ re still healthy , so that ’ s always good .”
VOL . 7 ISSUE 11 - NOVEMBER 2022 // PAGE 81