Corona, CA – After an international trip with races as far away as Calgary, Canada, Cory Graffunder was back to racing in his own backyard over the weekend at the third annual Prairie Dogs MC Last Dog Standing at Glen Helen Raceway. The extreme off-road event put Graffunder and his Husqvarna TXC310R to the test, but the Canadian was able to stand on the podium with a second-place finish at the end of the day.

“It was kind of an up and down day,” Cory said. “I was bummed about the first race being thrown out because I would have won if they didn’t. But a bunch of people got lost and it was mayhem so they threw it out in the final score.”

In the second race, Cory had a tough battle with Taylor Robert and ended up taking the win. “It wasn’t pretty,” Graffunder explained. “Right before the finish we crashed, kind of on top of each other. I got up first and won that one.”

A formidable hill climb proved to be the highlight of the third – and most difficult – race of the day. “The sun was right our eyes,” Cory recalled. “I tried it and didn’t make it, then Taylor tried it and he didn’t make it. At one point there were like five of us all taking turns making attempts. I got up it first and led the whole first lap (of the final race).”

Graffunder worked hard to hold off Robert in the next lap, but succumbed to second place after breaking a shift lever. After a quick pit stop to repair the lever, Cory rejoined the race in second place, where he remained to the finish.

“I’m still happy with the way it all went,” Graffunder said. “My TXC310R was running great, and kept up with all the 450s in the qualifier. Aside from the broken shifter I had no problems all day. Congrats to Taylor on the win. It was really fun riding with him.”