On lap four, Mullins lost considerable ground when he got stuck on a nasty hill, but he managed to get going without losing a position and made it to the finish with a little over 10 seconds to spare to grab the runner-up finish.
"I made a few mistakes after the gas stop but I felt I rode pretty good overall," said Mullins. "Kailub rode a good race and I didn't really have much for him. I just did the best I could to keep it on two wheels, and luckily I did what I had to and finished ahead of the people I needed to."
DuVall rounded out the podium, after fending off a last-turn pass attempt by Whibley. The West Virginia rider has steadily improved since the summer break and was extremely strong over the final lap of the race.
Whibley, who took the $250 Motosport.com Holeshot Award at the start of the race, held on for fourth, but collapsed after crossing the finish line, obviously in pain from the collision he had with DuVall at the finish.
Fifth place went to Strang, the FMF/Makita Suzuki rider losing valuable points to Mullins in the championship battle, and with only three races remaining on the schedule, the defending series champ sits a full 26 points behind Mullins.
JG Off-road/GEICO Powersports Honda's Jimmy Jarrett turned in a solid ride for sixth, beating out eight-time National Enduro Champ Michael Lafferty (Hsb) and Nate Kanney on WMR Racing/Clockwork/Planet Fitness KTM.
Beta rider Jesse Robinson finished ninth, while JG Off-road/GEICO Powersports Honda's Scotty Watkins rounded out the top 10 in his first ride in the XC1 class this year.
Steward Baylor Jr. got back on track in the XC2 class with an impressive flag-to-flag win after grabbing the $100 Motosport.com Holeshot Award to start the race. The KTM rider was in contention for the overall during the early going and finished off the XC2 race a full two minutes ahead of second place finisher Jordan Ashburn on the Am-Pro/FMF/Yamaha YZ250F.
FAR Husqvarna's Jason Thomas rounded out the podium and maintains second place in the series standings, 38 points behind Baylor.
Fourth went to JG Off-road/GEICO Powersports Honda's Rory Mead, who dropped back from the XC1 class for this race.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania KTM rider Andrew DeLong finished fifth, ahead of Morgan Moss, who rode in third place for a good portion of the race on a 2012 YZ250F for Obermeyer Yamaha.
The 2011 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series heads to Crawfordsville, Indiana for the Amsoil Ironman GNCC on October 22 & 23. ATV racing will take place on Saturday, followed by bike racing on Sunday. For more information, please visit www.gnccracing.com.
Main Photo: Kailub Russell clears the big mud hole.
Credit: Shan Moore
