After the east coast was hit with a major rain storm, Fowler had plenty of practice leading up to the Snowshoe GNCC. He got a good jump off the line, but spun a bit on the concrete and went into the West Virginia woods in second. Just a few miles into the race Fowler was able to take over the leads, but not for long after he lost momentum over a rock and had to dismount his quad and move his front end. Once he got back on his bike, Fowler was back in fifth place. With the field still relatively close, he went back-and-forth from fifth to third as they continued to battle the tough course.

As the rain continued to fall at the midway point of the race, the track deteriorated more and it was evident that he needed to go into survival mode and end the race with the best possible finish. With vision less than desirable and “America’s toughest race” living up to its name, Fowler crossed the line just 17 seconds behind the leader for third overall.

“At the end of the day a third place was all we had,” said Fowler. “I’m not super thrilled with the result, but as far as points goes we came out of the toughest race of the year with a still healthy points lead!”