2017 Last Dog Standing
The Prairie Dogs 2017 Last Dog Standing – newly presented by EnduroCross – took place at Glen Helen, where once again, FMF KTM rider Cody Webb put on a show, dominating the extreme race ahead of SRT Husqvarna’s Kyle Redmond. Webb and Redmond put on quite a show, riding their own race for the most part, and after some close dueling through the dusty ridges and canyons of Glen Helen Raceway, Webb reaffirmed his dominance as the top dog. Redmond had to settle for second while GasGas rider Noah Kepple crossed the finish in a distant third, having bested Beta USA’s Ty Cullins for the final podium position.
Mother Nature was rather kind, offering up some cloud cover and cooler temperatures for the 2017 Last Dog Standing, but dust was still a significant factor. And following the rainy winter, the brush was thicker than ever, presenting yet another obstacle for Webb and Redmond as they traded the lead in the first lap of the two-lap final.
“I pushed real hard and opened up a nice gap at the beginning,” said Webb. “We came to a new canyon they had us go up. I tried going right up the center and didn’t get anywhere. I tried to turn around and got stuck real bad and Kyle just shot up the left on the ridge and just totally passed me. He dropped me right away when I was still stuck there. I was like ‘Gosh darnit…’ [laughs] Now I really gotta hammer down!’”
On his second pass, Webb made his way up without a problem and then got to work chasing down Redmond. “I ate way too much dust. Every canyon was so narrow; there was no way to get around him,” Webb said. “I was just stuck in the dust cloud. I swear my lungs were hurting by the time the race was done.”
Once around Redmond, Webb got out to a good lead and completed the second lap with a solid three-minute buffer on Redmond. Behind the lead duo, the battle for third went on between Noah Kepple and Ty Cullins, who had battled together throughout the day. Cullins’ day took a turn for the worse when he fell off the cement pipes near the finish line, but he still held on to take fourth, completing a single lap in the final.
Webb’s victory makes him a four-time winner at the Last Dog Standing event. He and Redmond are both now headed to Erzberg where they will face off once again.
