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GNCC ATV Awards Banquet
Four Points Sheraton

Cranberry, PA
November 24, 2006

2006 Grand National Cross Country Awards Banquet

GNCC Banquet Links
Mark Pittman (Novice C 22+) Champion proposed on stage to his girlfriend after receiving his awards
Cranberry, PA - The 2006 GNCC Awards Banquet was held this past Thanksgiving weekend at Four Points Sheraton in Cranberry, PA, which was an all new location. For years, the GNCC banquet has been held in Morgantown, WV at Lake View Resort, but the facility was no longer large enough to accommodate the ever growing GNCC family. While other forms of ATV racing experienced a decline in attendance, GNCC racing continued to grow with an increase in attendance, which made for one of the most competitive years of racing as highly competitive racers chased after the 27 class championships up for grabs.

With over 600 riders and families in attendance, the banquet hall was nearly filled to capacity, and the awards ceremony began shortly after dinner at 6PM and lasted to nearly 11PM. The top finishers in every class was invited on stage to accept their awards with the top five receiving very attractive plate trophies with the rest receiving traditional plaques. As usual, Racer Productions had a room full of contingency prizes, which were distributed to the top five finishers in every class. Prizes ranged from ITP tires, Thor riding boots, Ogio gear bags, championship jackets, and many other great prizes donated by all the GNCC Series sponsors.

A room packed full of contigency prizes were given out to the top five class finishers
2006 was one of the most exciting years of racing in the Pro Class as Bill Ballance chased after yet another championship with Chris Borich giving him a run for his money early on in the season, but a string of bad luck for Chris Borich opened the door for Bill Ballance to secure a record tying seventh consecutive GNCC ATV Pro Championship, which tied ATV racing legend, Barry Hawk. For his seventh championship, Racer Productions awarded Bill Ballance with the GNCC championship ring with seven diamonds to commemorate each of his championships, and he was once again awarded “Rider of the Year.” As a new tradition, the pro champion, Bill Ballance, presented the “Youth Rider of the Year” Award to Youth Overall Champion, Walker Fowler.

Pro Class Top 10 (Left to Right)
Bill Ballance, Chris Borich, Chris Jenks, Chris Bithell, Adam McGill, Bryan Baker, Brandon Ballance
2006 was also a big year for young talent in the pro class, with Duane Johnson, Chris Bithell, and Adam McGill all making their pro debut, and by the end of the year all three earned multiple podium finishes. Duane Johnson was biggest surprise of them all by never finishing out of the top 10 overall all season, and his consistency secured him third overall ahead of veterans Chris Jenks and William Yokley with his peers Chris Bithell and Adam McGill finishing respectively in 6th and 7th Overall. Duane Johnson was awarded “Most Improved Rider” for his outstanding accomplishment, but he wasn’t in attendance to accept his award because he was home with his wife and newborn.

Women Top 10 (Left to Right)
Traci Cecco, Angel Atwell, Stefanie Verkade, Lexie Coulter, Kristen Atwell. Shanna Bradshaw
In the Morning Racing, no one rider stood out more in 2007 than Yamaha’s Traci Cecco. Unlike in years past, Traci Cecco dominated the women’s class over Angel Atwell and Stephanie Parton. Traci credited her success to Ballance Racing and Johnny Gallagher for stepping up to the plate for her at the beginning of 2006, and she plans to continue to race under the blue tent again 2007 as she goes after her sixth championship.

Racer Productions brought back the "Best Bod" Contest with the GNCC Ladies nominated the male racers, and Adam McGill put on a real show in an attempt to win the trophy, but Brandon Sommers stole the show by ripping off his shirt to claim the prize
John Gallagher also rocked the ATV world in 2006 by earning his second career podium finish at the Wisp in the Super Senior Class 50+ onboard his all-new Polaris Outlaw with its revolutionary independent rear suspension system, and he would go on to win his third consecutive Super Senior Championship as he approaches the sixty year mark, but there isn’t any plans for a 60+ class in 2007, so he will be back again to defend his title in 2007 on KTM powered Polaris Outlaw 525.

John Gallagher felt like a kid again with his RacerX Lunch Box
There were plenty of Shutter Bugs with digital cameras to capture the moment
With 2006 in the record books, the 2007 race season will be underway before you know it, and as always, there were some exciting changes announced for 2007 at the banquet. One of the biggest changes is all the new classes for 2007. There will no longer be any 4 Stroke, 2 Stroke, or Stock Classes, and the all the classes will now be based on age and skill level. The Youth Production (13-15) Class will be added fulltime to the Morning program, and the Utility Classes have been expanded and renamed 4x4 Open, 4x4 Limited, and 4x4 Lites. The 4x4 Lites Class will be for 500cc and under utility ATVs, which until 2007 never really had a place to compete and be competitive. Finally, the Women's Class will be split into two classes with a Women and Women Sport Class to give novice women riders a chance to get a taste for GNCC racing without racing against the fastest women racers in the world.

Team Can-AM (Left to Right)
Jeff Gruhke, Clifton Beasley, Michael Swift, Scott Kilby, Mike Penland, Mark Warnert
Several new locations will also be introduced in 2007 with the season kicking off in Vero Beach, FL and two new Pennsylvania locations and one Kentucky location is under review to replace the final two TBA events on the schedule with Brownsville, PA as strong contender for hosting an event with a new parking lot.

As always, the GNCC banquet was a fun filled evening, which for many lasted till well after Midnight, and now it is time to begin preparing for 2007 because the start of the season is only a little over three months away.

GNCC Specialty Award Winners
Bill Ballance
Rider of the Year
Duane Johnson
Most Improved Rider
Walker Fowler
Youth Rider of the Year
Kurt Marshall
Good Samaritian
Brock Parker
Sportsman of the Year
Stefani Verkade
Hard Luck
Chuck DeBault
Award of Media Excellence
Cheryl Bithell
Rough & Ready Pit Crew
GT Thunder
Sponsor of the Year

The AMA-sanctioned Suzuki Grand National Cross Country series is America's premier off-road racing series. The 13-round series is produced exclusively by Racer Productions. Cross-country racing is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. The nearly three-hour long GNCC races lead as many as 1800 riders through tracks ranging from eight to twelve miles in length. With varied terrain including hills, trees, mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of both survival and speed. GNCC featured sponsors include Parts Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis, Pirelli, Wiseco, Klotz, FMF and ITP, and riders compete for over $2.8 million in series prizes and contingency money. Associate sponsors include Moose Utility Division, Scott, Acerbis, Alpinestars, Cometic, Outerwears, Twin Air, Polisport Plastics, Thor, Motion Pro, Hyper Wheels, Elka Suspension, MotoTee's, Weekend Warrior, Owens Motorsports, Tom's Marina Polaris, EK Chain and Laeger's. Media Sponsors include Dirt Rider Magazine, ATV Sport Magazine, www.ATVRiders.com and Racer X Illustrated. For more information log on to www.GNCCRacing.com.


www.gnccracing.com
122 Vista Del Rio Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26508
304-284-0084

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