The Ironman GNCC in Crawfordsville, Indiana was a muddy one as rain thoroughly soaked the course on Friday and Saturday. Delong and his Fred Andrews Racing (FAR) Husqvarna teammate Nick Davis got out to top-ten starts, and made their way through the pack. Andrew worked his way into second and was battling for the lead before a crash on lap three sent him over the bars. Adding insult to injury, the bike landed on top of him and seared a burn into his back. Fortunately a spectator heard him scream and helped get the bike off him. Being the hard charger he is, Andrew still rejoined the race, only losing a minute. He was able to push on to the finish and get his TC250 on the podium with third-place.
"I had a good start and put myself in a good position all day long," Delong said. "I made a big mistake and got this big burn on my back. I pushed hard and got third today - another podium for the FAR Husqvarna team."
Davis went on to finish sixth after running as high as fourth, having slipped back in the standings after getting stuck in a mud hole.
"Both my guys are giving everything they have for the team," commented team owner Fred Andrews. "Never an excuse on what happened out on the track. We're looking forward to ending the season on a strong note at the Tennessee round."
Additionally, Nathan Ferderer worked his way up into the top ten and Jase Martin acquit himself well in his first start up from 250As. In fact, just over 20% of the XC2 finishers rode Husky.
In Everett, Washington, factory Husqvarna racers Kyle Redmond and Cory Graffunder were back in action, and once again were able to demonstrate remarkable consistency in the notoriously inconsistent AMA EnduroCross series. Round six of the series took place just north of Seattle, and challenged racers with a particularly tough uphill rock section, which both Redmond and Graffunder were able to tackle with ease on their FMF/Stillwell Performance TXC310 race bikes.
Graffunder made it into the main by way of his heat race while Redmond took it down to the wire by qualifying in the LCQ. "The last few rounds I was lucky enough to get in through my heat," Redmond said. "I had some extra track time tonight, but it worked out. I got my second top-five of the season."
Redmond went on to card a fifth-place finish in the main event, followed by his teammate, Graffunder. "We keep ending up battling with each other in the mains," Graffunder said of Redmond. "We both got around Justin Soule on the last lap to finish fifth and sixth. We're happy to score two more strong finishes for the team, but we're looking forward to getting a Husqvarna on the box before the end of the season."
Redmond and Graffunder are heading straight to Boise, Idaho for round seven of the GEICO AMA EnduroCross series, which takes place next weekend (October 27). "We have a lot of rounds really close together at this part of the year," Redmond said. "So we're glad to be on top of our program and riding strong right now. There's two more rounds to go and we'll be pushing hard for a podium."
While the EnduroCross series won't have a break before heading into the next round, the GNCC crowd will enjoy a weekend off before finishing up the season at Hurricane Mills, Tennessee on November 4.
For more information on the entire 2013 Husqvarna line-up, please go to www.husqvarna-motorcyclesna.com. Head to your nearest dealership to pick up a copy of the 2013 RiDE MORE Catalog, available now!
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