Main image by Mack Faint 

The 2023 Progressive Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Racing Series had quite a wild, fun year of racing. Kicking off the season in South Carolina in mid-February, the 12-round series saw nine rounds completed before the traditional summer break from July to mid-September. The long season (nine months total) is a marathon not a sprint, just as the races themselves are at three hours long. But the gaps at the finish line are typically closer than you would expect after three grueling hours. Strategies come into play when it comes to race pace and when to push vs when to settle into a pace, what lines to take, and even when to take a pitstop. And through the first seven rounds, there were several different overall winners! Entering the year, the most different winners to start off a season was five different winners in the first five rounds and the most total different winners in one season was also five. But by the time Ricky Towery waved the checkered flag on the season finale, we saw our eighth and final different overall winner claim a checkered flag first this year. Aboard his Kawasaki KX450, Josh Strang claimed the overall win at Ironman Raceway, a historic win for the long-time veteran.

Digging into the all-time overall wins list, Kailub Russell’s record of 67 overall wins seems to be untouchable, similar to Jeremy McGrath’s 72 all-time AMA Supercross premier class wins. At the end of the 2019 season we ran a list of KR557’s overall wins (60 at the time), but he did claim seven more wins in his final season in 2020—as well as his eighth and final Grand National title. Scott Summers finished his career with 46 overall wins (currently second all-time), followed by Rodney Smith’s 33 and Ed Lojak’s 26. Next up is a tied between Fred Andrews and Strang at 25 apiece following Strang’s win at the Ironman GNCC finale, while actually racing under Andrews’ direction. The Australian native became only the sixth different ride to eclipse the 25-win mark, as Charlie Mullins sits one spot back on the all-time wins list with 22, ahead of Scott Plessinger (21), and Barry Hawk Jr. and Paul Whibley (19 each).