This season's XC2 division was undoubtedly dominated by the 2011 Champion Steward Baylor Jr., riding alongside the factory KTM rig each weekend and a GNCC household name in the Lites division continues to be FAR's Jason Thomas, who didn't have the best luck in the final rounds of racing, but managed to pull off consistent podium finishes until the end. And then there's AmPro/Obermeyer Yamaha's Jordan Ashburn, who had a mid-season winning streak and pushed his way into the second place points position with a strong comeback in the second half of racing. But one rider that seemed to get overlooked all year was Pennsylvania's Andrew DeLong and it wasn't until Fred Andrew's Racing (FAR Husqvarna) picked up the hard working country boy that people started realizing who this kid was. However, DeLong has put up some of the most consistent finishes in the XC2 class, finally clinching his first win on Sunday's Loretta Lynn season finale. Signed and sealed for next year, Andrew DeLong is already looking forward to big changes in 2012. We caught up with him after a solid weekend of racing at the Ranch.
GNCC Racing: First off, congrats on your first XC2 win this weekend!
DeLong: Yeah I was pretty pumped on that! I've been trying to get one all year and I guess it's pretty good that I got one at the last round!
Photo By: Husky
Ironman was Andrew's first go on the new bike, he rode an impressive 3rd place
Tell us about your battle with teammate Jason Thomas.
I had a pretty good start out front and Jordan [Ashburn] and Stu [Baylor] sort of checked out on Jason [Thomas] and I. It took me a little bit longer that I thought to get around the new French rider, but once I got around him, I sort of put the hammer down and caught Jason and passed him. I caught Stu when he pitted and we got a pit board saying Jordan was 45 seconds to a minute ahead of us and me and Stu sort of hooked up on the third lap and then the next lap we caught Jordan. I passed Stu in the pits and pulled away. I caught Jordan in the woods and he was sort of cruising - it looked like he was tired. I guess he was fighting the 250 a little and then he let me go by and I just sort of rode my own pace, I didn't want to tire myself out too bad. Jason then caught me and he was really pinning it so I jumped in behind him and the last lap I was going to make my move but a lapper actually came down on Jason on a hill and I saw a hole so I went for it and sort of pinned it by. I tried to gap the boys in case something bad happened, and nothing bad happened so I'm pretty pumped on that.
You had another podium finish on Friday, did the double-header affect you at all?
I mean, I did six-days two years in a row so I think my strength is alive when people get more tired towards the end. Sometimes I get tired, yeah, but I was always taught to push through the pain and just go for it. That sort of drives me and it's the tough that come out in the end. That's what I try to do, I just try to keep pushing through and it seemed to work for me this weekend. I live out in the woods and I work on a farm and that's just how I was brought up my whole life.
What's your training program like?
I actually work at a scrap yard every day from 7-4 and I really haven't been able to train because I've always been tired from work. I'm lucky if I ride like once or twice a week and I try to work out and run before it gets dark but sometimes it doesn't work out because I'm so busy. I try to ride as much as possible to keep in touch with the bike but most of my training I just try to go for a run and do some pushups and sit-ups after work.
It's sort of frustrating for me, you know, I travel every Sunday night just to be back to work on Monday and it sort of hurts me but it makes it all more worth the while when I get rewards out of it. It makes me happy that Fred stepped up and helped me out and it just makes it better. There were times I wasn't training at all, I would be so tired after work that I'd come home and work on my bike and then go to bed.
Ok, so let's rewind. You started off the season on a KTM, who was helping you out?
I had a KTM Regional ride that Brooks Hamilton was helping me out with where you just do the regional races. My plan was to do Florida and Georgia and see how I did -and I did pretty good (4th and 6th) and we sort of made the commitment after that to run the rest of the GNCCs. That's how I kind of lost my regional ride, because I started to run the Nationals but my local dealer still let me ride the bike and everything so I kind of did the rest by myself, it was pretty much a full privateer effort.
Photo By: Husky
Hard work has paid off for this Pennsylvania boy
Before Ironman, Fred Andrews gave me a call and he said he'd been talking to a couple people and he knew I was a pretty good kid and I guess he liked the drive that I had in racing. After I got home from riding a Beta in France, he called me to ask if I wanted to come out and try a bike, maybe looking at me for next year. I came down and I really liked the bike and I rode with Jason [Thomas] a little bit and I felt good on the bike. Then I went to Powerline Park and I didn't really have a good ride on my KTM and Fred gave me another call and he said he wanted me to fill in the rest of the season on the Husky. I was a little cautious at the beginning because I didn't know if it was going to be a good move or not, but I looked at the points and I couldn't really go down so I figured if I needed help for next year and they're willing to help, maybe I should start riding the bike and try to develop it to suit my style a little more. So I made the commitment with Fred to finish out the year on a Husky 250F.
You were basically the silent sleeper in the XC2 class - one of the most consistent guys in the top 5 but no one really knew about you. Crazy!
Yeah, I only did east coast GNCCs when I was younger like Somerset, Unadilla, Florida, Georgia and that's it. I would listen in to the webcast shows and stuff and I wouldn't hear my name too much and I just sort of went under the radar I guess. I just tried to stay consistent and I knew I could run up front I just knew I had to get good breaks. Towards the end of the year I usually start to pick it up pretty heavy. I think the turning point this year was Somerset because it's like my home - I ride in the rocks all the time and I had a really good ride there. I think I could have won there but I had some bad luck. I'm really excited to start testing and actually get a bike developed for me and go out and race it. I feel like I'm more mature now and I know what I can do and I know I can win so I'm excited and I can't wait for Florida.
What is it like to be a part of the FAR team and learn from one of the sport's greats, Fred Andrews?
Fred knows his stuff, I mean the first track walk I went on with him at Ironman, he showed me a lot because he knows where to go. I've never done all the GNCCs, so I don't really know where to go. He's still a rider so he's very knowledgeable and he's won multiple championships so to have him there to talk to about bike set up and stuff is really, really good. You also have Joey, who's one of the best mechanics on pit row - he's got years of experience setting up the bikes and making the bike work better all around. Even talking to Jason - he's been riding Huskys for a while now and he knows what the bike does and he knows what to do to change it. There's just so much knowledge there that I can bounce questions off everyone and they have the answers, it makes it more of a learning curve for me.
Were there any major adjustments to the new bike?
Not really, they put a shorter pipe on it because my weight is a little heavy for a 250F so it brings it down. It gives me more power on the bottom and gets me out of the holes and other than just some spring rates, I just ride it how it is and I was pumped with it. I've only had three weeks on the bike but it's a really good bike and I really like the people at FAR. It's a family effort. I've had some other people talking to me but I really liked what Fred had, they have really good organization and the mechanic Joey is really good. I felt that I was more at home there than I was anywhere else. I know the big industries are where everyone wants to be but I come from a pretty small town and everybody knows everybody so I feel more at home here than I do anywhere else. It means a lot when I can sit down at a dinner table with - I guess you can call him my boss - and he's cool with me. That just makes it that much better for me to do well; I like the environment of a small company.
Photo By: Husky
DeLong finally caught the break he was looking for with FAR
So are you singed to ride for them again next year?
Yeah I signed a one-year deal with Fred and Husky for XC2 in GNCC and the Pro class at the National Enduros. I just want to say thanks to Fred and his family and the mechanic Joey. Maxxis, Fly, FAR, X Brand Goggles, Enduro Engineering and everybody that's helped me to get where I am. And of course, my mom, dad and brother.
What are your plans for the winter? Working or riding?
I actually will probably keep working until the end of December when I leave for Florida at the end of December to start training and riding again. Next year I'll probably take off work and really try to put my focus into racing. I think if I could actually ride 3-4 times a week instead of just once for 30 minutes a week, I would do a lot better. This year when I would go to the races, that was my practice AND my race. Sometimes at the races I would feel naked on the bike because I didn't have enough time on it that week, but other weeks when I could ride I did really good. I'm going to put most of my time and work into racing next year and try to get an XC2 championship.
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