As the front runners approached the pits on the third lap, Fowler made the pass for the lead after taking a new line through a mud hole. Although his pit crew was ready, Fowler elected not to pit in hopes of gaining time on McGill who did stop.

Brycen Neal also decided not to pit and began to put the pressure of Fowler. Around the eight-mile marker Fowler came face-to-face with a tree as he was going downhill, allowing Neal to take command of the lead. Fowler quickly remounted, but McGill was able to catch up and was right on his rear bumper as he got back on track. Fowler was able to use his advanced skillset to take a different line through another muddy section where Neal was hung up with a lapper, and take back over the lead as they went back through timing and scoring.

Even with the lead, the win didn’t come easy for Fowler. The pro hill climb was littered with lapped riders and Fowler tried his best to navigated through, but only made it three-quarters of the way up until coming to a stop and getting stuck himself. Neal, McGill and the rest of the pros also had issues further down the hill. After struggling to get back going, the infamous GNCC “Mud Fleas” came together to pull Fowler the rest of the way up the hill. With the luck of the crowd, Fowler gained a few seconds on the field behind him as they had a difficult time tackling the hill as well.