 | The cleanest quad
award goes to...... |
"Mudapalooza", "Sludgefest 2006", and any other
titles including slick wet conditions is what could be used to
describe this past weekend's GNCC in St Clairsville Ohio. With a
Champion crowned and a true champion stepping down for good, I just
do not know which story to tell first. And that's not even getting
to the race - that despite the rain, did go on. The temperature was a frigid 50 to 60 degrees,
and with the rain steadily changing between mist and shower most
racers reluctantly inched their way to the starting line for the
morning race. Just getting to the starting area was a challenge and
some riders brought their own mud from the parking areas. I don't
know about you but this isn't my idea of race conditions. A warm
blanket on the front porch of a mountain home would have been
better. With the morning race underway, Traci
Cecco and Stephanie Parton fought hard to
become number one. Traci would take the win but with only one point
separating these two this season, the ladies will have to box it
out at the final round. Stefanie Verkade would
hold on to a great race placing third, with Angel
Atwell making the fourth spot and Shanna
Bradshaw coming in fifth. It was good to see Jean
Lovely back at the races and finishing in sixth. | Mickey Dulap's Fourstroke tech on
the hunt |
The Class of the morning race once again was the
Four Stroke Stock class. As the morning wound up its activities,
the lead riders in this class would be Jarrod McClure,
Billy Good and Micheal Sroka. Sroka would
just barley miss the overall podium though, because Traci Cecco had
a mission to accomplish and Stephanie Parton was trying to stop
her. The morning podium had Jarrod McClure from Kaska PA. taking
home yet another Class win and morning overall with Billy Good
looking on in second and Traci Cecco slipping into the third
spot.
| Penland and his Bomb explode on the
competition. |
The Utility Stock class was another sight, as
Dirt Wheels Editor and ATV racer Cain Smead was on
hand to try his luck on the new Outlander 800 by Bombardier.
Although Kevin Trantham won the Ute class, Cain
made an impressive second place finish just in front of the
reigning champion Mike Penland. Mike is now tied
for first place with his friend Ken Robey and
Micheal Swift is only one point back with 168
total points. This has got to be the tightest I have the Utility
Stock class in many years. With so much young and determined talent coming
up in our series I have to wonder how long the current champions
are going to be able to hold them off. I recently interviewed Mike
Penland at his home in Rabun Gap Georgia and he will answer that
very question and also speak of his plans for the
“AFTER” years. Look for that coming in November. Does anyone know who this Jim
Stack guy is? Is this possibly the pilot of the
ever-elusive “HONZILLA”?. I had the chance to meet Jim
at the Yadkin Valley Stomp and I can tell you that this guy has
some strong determination and we can expect to see him more often
in the future. Jim Stack had a great day at the Powerline park. Jim
won the Ute Modified class and placed an impressive 19 th overall.
Just behind Jim was a familiar name in the GNC racing series.
Tom Farr, brother of Tim Farr, would take his
Suzuki King Quad home in the second place position. Looks as though
Tom may be trying to get his own 15 minutes of fame and doing it in
big fashion on the heaviest Utility on the market. So here we are at the third place position with
Jason White. Jason has been trying all season to
get his brutally orange Brute force powerhouse under control and he
takes his second third place of the season. Jason finished his best
back in round seven at the John Penton taking home
second at that mudfest. Scott Kilby, our Utility
Mod Champion, would find trouble and not even complete one lap.
Scott has won the class championship this year but I think as a
racer he probably would have loved to get in the competition -
after all, the tractors love the mud! We can expect great things
from the Team Penland Brothers group of Mike and Scott, as
Bombardier is determined to make a statement in the utility/rec
market. If you have ever wanted a powerful workhorse that has been
proven at the Farm and on the track step up your game and get the
Outlander 800.  | Everyone needed a Ute this
weekend |
The Unlimited class saw Doug
Henke in the first place spot and I hope this is finally a
sign of things to come. I think Doug is a very respectable guy and
I wish him the best in whatever class he decides to race in.
Wrapping up second place is Kevin Johnston. Kevin
has sported the pink plastic at the last few races in support of
the fight against Breast Cancer. Kevin has also started a new
revolution in the pink casual wear with shirts, that read
”Tough guys wear Pink”. Breast Cancer is something we
all should be aware of because it can effect any of us, any time.
Cudo's to Kevin for stepping up to the call. Curtis Hall,
Dave Ecker and George Richards made it
five in the Unlimited class. As our final class for the morning I wanted to
recognize the First Year racers. These two groups of guys (and
sometimes girls) get little, if any, spotlight. They race hard and
some will move on in the coming years to become series champions in
their perspective classes. The FYR 16-24 Class had 25 riders and
#607 Robert Andres of Frostburg MD rode hard all
day to come out on top in the number one position. His closest
competition was #556 Matt Davis from Barnsville
Ohio. Matt was just under two minutes behind Robert. Third place
would go to a very excited but tired Adam Cooper
from Mineral Wells West Virginia. Tyler Martin and
Nathan Hornacek made up the fourth and fifth
spots. In our FYR 25+ Class Jerry
Ruten of Waynesburg PA. gave an impressive ride as he took
the first place plaque there and was the only rider of this class
to complete three laps. Thomas Craw scooted into
second and Ryan Cook along with Benjamin
Sall and Jarrett Davis made the top five
. Congrat's to all these guys for a great effort in not so
pleasurable conditions. 
Moving on to our evening race coverage, I bring
you “MORE RAIN”. If this series was like WWF Wrestling
I think the rain would be the bad guy and the mud would be the
annoying manager that stands on the side of the ring and makes fun
of the less-than-in-shape wrestler he's beating. It seems to help
some riders but with most, it just adds weight and destroys
equiptment. The Pro class was off and roaring to the field
sections and a determined Chris Borich made the
pass that would ultimately secure the overall win for his day of
racing. Bill Balance had taken his
holeshot with pride, but knowing he just needed to finish safely,
Bill rode a smart race. Bill would still get his Factory Yamaha on
the podium and once again take our series to a new level.This isn't
a speed record or level of ability but a mark of a true Champion
and his capability's as Persistance has overridden Resistance.
Being on the podium is surely no unfamiliar ground for Bill but to
be here after such a season shows that if your hearts in it so will
you reap the harvest in due time. Congratulations to the 6 th time
Grand National Cross Country Champion Bill Balance. | This is what champions are made
of. |
Chris Borich went on to say “I've learned
you have to slow down in order to go faster in the mud.” When asked about his championship battle, Chris
stated ” I guess it just wasn't my year.” With the excitement growing on the podium a very
happy William Yokley wasn't holding back the
smiles. “My Yoshimura Suzuki never let me down and
the fans kept me pumped up all around the track” says
Yokley. William will be able to keep the number three
for the next season as Matt Smiley and
Chris Jenks battle for the number four plate.
There is only two points separating these guys and it looks like it
will come down to the last race of this season. Chris Jenks has
made his pro debut and he plans on keeping a forward motion into
next year. Matt Smiley will be sporting the new Polaris Outlaw in
next seasons competition and I think with Matt at the controls he
will make them proud. Pro Am class Champion Adam
Mcgill moved up into the Big Boys class this week and
placed 19 th . The Pro am class winner for the day was
Duane Johnson and right on his bumper was
Rob Hertz who ran the best race of his season.
Scott Barron and James Wahl made
third and fourth, leaving Joshua Ribley to round
out the top five. The door is wide open for anyone in this class to
step it up next year. I can almost see Scott “Red”
Barron fighting it out to the last race with Duane Johnson for the
Pro Am Plate next year. (Wow, we still have one more race and I
have already started talking of next year...) So here we are with the final race just before
us and another chapter of GNCC racing in the books. I have heard
some rumors in the Duvall camp this season and those were confirmed
this weekend. It seems that Chad Duvall will be stepping out of the
Series and concentrating on his son Thad's MX career. Chad has been
through a lot this season and has kept his head up through it all.
Earlier on he was troubled with health issues that would have
almost immediately sidelined anyone else. Chad has been a part of
GNCC racing for as long as I can remember and we wish him the best
of luck in what ever he decides. Chad assured us that he would
still be poking around on race day as his son Thad will still
compete in the Motorcycle side of GNCC. With all the mud, rain and
cold temperatures behind I hope that the final Race of the season
will be better. I love the Crawfordsville race personally. My wife
and I travel to this race together and its nice to enjoy a sport
that is so family oriented. The
Ironman will surely bring us new champions and reinstate some old
ones. Come and join us as we get ready to watch the battles really
heat up at the final race of Americas series the Grand National
Cross Country Series. -rs
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