No one has ever swept an entire Grand National Cross Country series season and while Kailub Russell has a ways to go the thought can't be too far from his mind.
Russell won his fourth straight 2015 GNCC round on Sunday at Big Buck Farm in Union, SC and is two wins away from tying Juha Salinen's record set in 2006. The four wins to open the 2015 season ties Josh Strang's mark from 2010 when he won the Championship.
"The day went well as I was able to pull the holeshot and focus on putting in a couple of solid laps to pull away," Russell said.
As it turns out grabbing the holeshot and racing out front was key in the victory because Russell crashed nearly halfway through the race which allowed Strang to close the gap. Russell won the previous three rounds by more than two minutes but crossed the checkers just 42 seconds ahead of Strang this time. Strang is Russell's primary competitor this year rolling up second every time out thus far.
"Once I got back going I kept trying to push hard but the track was extremely rough compared to how it normally is and I kept making small errors but it was enough to hold on for the win," the MotoSport sponsored rider said.
Kailub Russell wins fourth straight GNCC race - All Photos: Ken Hill
Russell has 26 career wins breaking a tie with Fred Andrews. He is now tied in third-place on the all-time wins list with Ed Lojak. If he wins eight of the final nine rounds, Russell can pass Rodney Smith for second but will need another dominating run in 2016 to best Scott Summers who sits on top with 46 wins.
"Two more and I tie for most consecutive wins," Russell said. "It feels good to know that I'm capable of winning and putting in the work to meet my personal goals. But I have been really happy with how I've been able to execute my race plan every time out so far."
Russell goes for win 27 and five straight at the Limestone 100 on April 26 in Springville, IN.
Kacy Martinez, who is also a MotoSport sponsored rider, was attempting four straight wins to start the season but for the second year in a row Jessica Patterson ended her streak at three. Patterson got her first win in the Women's class at Big Buck just like she did last year. Martinez who finished second again this year still holds a commanding nine point lead over Becca Sheets who finished third.
Brad Bakken had a difficult time in the XC2 class finishing 24th, the first time he's been out of the Top 10 this year. He dropped to 11th place in the XC2 class standings.
2015 GNCC Round 4 XC1 Pro Results
- Kailub Russell - MotoSport rider
- Josh Strang
- Grant Baylor
- Chris Bach
- Steward Baylor
- Ryan Sipes
- Andrew Delong
- Takeshi Koikeda
- Chris Douglas
- Adam Bonneur
2015 GNCC Overall National Championship Standings
- Kailub Russell (120) - MotoSport rider
- Josh Strang (100)
- Grant Baylor (65)
- Thad DuVall (60)
- Chris Bach (55)
- Jordan Ashburn (44)
- Jason Thomas (38)
- Craig DeLong (36)
- Ryan Sipes (36)
- Trevor Bollinger (34)
