DeLong came into the weekend in Monterey, Tennessee, with high hopes of redemption following a troubled title defense to date, managing to work his way forward from seventh on lap one to cross the finish P4 by race's end onboard his Husqvarna Motorcycles FX 350.

"Today was a brutal one," admitted DeLong. "It was a new venue for the series, which is always exciting. The weather let it pour on Friday, but actually made today’s conditions pretty much perfect. We’re moving in the right direction with race results, but I’m still not where I want to be. It’s onwards and upwards from here – I’m ready to get to Indiana!"

XC1 Open Pro Class teammate Trevor Bollinger made a solid start to the race and featured inside the top five toward the beginning, before a crash in the middle stages of the race bumped him back down the order and he eventually took the checkered flag in seventh place for the weekend.

"I got off to a good start from the outside, ended up going into the woods about fourth," said Bollinger. "Was with the lead group there for a few laps, and I felt good today, the pace came pretty easy. I had a crash mid-race, so I lost two positions and sight of the leaders at that point, but I couldn’t find the pace once I got up and got going. I was comfortable today and felt good seeing the speed up toward the front... We’ll carry the positives into the next one."