2016 GBC Heartland Challenge SxS / UTV Endurance Racing Carlisle, Iowa August 19, 2016

Kyle Chaney proved the oft quoted adage of endurance racing: “To finish first, one first must finish.” Though dominant early in the race, his furious pace took a toll on his machine and he dropped out of the race in the final hour.

Can-Am's Kyle Chaney grabbed the Holeshot & early lead before a belt issue took him out of the race in the final hour

“I tried to keep my pace the whole race, but my car kept overheating,” said Chaney. “A fan wouldn’t kick on. I had to stop and rewire the fan, and by that time we had bunched up. It was a pretty good race there for a couple of laps, but my swaybar broke. It put so much pressure on the rear end, that I toasted a belt.”

In UTV 900, 57-year-old Chris Brockway won, ahead of the Brent Vanderford and Jared Nelson. All were driving Polaris RZRs.

GMZ's Chris Brockway secured the UTV 900 class win

“We started second and began moving through the 1000 class,” said Brockway. “Then, all of the sudden, we had no brakes. We overheated the brakes and had to let them cool off. We also bent a tie rod, but we kept going. The course was great. It was challenging, but not too tight. I’m glad to be here and I’ll be here next year.”

Brent Vanderford was running is second Heartland Challenge in three years. Interestingly, he finished second in his last race here. “I got back up to third on the fourth lap and then we lost our brakes,” said Vanderford. “So to run two-and-a-half hours and finish second with no brakes is pretty good, but I really came here to win. This race is fun. It’s a good long race and I like racing at night. Everyone is great here and they help each other out. The whole Iowa series is a really great series.”

Jared Nelson made his Heartland Challenge debut pay off, finishing on the final spot on the podium. His team had to change out a secondary clutch halfway through the race to keep him charging. “We got back out there and salvaged a podium,” said Nelson. “We ended up two minutes behind second. This is my first Heartland Challenge race. It was fun. It is an awesome event and I was happy to be a part of it.”

#93 Jared Nelson rounded out the UTV 900 Top Three

In UTV 800, Jeremy Thompson won in an Arctic Cat Sport Limited, marking the top finish for the Thief River Falls manufacturer here. Tyler Furman finished second in a Kawaski TRX, ahead of the Team Townsend Polaris.

Jeremy Thompson claimed the UTV 800 class win in the Arctic Cat Sport

“Last year we had some problems, so it was nice to get this win,” said Thompson. “This is a 2015 Arctic Cat and it has won every race it’s been in this year. The RT Pro section was so much faster. It wasn’t too bad at all. We were talking the whole way through and we’re happy to take the win.”

Tyler Furman and his co-driver Brian Butler are development engineers for Kawasaki new SXS program. They were pleased with their machine’s durability and even had some fun at the event. “We led most of the race, but we had some bad luck at the end after we did our driver change,” said Furman. “We’re pretty happy with the second place. The big point about the TRX is the durability and this race is a perfect showcase for it. As long as we avoid driver errors, it continues to turn laps. Development is a big part of it. We want to know what modifications affect durability. Plus, this is a chance for us to get out of the office, enjoy it and have a little fun.”

For the second year in a row, the Kawasaki Teryx Team brought home a 2nd place finish in the UTV 800 class

With record turnout and exemplary racing, this year’s GBC Heartland Challenge is certain to be one for the record books.

1 2 ::Page 3::