As the green flag waved at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in Beckley , West Virginia , Ashburn raced into turn one , but ran wide allowing Coastal Racing GasGas mounted Ricky Russell to grab the holeshot , leading the rest of the field into the woods . Russell would charge away from the field for the first two laps , with FMF KTM ’ s Josh Toth crossing the finish line second at the end of lap one , and Ashburn in the two position at the end of lap two . Stew Baylor would move his way up to third by the halfway point of the race with some of the fastest lap times of the day . After the field checked in at the end of lap three and were ready for pit stops , Russell ’ s race would start to unravel . An issue during the fuel stop would cost the Washington native extra time as he would have to stop again for fuel . A crash later in lap four would ultimately derail his race .
As the white flag fell , Baylor had moved his way into the number one position with Ashburn just sixteen seconds behind , with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna ’ s Thad Duvall moved into the final podium position . From there a yo-yo effect would take place at each check in mid-lap with Baylor and Ashburn . In the end , Baylor would cross the finish line and loop his bike in customary fashion . Ashburn would come home in second , with Duvall rounding out the podium . Behind the top three was Russell , followed by
ON THE PEGS // PAGE 118