Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1540850
October By noon me, the ordinarily pale clay had been baked into a sandy mess, with roots running like wrinkles along tanned skin. Wai ng for the final race to take off, I sat staring longingly out into the field, imagining tumbleweeds rolling by. I'm not sure if I was hallucina ng, but I could've sworn I saw Olin Daniels walking around too. I shook it off—it couldn't have been. He's supposed to be in South Carolina! A er ten rounds, the championship has been a total nail-biter, with uncertainty as to who's going to take the reins. Normally, by this point, a clear tle favorite has manifested, but that hasn't been the case this season. Currently si ng in the number one spot, Tyler Rocha has logged three domina ng wins. He had a poten ally disastrous Round 4—while in the lead with a mile to go, he slammed into a berm so hard his rear re came off the rim. Somehow, he managed to navigate the last mile on nothing but a metal rim, figh ng the rear re—a twisted ball dragging and pulling him down. He miraculously finished the race in 3rd, relying on sheer will and determina on. A mighty effort to save his champion- ship run. Tyler's KTM 250 SX-F normally handles the faster tracks brilliantly, and I expected him to be in the leading pack. Jon McDougal sits second in the championship, capi- talizing on Tyler's struggle at Round 4 with a win and some decent top 5s. Jon falls 21 points back from Tyler, and he's going to have to be strong in the last five rounds if he's going to win this championship. Dennis LeBlanc sits 14 points back in third, with Adam Lewis only a point behind him. Dennis has been so close to nabbing his first win, with a strong 2nd at Moose Valley. More of a Ryan Dungey type (coincidentally also #5). He sits in a strong third be- cause of his calm consistency, which could prove to be enough to win this championship. Of course, when factoring in the three end-of-year drops allo ed and work credits, the results are a lot closer than they appear. Every point counts, and it's going to come down to the wire—especially when the likes of Brayden Nolle e and Olin Daniels step in the ring to play spoiler. Brayden Nole e Brayden Nole e