Ben Kelley made a bold statement at The Old Gray GNCC in Monterey, Tennessee, on April 13, becoming the first rider to win more than one round overall so far in the 2025 series. He achieved this feat in back-to-back rounds with vastly different conditions, proving his all-around abilities.
Photos by Mack Faint
The GNCC faithful had witnessed four different winners in the first four rounds before arriving at The Old Gray. The FMF KTM Factory rider had to overcome a setback at the start of the race, but just like at Camp Coker, Kelley got stronger as the race progressed. He laid down an absolutely blistering final two laps to overcome the one-minute deficit from the defending XC2 250 Pro Champion and current XC2 Pro points leader, FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Grant Davis, to claim the victory.
Kelley’s biggest mishap was at the start. “I had my finger resting a little too hard on the start button, and I accidentally started it early and had to shut it off, so I got a crappy start,” said Kelley. “I knew that they were going to stop me for a penalty. I was at the back of the pack and made a couple of passes on the first lap. Then I came around and saw the black flag. I’m like, ‘Dang,’ and I just pulled over and started cursing and swearing. The guy was just like, ‘I know, I know.’ Fifteen seconds went by, and that put me way back, like a minute plus.”
Riding in front of a hometown crowd, Flatrock Motorsports GasGas Factory Racing’s Jordan Ashburn, who missed the previous two rounds due to a fall in Florida, grabbed the holeshot ahead of Phoenix Honda Racing’s Mike Witkowski to start the race on the short but technical and rocky course.
FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Grant Davis was already into the overall lead on adjusted time by the end of the lap after turning the fastest lap time of the opening circuit, closing in on the tail end of the XC1 riders.
Red Bear Rocky Mountain Kawasaki brothers Steward and Grant Baylor got good starts for a change, and they fought over third and fourth in the first couple of laps. At the same time, the two Russells, AmPro Yamaha’s Kailub Russell and Enduro Engineering Triumph Racing’s Ricky Russell, followed.
Phoenix Honda Racing’s Cody Barnes and FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Angus Riordan began a battle for second in the XC2 250 Pro class and top five overall that would last the entire three-hour, seven-lap race.
Steward was soon into the lead and looking in control as Ashburn and Witkowski chased. The trio extended a gap that included Ricky Russell, Grant Baylor and Kailub Russell. On adjusted time, however (the XC2 class starts one minute behind the XC1 class), the overall positions were Davis, FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Angus Riordan, Red Bear Rocky Mountain Kawasaki’s Josh Toth, Flatrock Motorsports GasGas Factory Racing’s Jason Tino and Steward Baylor.
Ashburn didn’t make it easy on Steward, the Tennessee native sniffing Baylor’s tailpipe for the entirety of lap three. Meanwhile, Davis was consistently turning some of the fastest lap times.
Steward bobbled on lap four, allowing Witkowski to take the lead, although the Honda rider later took a rock to his clutch cover and had to stop his race when he lost all his clutch fluid. This mishap allowed Steward back into the lead, ahead of Ricky Russell, Kailub Russell and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong.
Lap five took its toll on several riders, as Ashburn caught a tree and tore one of his radiators off, Steward did nearly the same thing, but only tore off a radiator hose, putting both riders on extended pit stops. Meanwhile, Toth lost his front end, wrapped himself around a tree and decided to call it quits when he began to cough up blood.
Kelley continued to haul the mail up front, pulling away from a fierce battle between the two Russells, with Ricky leading for a lap and then giving way to Kailub. Ricky held down second behind Kelley on the final lap until less than a mile from the finish, when a lapper forced him off his line.
“I had it with about half mile to go, and some lappers screwed me up, and Kailub snuck by for that final overall spot,” said Ricky. “So that was a bummer, but it’s a huge improvement from where I’ve been.” Ricky went on to finish fourth overall and third in the XC1 division.
Kelley had made up all but 14 seconds of the adjusted time difference between Davis and himself after Davis made a mistake and went down in the mud with a few laps to go. On the final lap, Kelley demonstrated his endurance and determination by beating out Davis for the overall victory. Davis was second overall and first in the XC2 division, with Kailub Russell rounding out the podium with third overall and second in the XC1 class.
“As well as Grant is riding, I knew it was going to be tough to have to work through the pack and pull a minute on him,” said Kelley. “I just kept fighting all day. I feel like my bike was pretty good through the rocks, but then it was a little too soft in other places, and I had a few sketchy moments. But I think as the track got rougher throughout the day, it started to get a little bit better, and I just figured out how to ride it.”
Davis was, for sure, one of the fastest riders on the track, but the final results came down to who made the fewest mistakes on a tricky course.
“I made a wrong call on my bike choice,” said Davis. “I got to get better in the rocks, and other than that, Ben put it on me today. It should have been me, but he rode good, and he killed it, but I’m still glad for second overall and staying in points.”
Third overall wasn’t bad for eight-time GNCC champion Kailub Russell, who is still getting used to his new ride.
“It was kind of chaotic there for a little bit,” said Kailub. “I got gobbled up pretty good on the start. It was super slick, and I was sliding around in the field, but, honestly, it was all kind of a blur. I know Ben was right next to me. I knew he started his bike early, and I knew that was going to cost him. I rode super tight on the first two laps. It was just a pretty average day for me.”
Cody Barnes was fifth overall after coming out on top of a battle with Riordan. Barnes turned the fastest lap on two separate occasions.
Craig DeLong brought his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna across the line in sixth, ahead of Am Pro Yamaha’s Liam Draper, who nipped Factory Beta Racing’s Josh Strang by just five seconds.
Riordan was ninth overall and fourth XC2 rider, with round-one overall winner Nicholas DeFeo (Kawasaki) rounding out the top 10 and finishing fourth in the XC2 division.
FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Jonny Girroir elected to sit out the race after talking to the track doctor and his team. Girroir hit his head at the previous round at Camp Coker and was feeling dizzy.
Jonathon Johnson (GasGas) dropped back to the FMF XC3 125 class, in which he claimed an easy victory over James Jenkins (Yamaha) and Huck Jenkins (Yamaha).
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Korie Steede jumped out into the lead in the Women’s WXC class and battled for a while with Red Bear Rocky Mountain Kawasaki’s Rachael Archer. However, Phoenix Honda Racing’s Tayla Jones moved into the picture, and from there, it was a three-way battle to the finish, with Steede coming out on top.
“It was a gnarly one,” said Steede. “I battled with Archer for a lap or two, and then Tayla and I went at each other, and we took it down to the last lap. Fortunately, I was able to get the lead on the final lap.”
Archer came home in third, while Shelby Turner (GasGas) and Brooke Cosner (Kawasaki) rounded out the top five.
2025 GNCC Round 5 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Ben Kelley (KTM) 2:59:43.439
- Grant Davis (KTM) 3:00:13.779
- Kailub Russell (Yam) 3:00:38.430
- Ricky Russell (Tri) 3:00:40.558
- Cody Barnes (Hon) 3:01:09.438
- Craig DeLong (Hus) 3:01:19.619
- Liam Draper (Yam) 3:01:59.490
- Josh Strang (Bet) 3:02:04.588
- Angus Riordan (KTM) 3:02:12.934
- Nicholas DeFeo (Kaw) 3:04:33.053
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