2004 GNCC Awards Banquet

[Admin]

It is amazing how quickly this year has come and gone. It seems like it was only yesterday every one was preparing to head to Texas for the Opening Round of the GNCC Series.

After an incredible year of racing, it was time for everyone to get together recognize the top riders in the GNCC Series.

Once Again, the event was held East of downtown Morgantown, WV along Cheat Lake.

[Admin]

The Banquet was held at Lakeview Resorts, which sits up on a hill overlooking the lake below, which is obviously how they came up with the name:D.

Unlike last year, when the Banquet was held in January and the ground was covered in snow, the golf course grass that surrounded the resort was showing it bright green color.

[Admin]

John Cunningham took some time to talk with Johnny Gallagher and congradulate him on his Vet/Senior Rider of the Year
Award at the AMA Sports Banquet.

Along the years, Johnny Gallagher Sr. and John Cunningham raced against each other in the Senior Class and had some close encounters along the way, and they still remain friends.

Johnny Gallagher is a truly amazing individual to be in the great racing condition he is in at the age of 58 (Sorry Johnny:cool:). He amazed everyone with his overall ride at Big Buck this past spring, and he completely dominated the Super Senior Class.

Johnny didn't even start riding ATVs until he was in his 40's and that was only because of a bet from his ATV racing son, Johnny Gallagher. Boy did Johnny prove his son wrong, and he hasn't got off an ATV Since.

[Admin]

Brandon Sommers was looking spiffy in his shirt & tie, and he had plenty to smile about. Brandon switched to riding ATVs only last year, and started racing the GNCC series after the summer break in 2003. He made his start in the 1st year Racers and finished all four races higher than 12th, and he went on to win the last race of the year at the Iron Man.

After training hard all winter, he moved up to the C Class 16-24 Age Group. He went on to place 3rd or higher in the class every race that he finished, and mounted up five wins along the way.

Once he wrapped up the class Championship, he moved to Stock Class and once again, he proved that dedication and hard work can put you on top of you game. He finished all three Stock Class Races in the top three Overall.

He wasn't finished yet, so for the Iron Man, he moved to B Class for the 1st time, and grabbed himself another win for the season, and he finished 43rd Overall.

Congratlulations Brandon on an incredible 1st complete race season, and I glad to see that you are taking your racing career one step at a time and learning the ropes as you move to the top.

[Admin]

Women's Riders, Stephanie Parton & Jean Lovely. These two best friends were looking their best for the Banquet along with the other beatiful women of GNCC Racing. It is great to see all the ladies take the Banquet seriously and dress up for the occasion.

Stephanie Parton also had plenty to smile about after and incredible racing season that ended with the GNCC Women's Championship and AMA Sports "Female Rider of the Year Award"

Congratulations Stephanie!!!

[Admin]

As usual, Johnny Gallagher was looking as Professional as ever, but this year he had a date for the event besides his father:eek:

So, I hope all the stalkers take this as a hint! Johnny is no longer available, sorry ladies:devil:

[Admin]

With the ballroom prepared for the hundreds of riders & guest to enjoy a dinner and the awards ceremony, everyone quickly began to fill the room and look for their assigned seats.

[Admin]

It didn't take long for all the empty chairs to be filled with several hundred people.

[Admin]

Racer Production celebrated the 20th year of GNCC racing by presenting a video clips from the past days of GNCC racing when they race three wheelers.

The videos were a hit and everyone kept their eyes focused on the TVs around the room.

[Admin]

Chad Duvall and his family waited to for their table to be called up to the dinner buffet.

[Admin]

Matt Smiley was the 1st one up to buffet, which might be a glimpse of things to come next year???

[Admin]

Shortly after everyone was enjoying a terrific dinner, John Ayers began reminiscing the history of Racer Productions and the GNCC Series.

Dave Coombs was the man with a dream, and he started the series running almost the entire show out of his van, and Rita Coombs was along for the ride. She would have rather became a Vegas Show girl, but her destiny with Dave Coombs was racing.

[Admin]

John Ayers also invited Rita's her two children that are still actively involved in the GNCC Series(Timmy & Carrie Jo).

All the coombs children are grown up now and racing has aways been a part of their lives. Carrie Jo left the scene for a few years, but just couldn't stay away from it.

Thankfully for everyone that Timmy isn't the one running the show:eek: He is truly a character.

[Admin]

Tim Cotter and Bill Artzberger talked about their early days working with Dave Coombs. Tim Cotter has been an announcer for motorcycle industry for years since, and Bill was involved in shooting the video footage from early days of Blackwater. Also, he made his return from retirement to work with racer production once again the filming of the final round of the GNCC Series at the Iron Man.

After Seals Communications filed Bankruptcy and the footage isn't going to be available, Racer Productions decided to tape the racing themselves. Unfortunately, we most likely won't be able to enjoy the race series on TV this year like we have in the past:(

[Admin]

ATVA President, Doug Morris, attended this years event and let the GNCC racers know how well some of their fellow athletes did at this years AMA Sports Banquet.

[Admin]

Moose Racing, Brian Weber, spoke about their increased involved in GNCC racing in 2005. Brian Weber was recently promoted, and he will be attending all the GNCC races in 2005.

[Admin]

Wiseco Pistions, Al Pizzino, talked about his involvement with GNCC racing since they first started back in 1984 with the Wiseco 100 Series, and he is proud to still be apart of the series today.

[Admin]

ITP Tires, Jim Pinkston, informed everyone that the ITP Contingency program was extremely successful in 2004, and ITP was forced to higher two people to keep up with the riders, which was great news to ITP.

The track side support will continue next year because of its great success this year, and they will be adding the Super Seniors to the Program as well.

[Admin]

Ohlins, Thom Smith, informed everyon one about the biggest contigency news for the 2005 GNCC Series. Ohlins Suspension announced a $47,000 contigency program.

Ohlins will pay a CASH contigency to the Pro, Pro-AM, A, and B Class riders that finish in the top three in each Class.

Pro riders
1st $300
2nd $200
3rd $100

Pro-Am Riders
1st $200
2nd $100
3rd $75

Open A & 4 Stroke A Riders
1st $150
2nd $75
3rd $50

Open B & 4 Stroke B Riders
1st $100
2nd $75
3rd $50

The following classes will recive "Ohlins Dollars" to be used toward the purchase of Ohlins shock absorbers, parts, accessories or services.

All the C , Sport, Junior, Vet, Senior, Super Senior, Women, and 2 Stroke Riders.
1st $75
2nd $50
3rd $25

[Admin]

Jeff Russell announced the 13 Race GNCC Series Schedule for 2005 along with the additions of 5 youth ATV races :D

Feb 12 Gilmer, TX
Mar. 5 De Leon Springs, FL "30 Miles south of Daytona Beach"
Mar. 12 Washington, GA
April 2 Morganton, NC.
April 16 Union, SC.
April 30 Hurricane Mills, TN
May 14 Milfield, OH
June 12 Unadalla N.Y "New location that replaces Rausch Creek"
June 26 McHenry, MD
Sept. 10 Sparta, KY
Sept. 24 Summersville, WV
Oct. 8 St. Clairsville, OH
Nov. 22 Crawfordsville, IN

The five Youth Races will be held at these 5 rounds. The races will start a 8AM and will last 45 minutes.

April 2 Morganton, NC.
April 16 Union, SC
May 14 Milfield OH
Oct. 8 St. Clairsville, OH
Nov. 22 Crawfordsville, IN

[Admin]

Finally, it was time to honor some of the fastest GNCC racers this season. The top 10 riders from each class were invited to the stage to accept their plaques and thank the people who helped get them stay out front this season. Also, many riders had big announcement to make about next season.

Fine companies like: ITP, Moose, Maxxis, Alpinestars, Scott, FMF, MotoTees, Klotz, Wiseco, Tireballs, and several others donated some awesome contigency prizes to the top finishers.

[Admin]

265B Class

#267 Nathan Gogno (http://www.gnccracing.com/results/2004/racer.asp?n=4026) won the Championship in his first year of racing in the Afternoon at the GNCC Series.

[Admin]

265B Top Finishers

1st Nathan Gogno
2nd Curtis Walraven
3rd Paul Kowcheck
4th Justin Wright
5th Justin Quick

[Admin]

Open B

Shane Benson won the Championship this season and accumalaing five wins along the way on his Fourstroke Tech Machine.

1st Shane Benson
2nd Mark Notman
3rd Craig Wilson
8th Ken Potter
10th Fred Mudd

[Admin]

Fred Mudd was able to work himself into the top ten even after four races during the season preparing for his newborn and spending time at home with newborn.

Fred was a great help this season in providing many of the Morning Photos, so thanks for all your help.

[Admin]

4 Stroke B

1st Travis Nichols
2nd Mark Fulton
3rd Marc Marshall

[Admin]

Other 4 Stroke B Finishers.

6th Chris Conklin
8th C. Scot Mills (Upside Down 8)
9th Johnathan Shaff

[Admin]

Vet Class

Eric Lemley is a machine:macho. He skipped the Texas and Florida to start his season off at Georgia where he finished 2nd. He went on to win the next race and finish an impressive 15th Overall from the Vet Row which is extremely difficult. Eric Lemely went on to win 6 of the 10 races he entered this season with Blaine Shick battling with him consistantly along the way winning two races himself and finishing 2nd six times this year.

Cale Clarkson finished the season is 3rd place and won two races this season. His best race of the season was at the Ironman where he finished 25th Overall.

1st Eric Lemley
2nd Blaine Shick
3rd Cale Clarkson

[Admin]

Vet Riders

6th Scott Smalley
7th Marty Eckert
10th Scott Gibson

[Admin]

Sport Class

Jeremy Benson ran away with the championship in the class with 5 consecutive wins in a row to start off his season, and he managed to collect three more wins to finish out the season.

Dustin Pigott & Joseph Margarva battle all season for the 2nd spot.

1st Jeremy Benson
2nd Dustin Pigott
3rd Joseph Margarva
4th David Price

[Admin]

Sport Class

5th Jacob Jones
8th Tom Bobrowicz

[Admin]

Women's Class

The competition in the Women’s Class is getting better each year with more women riders signing up to race in the GNCC Series. Stephanie Parton and Traci Cecco have dominated the Women’s class for years, but other GNCC women are quickly picking up the speed to compete with these two outstanding riders.

Stefanie Verkade has been racing 18 Years :eek2: after being born into a family of racers. She has been a top contender against the men for years in District 6 and moved up to A Class last year, so she decided it was time to race in the GNCC series against the best Women in the Country. In her first year, she finished 8 races in the top five and showed even improvement throughout the season. Congratulations Stefanie on a great start!

Erika Jones also moved up this season finishing 5th for the year and staying on the lead lap several races which was a goal of hers at the beginning of the year.

Jean Lovely is fired up about next season, and she has a secret weapon that she hopes will help her move up in the standings and that is Stepahanie Parton. They will be training together over the winter, and jean is hoping to pick up a few tricks from Stephanie along the way.

[Admin]

Stephanie Parton & Traci Cecco have done a terrific job of putting Women's Racing on the map. They are both extremely dedicated to racing and winning, but more importantly, they have set a great example for all women racers away from the track.

Congratulations to both of you for another great year, and I am anxious to see who will start out on top at Texas.

[Admin]

Pro Am Class

Jeremy Rice and Chris Jenks were a threat for the podium at almost every event this year, and they were able to crest the top three a combined three times this season.

In the end, Jeremy Rice was able to bring home the 1st GNCC Pro Am Championship by winning an impressive 7 races. Chris Jenks was forced to settle for 2nd place, but oddly enough Chris finished with a higher overall number for next season than Jeremy, and Chris did it with only two wins.

James wahl dominated the Open A class last year on his 250R, but this year didn't go as smooth for him at several races due to issues with his 250R, so he finally decided by the last round that he was switching to the 450R and finished 8th and 22nd Overall in his first race on the machine, so it should be interesting to see how he does next year.

1st Jeremy Rice
2nd Chris Jenks
3rd James Wahl

[Admin]

Rick Cecco finished out 9th in the Pro Am Class, but his first priority all season was his wife Traci Cecco. He put his racing second and focused on keeping her machines in tip top condition to represent her sponsors.

This husband/wife combination next year will both be able to focus on racing because of Alba Action's Support, John Rowlings will be Traci's new mechanic and Rick will be able to focus more on his riding.

[Admin]

Pro Class

Bill Ballance did it again!!! He won his 5th GNCC Championship and doesn't seem to be slowing down. Bill Ballance's strives to win every race, and it shows with his 7 Overall Wins this season.

Next Year, Bill will have even more drive with the backing of Factory Yamaha. Yamaha provided bill some help in the 2004 season, but they took their support for Bill in 2005 to a whole new level.

Bill Ballance is now an Official Yamaha Rider, and his Job will be to train and win races next season, which he has proven is well within his reach even before Yamaha stepped up to plate to support his program 100%.

It is great to see Factory Yamaha stepping up the support for Bill Ballance, and we all should be thankful that the factories are finally recognizing the sport of ATV Racing.

Congratulations Bill

[Admin]

William Yokley gave one the best speeches of the evening, and he had everyone laughing with his great sense of humor.

William Yokley also will receive factory support next year from Suzuki/Yoshimura. William Yokley finished the season with three wins and two of them coming in the last four rounds.

[Admin]

Chris Borich had a season that many riders wish they had just one time in their career, but for Chris Borich, it was a season that he would rather forget most of it.

Chris Borich was a dominating force the last fews years on his Laeger 250R machines, but the transition to the Production 4 Stroke Machines didn't go smoothly for Chris.

He ran the majority of the season on the YFZ450, but was faced with numerous issues that kept him from finishing on the Podium because of one issue or another.

In 2003, by the tenth round Chris finished on the Podium in half the races, but this year he only managed two podium finishes and they were both third overall.

Chris finally decided that he needed to make switch because the YFZ just wasn't working for his riding style, so he went to the 450R. He immediately found himself back where he left off last season.

Chris Borich went on to finish the last three races with two Overalls and one 2nd Overall on the new Honda machine, which was a breath of fresh air for the entire Borich family.

Alba Action recognized how talented of a rider Chris Borich is and signed him for 2005 to ride for Alba Action along with Traci Cecco. it is great to see companies like Alba Action stepping up and supporting the racers. With the support of Alba Action and his father, Joe Borich, I expect to see Chris pick up where he left off this season. It is a shame that Honda hasn't recognized such a talented and respected rider.

[Admin]

Matt Smiley had another successful season on his YFZ450. Unlike Chris, Matt was able to easily adapt to the YFZ, which is the case for most riders over 160lbs.

Matt found himself on the Podium 6 times and he finished 5 times in 2nd Overall, and was set to finish with the #3 Plate until Chris Borich made his late season charge to edge out Matt.

With the increased factory involvement, Matt is also more dedicated than ever to having a terrific season in 2005, and he knows that it will require him to train hard over the winter to be ready for next season.

Matt gives many thanks to Team Safari for putting together a great program of sponsors that kept him at the races this season, and if the rumors are true, Matt may have even bigger news to announce in the near future.

[Admin]

Chad Duvall just keeps on going year after year, and I don't know when he will ever slow down. Chad finished out the year in 5th Place even after recoverying from a serious crash at Rausch Creek which costed him a top finish at the race, and he was forced to skip the Patriot.

Chad never lost sight of his goal, and quickly picked up where he left off and went on to finish the next three races in the top 5 overall.

Am Pro Yamaha will once again support Chad for 2005 along with his other sponsors(ITP, IMS, Roll, AC Racing, Badger, and many more).

[Admin]

Byran Cook made his Pro Debut in 2005, and switched from his trusty 400EX to the Four Stroke Tech YFZ, and the combination turned some heads this year.

Bryan was extremely impressive as an amateur in the 4 Sroke A Class, but he sored to an even higher level as a Pro Rider in his rookie year finishing in 6th Place against some extremely talented competition.

He went on to finish 9 out of the 14 races in the top 10 overall and will be running the #6 plate in 2005. He biggest accomplishment was winning the Overall at the Patriot, which added his name to History.

Bryan is proud to be riding for Mickey Dunlap and will be joined by Chris Jenks and Michael Houston for 2005. The Four Stroke Tech team will have some very talented riders in their pit next season, and it is great to see Mickey supporting the riders.

[Admin]

Brandon Ballance finished the season in 7th Place in the Pro Class and moved up to up his National number to a single digital for 2005.

Brandon started out the season on top of his game, but started getting muscle pain and arm pump that slowed him down as the year went on, and I noticed that he justed didn't seem to have the same fire in his riding.

After the summer break, Brandon was able to recapture his desire and really started stepping it up. I watched him ride at the 12 Hour race, and he looked his best ever, so If he works out his gremlins over the winter. He may be able to find himself in front of brother once again on the Podium in 2005.

[Admin]

Michael Houston has quietly crept his way up the ladder in the Pro Class aboard his Honda 450R. In 2003, Michael raced Pro Production and was able to finish 6 top in the top 20 overall, but he never crested the top 10 overall. This year, Michael finished 4 races in the top 10 and 9 races in the top 20 overall.

For 2005, Micheal will hold the #11 Plate and will Join Bryan Cook on the 4 Four Stroke Tech Team, and will be much more visible to the public on Pro Row.

Congratulations Michael on a great season in the GNCC Series and Mid East Haresramble Series.

[Admin]

Bill Ballance was presented with his Championship Trophy!

[Admin]

Bill also received his GNCC Championship ring for winning is 5th Championship.

[Admin]

The 2004 Top Ten Pro Riders:macho

[Admin]

Bill's Daughter offered her father a hand in carry some of his awards back to their table:)

[Admin]

4 Stroke A

Chris Bithell won the 4 Stroke A Class and will be moving up to Pro Am next season. He shouldn't have any trouble fitting in because this year in the A Class he finished 8 races in the top 25 Overall, which is an impressive accomplishment.

Rhett Butler also had an impressive year in the A Class. This was his first year racing the GNCC Series and he came into the scene quietly and without any fancy graphics or riding gear. He wasn't about impressing anyone with his quad or gear because all he was worried about was the results at the end of the day. He consistently finished in the top 5 almost every race and only finished twice lower than 50th overall all season.

Gregg Stewart has been around for some time in GNCC racing, but he continues to get faster and faster. Next year Greg will be retiring #40 and moving up to #27. He also will be making the move to Pro Am.

1st Chris Bithell
2nd Rhett Butler
3rd Gregg Stewart

[Admin]

4 Stroke A

5th Ryan Lane
7th John Rowling
9th Cory Vickerd
10th Derek Litterini

[Admin]

Open A Class

Scott Fleischhauer ran the Pro Class last year on a Cannondale and then he switched to the Gas Gas Midseason with very little success. His best overall finish of the year were two 25th Overalls, which wasn't enough to keep him in the Pro Class this season with his national number dropping from 23 to 97.

2004 for a whole new story for Scott when he switched to the YFZ450. Scott was back to his normal form and it showed in his results. This year he finished in the top 25 overall 8 times with a 16th Overall at the Ironman as a season's Best. Along the way he won four races and wrapped up the championship with two races to go in A Class, and moved up to Pro Am.

Josh Whitehead raced a few races in B Class last season, but this year he committed himself to the series and had a great year winning three races and finishing a career's best 11th overall at the Ironman on his trusty 250R.

Bryan Baker must be extremely strong or just plain nuts to race the Vforce at the speeds he did this past year. Along the way he finished 5 races in the top 20 overall on a 500lb machine. I think he is just nuts :D.

I expect to see Bryan on a lighter machine next year in the Pro Class after earning a #23 this year on a Vforce.

Congratulations on a great season to all three of you.

1st Scott Fleischhauer
2nd Josh Whitehead
3rd Bryan Baker

[Admin]

Open A

6th Jeffrey Pickens
8th Michael Benson
9th Josh Beavers

[Admin]

265A

Last year the 250A Class was the Premier Amateur Class and they started on the third row for I believe the entire season, but boy did things change this year.

The class size shrunk dramatically and they usually started on the same row as the Open A Class, so unfortunately, next year there will only be one 2 Stroke Class with no level classification in the afternoon which will combine 265A, 265B, and 2 Stroke C.

Andy Klingworth was a dominate force in the class this year winning 7 races and jumping to Pro Am to finish out the season where he finished season with a 5th Place finish and 18th Overall, which shows their wasn't lack of talent in this class.

Sean Neidlinger would have gave Andy a run for his money if he didn't get injuried and missed the last three races of the season. Sean won four races himself this season and created enough of points lead to finish the season in 2nd Place after only competing in 10 races.

1st Andy Klingworth
2nd Sean Neidlinger
3rd Ryan Schockling

[Admin]

265 A Class

5th Jeff Brest
6th Dave Grimm

[Admin]

Senior Class

Just because you are over the Age of 40 doesn't mean that you are slow, and Dave Simmons proved that to anyone that thought otherwise.

Dave Simmons did what no other ride did the entire season and that was win every race in your class. Dave raced 9 races in the Senior Class and won everyone of them, which locked up the Championship after 10 rounds(He was smart enough to Skip Florida, which also showed he is smart as well).

Along the way, Dave finished consistently in the top 60 overall and even crested the top 40 several times working through traffic. Dave truely showed his speed at the Ironman where he finshed 2nd in ProAm and 12th Overall as the age of 44:eek2: (Hope that this is right because I don't want him on my bad side:D).

John Cunnigham Jr may not have had the season that Dave put together, but he still held his own. John rode consistently the entire season and earn 7 top three finishes. His good friend, John Kenny, tried his best to catch and pass Cunningham, but he had to settle for 3rd. These two guys have been involved in racing ATC/ATVs for years together, and now there children race as well in the GNCC Series.

1st Dave Simmons
2nd John Cunningham Jr
3rd John Kenney

[Admin]

Super Senior

John Gallagher took Super Senior racing to a whole new level at the age of 58. John raced all 14 races this year in the Super Senior Class and finished 12 of them in 1st Place. Along the way he one the Overall at Big Buck, which may never happen again by a Super Senior Rider. Congraluations on Great Season.

1st John Gallagher
2nd ken Vickerd
3rd Thomas Waybright
4th Ed Malott (Heal Up Soon!!!)

[Admin]

Super Senior

5th Jay Condon
6th Jim Clester
8th William Guinter
9th Fred Savage

[Admin]

4 Stroke Stock

The class is full a of terrific bunch of competitors, and it showed with the wide ranges of top finishers each race except for Billy Good. He entered his first Stock Class race at Loretta Lynn's and he quickly found himself out front with a Podium finish. Billy went on to win 6 out of his 9 races, which was enough to pass me :( for the championship.

I must say that racing the stock class was an incredible experience to be back on stock machine. After racing fully modified machines for years, the stock class took me three races to get use to racing a stock machine. Once I got the Suzuki dialed into my weight and riding style, it handled like a dream in the woods and tight conditions, but the 50cc less engine was no match for the YFZ and TRX on the highspeed sections of the course, which forced me to pass many riders more than once.

I came extremely close to winning several races this season, but something always managed to prevent it, but I remained consistent on the LTZ and it took me to a 2nd Place finish for the year.

I am excited to be riding for Suzuki next season aboard the Z400 with the new cams and carb, which will hopefully will allow me to stay with the TRX and YFZ in the high speed sections next year. This class becomes more and more comepitive every year, and I am hope to win atleast one race next season.

Mark Rhodes was planning on racing the B Class this year, but I talked him into running Stock Class with me, and it almost cost me because he finished only 1 point behind me. Mark and I plan on training together for next season, but unfortunately, Mark probably will only attend a few nations :(

Congratulations to Both Billy Good & Mark Rhodes on an incredible season.

[Admin]

Stock Class

4th Michael Sroka Jr
5th Dan Kiehl
6th Tyler Lenig
7th Richard Travalena

[Admin]

Rich may not have had much luck this season at the races, but no sooner did he step down on the stage, his name was drawn for Steering Stem Door Prize, maybe this is a sign of good things to come???

[Admin]

2 Stroke C

Blake Kramer purchased one of Chris Borich's 250R machines from last season, and he put the machine out front. Matthew Copley battled with him the entire season, but fell short by only two points.

1st Blake Kramer
2nd Mathew Copley

[Admin]

2 Stroke C

3rd Wayne Tharp
4th Alvin Schockling
6th Darren Konzelman

[Admin]

16-24 4 Stroke C Class

Do you think Brandon Sommers was excited about winning the Championship?

[Admin]

Brandon Sommers wrapped up the Championship early in the year with his consistent finishes, but this didn't slow down Michael Howell.

Michael skipped the first two rounds of the season and started his season in Georgia where he finished 4th. He went on to finish in top 10 over the next six races. By Round 11, Brandon moved to the Stock Class, and Michael went on a three win streak and wrapped up 2nd place after St. Clairsville, so he moved up to B Class at the Ironman and finished 4th, so I expect to see him and Brandon back up on the Stage Again next year in the Top Ten.

1st Brandon Sommers
2nd Michael Howell
3rd Erik Haspel
4th Tyson Helton

[Admin]

25-32 4 Stroke C Class

Eric Burton started out the season leading the class, and Gary Kiehl only raced 2 out of the 1st five races of the season, but Gary was determined to not let a late start hamper his season.

Gary went on to win five out of the last seven rounds and wrapped up the championship with one round left over Eric Burton who gave it his best at the Ironman with his third win of the season, but it wasn't enough to catch Gary.

John Howard's 7 top four finishes gave him third place for the year.

1st Gary Kiehl
2nd Eric Burton
3rd John Howard

[Admin]

33+ 4 Stroke C Class

Barry Taylor & Darrell Bozarth raced the entire 14 race series this year battling for the #1 Plate.

Barry and Darrell both started the season on Suzuki's, but Darrell lost his engine died after Big Buck and he made the switch to the Yamaha. Darrell got off to a slow start on the new machine, but once he got comfortable on the YFZ, he started performing extremely well. Darrell went on to finish three consecutive races in 2nd place and finished out the season with two 1st place finishes, but it wasn't enough to catch Barry Taylor who was consistent the entire season with with 10 races in the top 5.

Amazingly, actually the top 4 finishers in the class all started the season on Suzuki's and only Darrell made the switch to the Yamaha.

1st Barry Taylor
2nd Darrell Bozarth
4th Steve Edwards
5th Kenneth Haspel
6th John Saxon

[Admin]

Junior Class

Jared Huffman rode the Honda 450R like it was in his garage for years, and he was able to cash in big on the Honda Contigency program with 6 wins and three 2nd Place finishes. That put $4,200 in Jared Wallet to spend on what ever he wanted. Now if only Honda would pay all the riders the money they deserve before next year.

1st Jared Huffman
4th Chad Wallace
5th Jim Pinkston
7th Bryan Davis

[Admin]

Utility Modified

Mike Chirdon and Jason White chased after Scott Kilby on his Praire all season, and finished consistently in the top five.

2nd Mike Chirdon
3rd Jason White
4th Timothy Olsen
5th Brian Guinter
6th Joseph Jackson

[Admin]

Utility Stock

For the 11th time, Mike Penland has won the Championship in the Utility Stock Class, but it didn't come easy this season with Ken Robey moving from the Utility Mod to Stock this season. Ken came on strong at the end of the season with four wins in the last seven rounds.

The saddest news is that Mike Penland has long been a Kawasaki rider, and has depended on their support to get him to the races, but Kawasaki will be pulling out of ATV racing in 2005, which left Mike Penland with out a major sponsor. Mike Penland told me that unless someone steps up to support him next year that this year may have been the last year of racing for him:(.

Also several of the Kawasaki's top riders weren't in attendance at the Banquet this year(Scott Kilby, Bryan Hulsey, and Ryan Wuebbling) to accept their awards. I hope these great racers aren't giving up racing next season, but only time will tell.

Mike Penland gave special thanks to HMF for all of their support with his program and hopefully things will work out for him to go after his 12th Championship.

1st Mike Penland
2nd Ken Robey

[Admin]

I think Mike Penland is really hoping for HMF's "Backing" next year.

[Admin]

Utility Unlimited

Finally, the last class of the evening was the Utility Unlimited Class. This class could have been named the Vforce Class if it weren't for handleful of Polaris riders that competed in the class.

The top 8 positions went to Vforce riders and Kevin Schmidt was able to work his Polaris to a 9th Place season.

Doug Henke was simply amazing to watch the way he handled these 500lb machines through the woods like he was on a 250R. Doug went on to win 11 races and he did it with time to spare. Many of his wins came with a 5 to 12 minute gap between him and 2nd Place:eek:, which was totally amazing.

Without Kawasaki's support next season, I expect to see Doug on a TRX450R next year in the Afternoon. It will be extremely interesting to see how he does on such a light machine.

1st Doug Henke
2nd Michael Shelley
3rd John Ribley

[Admin]

Through Out the Evening various awards were givin out by Racer Productions to those most deserving.

Hard Luck Award

Tyler Lenig hands down deserved this award.

[Admin]

Most Improved Rider

Byran Cook

[Admin]

Knucklehead Award

Erika Jones

[Admin]

Sportsmanship Award

William Yokley

[Admin]

Good Samaritan Award

Jeff Stoess & Team Quadshop

[Admin]

Rough N’ Ready Pit Crew Award

Hey Joe! Racing

[Admin]

Rider of the Year Award

Bill Ballance

[Admin]

Sponsor of the Year Award

Maxxis Tires

Unfortunately, Jay Gobel wasn't able to attend the event because of a severe cold, but he wanted to share this information with everyone.



Hello Everyone,
I would like to thank everyone for another great season of racing and for voting Maxxis "Sponsor of the Year" in 2004. However, as most of you have seen at the GNCCs without the long hours put in by my right hand man, Jeff Horton and pro tire changers Josh Knapp & Chris Michael it would be virtually impossible to keep things running smoothly and i want to thank each of them for their hard work and dedication. For myself, i want to thank each and every person for their continued support of our products, and for keeping Maxxis on the cutting edge of tire technology.

I also want to apologize to everyone for not being able to attend the banquet this past weekend, i was really looking forward to seeing everyone but i caught some kind of flu bug that had other plans for me. As always you can expect to see us at almost every GNCC event in 2005, and i look forward to seeing everyone in TX.

Thanks again,
Jay

[Admin]

With all the awards handed out it was time to see who where the lucky winners on the $500 and $1000 Cash Boards. Amazingly, Rita's # was the last number left on the board, and she won $1,000.

Can you tell that she was excited? In her great spirit, she told everyone that drinks at the after party were on her!

Thanks Rita

[Admin]

Everyone headed to their rooms and changed into some confortable clothes. Then they head down to the After Party for a night of dancing and socializing.

Early in the night, a few people got it started on the dance floor.

[Admin]

Brandon Ballance introduced Gena to many of his fellow racers and friends, which may be a good thing for Brandon next season.

[Admin]

James Wahl also got into the spirit of the evening:huh

[Admin]

As the night continued, the Dance floor became packed as many began to loosen up and have a good time.

[Admin]

I had a great time again at this years Banquet, and I again would like to thank all the riders that ran EXriders.com and supported the site.

I hope everyone enjoyed the coverage that I provided from the races this season with the help of several members.

Mark Rhodes and I live only a few miles apart, but this was the first time in a while that we got a chance to hang out together. I couldn't talk him into racing the entire series again, but I still have a few more weeks to bug him:D

I can't wait to See everyone in Texas!!!

[Admin]

Riders Meeting Sunday Morning at 9:30AM, which wasn't the easy thing to get up for after going to bed at 3AM:eek2:

Look here for details: GNCC Proposed Changed for 2005 (http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?threadid=133235)

[Bush0102]

Good coverage! Hopefully i'll be able to make it to the GNCC at Loretta's next year. The atmosphere sounds like everyone is one big family just wanting to have fun.

Did you get your groove on with any of the girls, Harlen?:p

[Shawn H]

Thats awesome Smiley gave Bill ballance Bunny ears in the top 10 PRO picture :D

Great coverage Harlen.

[Admin]

Originally posted by snowgasm
Thats awesome Smiley gave Bill ballance Bunny ears in the top 10 PRO picture :D

Great coverage Harlen.

I had one without the Bunny Ears, but I thought that was too funny not to post. Plus, I was curious if anyone would pick up on it.;)

[Quad18star]

Great coverage Harlen ....... I can't believe how much work you put into this site . It looks like everyone had a great time at the banquet and throughout the season . Keep up the great coverage for next year .

Which GNCC race is in the most northern state?? I'd love to go down and check out a race .... since we don't have anything like this up in my area .

[Admin]

The Unadilla track added this year in New York is probably your best bet.

[Lil - Braff]

Great coverage Harlen and AWSOME pictures!! Looks like everyone had a blast!

[Quad18star]

Originally posted by Admin
The Unadilla track added this year in New York is probably your best bet.

Thanks .... I'll check out the dates and see what I can do . I know I wanna try and make it to Red Bud this year ... and maybe a TT race in Ohio . Red Bud is gunna be a 15 hour non stop drive . :(

[jdwxv3]

Great coverage. For a moment it almost seems like I am really there. Thanks!

[redrunner]

Looks to be a good time...

Hey i just saw a couple of the winners up at my local watering hole in Mayfield , OH. Marc Fulton and Jason White. Thought they looked familiar. Them guy's live up this way? Anyone know?

[Shawn H]

Dont know where Marc is from But Jason is from Mn.

[woodsracr940]

yes, mark, is from up your way in northern ohio, an his parents live down closer to me , down in lower ohio. I had alot of fun, this year gettin to know mark ,and his brother matt at the races, they helped me out alot givin me a ride back from florida with them, an they pitted with us, most of the year. #77

[quad_45]

Originally posted by Lil - Braff
Great coverage Harlen and AWSOME pictures!! Looks like everyone had a blast!

It was a GREAT time!! Great job Harlen and Congrats!!

[400exdad]

Great Pics and Commentary as always Harlen! I really don't see how you do it.

[SGA]

Great pics! Its so nice to be able to put names with faces.
Its also nice to have some time to catch up on the coverage!:D