BEN KELLEY CAPTURES A RUNNER-UP FINISH AT THE JOHN PENTON GNCC

MILLFIELD, Ohio – Conditions were brutal for Sunday's John Penton GNCC but FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Ben Kelley pushed through three intense hours in the heat and humidity to claim a runner-up finish at Round 7 of the AMA Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series. Rounding out a positive day for the team was Josh Toth, who battled through an eventful day to earn a top-five finish in the XC1 Open Pro class.

With temperatures nearing 90 degrees in Ohio, the setting began to really heat up for the afternoon pro race. Kelley got a decent jump off the start and worked his way up to third on the opening lap but he crashed about five miles in and was forced to play catch-up early on. He was able to get up to second by the end of the first lap and he kept himself within striking distance of the leader, Ricky Russell, during the first hour of racing. Eventually making his move into the lead on lap three, Kelley built a solid gap of almost 15 seconds out front but he ran into a bottleneck in the single-track Penton section, allowing Russell to get by for the lead. Kelley reeled him back in to overtake the lead once again but he later encountered more congestion on the trail, which cost him his cushion out front. Using every ounce of energy to hold off a hard-charging Josh Strang in the final stretch, Kelley eventually got passed for the lead and this time he wasn’t able to counter the attack, ultimately finishing second on the day. With consistent finishes behind him thus far, Kelley continues to lead the way in the Overall Championship standings with six rounds remaining.