Grant Baylor Claims First National Enduro Victory of Season Steward Baylor Jr. Locks Up 2025 Championship at Penultimate Round
MATTHEWS, Ind. – A longstanding stop on the Redline Oil AMA National Enduro Series, presented by MSR and Beta Motorcycles, the Seat Concepts Muddobbers National greeted competitors with unseasonably warm temperatures.
The race was held on Saturday to allow competitors the opportunity to spectate the FIM Motocross of Nations the following day in nearby Crawfordsville, Indiana, and key time was pushed back to 10:00 a.m. to allow riders more travel time.
Racers started the day with two 7.5-mile tests before they tackled an 8.5- and 8-mile section. Test five was shorter at just 4.5 miles, and the day ended with an 8.5-mile section. Trail conditions were largely ideal, despite a bit of dust in some sections.
2025 Series Champion
Finishing fourth on the day, Steward Baylor Jr. collected the 2025 Redline Oil AMA National Enduro Championship with one round yet to go. Despite dealing with both injuries and illness throughout the year, along with stiff competition from teammate Josh Toth, the Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki Team Green rider overcame the challenges to secure his sixth AMA National Enduro championship. The 31-year-old previously won the title in 2012, 2017-2019 and 2021.
“It definitely was not easy, but I was always in the right place at the right time and able to answer anything that Josh [Toth] threw at me,” said Steward Baylor Jr. “Obviously, I’m super bummed that it went down like that with Josh getting injured. I kind of played out the rounds, and I knew this would be a round where he would be really good. But after test one in Missouri, I just knew I needed to ride consistent. I did the math today, and luckily Ricky [Russell] took a little while to get going. So, we were playing with numbers, and I was able to just ride it out and do what I needed to do. It was a relatively low-pressure situation. No crashes today; no issues… Obviously, I always want to be on the podium, but today it was a little bit bigger picture. My dad texted me earlier in the week and said, ‘Are you going to go win the championship this week?’ I said, ‘I’m just going riding.’”
Overall Podium
The day started on a high note for Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki Team Green’s Grant Baylor and just kept getting better. He kicked off the day with a second place in Test 1. After that, he claimed victory in every remaining section of the day. It marked his first win and fourth National Enduro podium of the year.
“I really do enjoy this place,” said Grant Baylor. “I think I’ve got six wins here now. The first test was pretty good. I just tipped over one time in there and stalled the bike once. Evan [Smith] got me by about a second there. After that, I was just kind of riding my day. I knew that this is one of those places where you’ve got to ride your pace and let it come to you. So, that’s what I did. It all worked out… The first three tests, we were all right there together. But then I was able to creep away from them in test four. It was an awesome day. I’m really pumped to get this win and get back up on top. These last two years with injuries with the knee, it’s been tough. So, I’m stoked to be back up here.”
Evan Smith, mounted on an AmPro Yamaha, was the only one to top [Grant] Baylor in a test in Indiana. He opened the way with a test win and followed it up with second in the next section. Smith then went 4-2-4-4 on the remainder of the day.
“It was a great day,” said Evan Smith. “I’ve been waiting all year to be up here. I’ve been capable of it but had an injury at Sumter. It took all year to kind of get over it and get everything working right. Happy to finally pull it together. I don’t like to know how I’m riding during the day, so I just kind of rode my pace and did what I could. I fell in the last test and did my best to give it to Ricky [Russell] but got up in time. It was a good day. It was fun.”
Entering this round fresh off his first-ever National Enduro win, Enduro Engineering Triumph Off-Road Racing Team’s Ricky Russell went 4-4 through the first two sections before powering his TF450-X to a second-place result in Section 3. The NE Pro1 rider then went 3-2-2 to round out the day.
“I came into the day pretty confident but struggled a little bit,” said Ricky Russell. “I had a small technical issue in test one that kind of put me back a little. I was riding good, but these guys were on it. Grant [Baylor] and Evan [Smith] started off hot and stayed hot all day. I was able to creep a little bit toward the end there. Unfortunately, too little too late. Evan pulled it off by two seconds. Grant was gone, so the battle was kinda for second. Just two seconds between me and him. I’ll take third though.”
NE Pro2 Podium
It’s been an incredibly impressive season for Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki Team Green’s Nicholas Defeo. Landing on the podium five times prior to this event, the NE Pro2 rider was determined to add another to his tally. He opened the day with a second place in NE Pro2, then made suspension changes before topping the class in the next four sections. He capped off the day by taking second in class. It earned him his fourth class-victory of the season, as well as the NE Pro2 championship.
Washington’s Jayden Dahners put his KTM on the NE Pro2 podium, in second, with 4-4-2-2-2 results before winning the final test for NE Pro2. He noted that he lost his rear brakes in the last test, and that caused the front brakes to go too. However, he managed to cool them off in a creek crossing and get them back before finishing out the day.
Hunter Smith of North Carolina rounded out the NE Pro2 podium. He started the day with a third in class before going 6-4-6-4 and ending the day with another third-place result aboard his KTM. Like Dahners, Smith said that he struggled with not having rear brakes for probably four tests, as he kept losing them halfway through the tests, but he was still able to pull off a podium.
Women’s Elite Podium
Yet to finish off of the Women’s Elite podium this year, Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki Team Green’s Rachael Archer dominated the day, taking first in two tests and second through the next two. She ended the day with two first-place test results. Finishing nearly two minutes ahead of her nearest competitor, she notched her fourth class-win of the year.
Rieju’s Rachel Gutish has been challenging Archer throughout the season, and this round was no exception. She collected 2-2 results to get the day rolling before she won the next two tests. In her podium interview, she commented that something got caught in the rear brake caliper and tore it off in the second-to-last test. She tried to keep going but boiled her front brakes. After that, she slowed down to play it safe. She finished fifth in Section 5 and was able to take second to finish out the day.
The points have been close for the top three in Women’s Elite this season, and Enduro Engineering’s Shelby Turner has been in the mix with Archer and Gutish. The Canadian took third in all but one test on the day, where she seized second. It marked her sixth National Enduro podium aboard her GasGas in 2025.
Top Amateurs
James Jenkins has been in the spotlight, sweeping the 250A class this year aboard his Kawasaki and taking the class championship at the prior round. He stepped up to the AA class at this round and took that class win as well. Jenkins finished 14th overall at the Seat Concepts Muddobbers National with his 2-1-1-1-4-1 results in the AA class. Also in the AA class, Lane Whitmer took second on the day and clinched the 2025 class championship.
With Jenkins moving to the AA class, the door opened for Indiana’s Brody Amos to grab the 250A class win. The Husqvarna-mounted rider teetered between first and second in class throughout the day.
View full event results and series standings at nationalenduro.com/scoring. View podium interviews at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRcb9kX0hpM.
Overall Results – Seat Concepts Muddobbers National
1. Grant Baylor (KAW)
2. Evan Smith (YAM)
3. Ricky Russell (TRI)
4. Steward Baylor Jr. (KAW)
5. Ben Kelley (KTM)
6. Nicholas Defeo (KAW)
7. Jayden Dahners (KTM)
8. Hunter Smith (KTM)
9. Jhak Walker (BET)
10. Chase Landers (KTM)
About National Enduro Promoters Group (NEPG)
Established in 2008, National Enduro Promoters Group (NEPG) has operated the AMA National Enduro Series, in collaboration with local off-road motorcycle clubs around the country, designing fun and challenging single-track trail for both professional and amateur racers to enjoy. For more information, visit NationalEnduro.com.
About High Gear Success
High Gear Consulting LLC DBA High Gear Success is a motorsports communications and marketing strategy company located in Pataskala, Ohio, that helps motorsports companies, event organizers and racers get noticed, improve operations and increase revenue. Fueled by passion, CEO Heather Wilson Schiltz focuses strategies on engagement and awareness in order to drive results. Learn more at HighGearSuccess.com.
Photos by Mack Faint