Snowshoe, West Virginia—The Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship, concluded its ninth round of racing at the Yamaha Racing Snowshoe GNCC in Snowshoe, West Virginia on Sunday, June 27.

FMF/TKM Factory Racing’s Benjamin Kelley would come through to earn his second win of the season and conquer Snowshoe Mountain. Kelley found himself running third throughout the first couple of laps, but he would make the pass for the lead on the fourth lap and hold that lead until the checkered flag flew. This time Kelley held his championship rival Steward Baylor off until the finish.

“I needed this win,” said Kelley on RacerTV.com. “I never had a big points lead all year, but Stu had a big points hole he was digging out of. I had some good races but I was struggling to finish the race strong. He [Baylor] was pulling me and outsmarting me every race. I kind of changed up my routine. Last race, I got out front and led the whole race, got passed last lap. I was like, 'Okay, that doesn’t work!' So today, I don’t want to say I cruised the whole race, but I wasn’t hanging it out to stay with those guys. At one point they were so far ahead of me, I was like 'What the hell!?' I felt like I was going pretty good. I pushed and I started to make up time. On this side of the track over here, I was just letting it hang on those car roads, wide open, barely making the corners, but I made up time, I had to go. Then those rocks, they were so hard, but I pushed. I really needed it.”

"It was a weird feeling, since I had the points lead, it was like I didn’t have to win if it wasn’t there,” said Kelley. “That last little percent just wasn’t there. Today I had to win to keep the points lead, so that’s what I did.”

Earning second at round nine was AmPro Yamaha’s Steward Baylor. Right off the start Baylor had hoped to grab the early lead, but he would slide out on the pavement start at the first turn. Baylor took the lead on the second lap but would be unable to hold off Kelley as he applied the pressure. Baylor would hold onto second, coming through 30 seconds behind Kelley.

“I just struggled all day, couldn’t find a rhythm,” said Baylor. “Anytime I would get a cushion I would tangle with a lapper. On lap three I had a really good one with a lapper and I hit my head pretty good. I was off after that. I was fast on that side of the mountain, the technical stuff, so on the last few laps I knew I needed to put on a charge. Our team only had three guys in the woods, we need more guys in the woods. I think he [Kelley] put 30 seconds on us in Howard’s Hole down there. We had nobody down there. Lot of issues today, really frustrated with myself and with things that were going on. But it’s not do or die, I know I’m the guy to beat right now and I think I’ve proven that. Plus, the last few rounds, I know I will have to be paying for diapers soon, so I’m going to have to bust my ass!”

Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvarna’s Jordan Ashburn grabbed the early lead, holding onto first for the first lap. Ashburn continued to run at the front of the pack and battle with Baylor and Kelley. As they came through the finish, the new father of twins would come through to earn his fourth podium finish of the season.

“I was happy to get back on the mountain and get back on the podium,” said Ashburn. “I’ve been up here a few times at this race, it really caters to my style. I just made a few mistakes and let those guys get away. Once they got away, the lappers the dust were pretty bad. Shoutout to my wife and my new babies! It’s amazing, it’s a blessing from the Lord, happy to have two healthy babies and it just fuels my fire even more.”

Coming through fourth on the day was FMF/KTM Factory Racing’s Josh Toth. Toth had a consistent day running in fourth for the entire three-hour race. Toth remains sixth in the points standings as the series will kick back off in September.

“I got a good start and caught up to the back of row one in the first couple of miles down to Howard’s Hole. I was trying to get around one of the guys on the front row in a big rocky section and had a big get-off,” said Toth in a FMF KTM team statement. “Fortunately, I was totally fine and I just bent the bars a bit but I totally lost sight of the top three. I felt like I rode strong all day, I did have a lot of incidents with lappers but overall, I rode well and just got beat by the top three – they’re riding really well. I’ll just keep working and I’ll come back strong after summer break.”

Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Thad Duvall fought back to finish the day sixth overall in his home state of West Virginia. Duvall started out the day in eighth and steadily worked his way up through the pack. Coastal GasGas Factory Racing’s Ricky Russell crossed the finish line seventh overall on the day after battling early on in the race in the top five.

After a mid-race setback, Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green’s Josh Strang would continue to push until the checkered flag flew. Strang crossed the finish eighth in the XC1 Open Pro class.

AmPro Yamaha’s Layne Michael maintained the ninth place position in XC1 throughout the duration of the race. Rounding out the top 10 in the XC1 Open Pro class was RedBull/MSC Sherco Racing’s Benjamin Herrera.

In the XC2 250 Pro class it was Coastal GasGas Factory Racing’s Jonathan Girroir coming through to earn his sixth win of the season. Girroir made the move into the lead after running in second for the first two laps. Girroir continues to lead the championship standings as the series heads into its summer break.

Earning his first XC2 podium finish was 760 Motorsports/JDP Suspension/FXR’s Ben Nelko. After coming through in 13th on the opening lap, Nelko put his head down and pushed for the rest of the race. Nelko steadily moved through the pack at Snowshoe and put himself in a great position during the last lap where he overtook second place just miles from the finish line. After missing three rounds due to an injury Enduro Engineering/Kenda/XC Gear’s Ryder Lafferty came through to earn third in the XC2 class.

Grabbing the early lead in the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class was Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvarna’s Jonathan Johnson. Johnson would continue to lead the way in the class for the duration of the three hour race. Crossing the line in second was Enduro Engineering/Husqvarna/FXR’s Jake Froman. While Marionville Powersports/Enduro Engineering/Fly Racing’s Noah Clark rounded out the top three in the FMF XC3 class.

AmPro Yamaha’s Rachael Archer battled back at Snowshoe to earn the WXC class win and close the points gap to just two behind BABS Racing Yamaha’s Becca Sheets. After holding the lead for the first two laps, Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvarna/Rockstar Energy/Moose Racing’s Tayla Jones would come through to finish second on the day in West Virginia. KTM Canada/FXR Moto/SRT Off-Road Racing’s Shelby Turner battled for the last spot on the WXC podium atop Snowshoe Mountain. This was also Turner’s first-ever WXC podium finish.

In the youth race it was Cole Forbes coming through to earn the overall and YXC1 Super Mini Sr. class win. Nicholas Defeo and Thor Powell came through to round out the top three overall and in the YXC1 class. Peyton Feather earned the YXC2 Super Mini Jr. class as Robert Weiss and Ryan Amancio finished second and third in the class. Ryder Sigety earned the 85cc (12-13) class win, while Mason Raynor took the 85cc (7-11) class win. Nash Peerson and Hunter Hawkinberry took home the two 65cc class wins. Ruby Fustini earned the Girls (8-15) class with Chance Mayfield earning a win in the trail rider class.

GNCC Racing will return to racing in September for The Mountaineer GNCC in Beckley, West Virginia.

Snowshoe GNCC Results

Points Standings