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View Full Version : 2005 GNCC "Yadkin Valley Stomp" Round #10 Youth ATV Coverage



Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:01 PM
Round #4 of the Youth GNCC stomped it's way into Yadkinville N.C. this weekend, and despite the high fuel costs, the attendence of Youth riders was excellent!

Riders from all over the country poured into this bonus round and the action would be no less exciting. Young riders were full of stories from the summer break, which included everything from a visit to the grandparents, vacations and even the hurricane!

On the line saturday morning, eager racers prepared to do battle on a 2 mile course. The course was very fast, and was the first dry track these kids have had the chance to race on this season. Field sections mixed with meandering trails offered the chance for first time racers to compete without obstacles that were niether to harsh or dangerous. Planing a course for youth riders can be tougher then one may think, but Racer Productions did an excellent job as usual.


Devon Delucca hails from Slippery Rock PA, and rides his Honda 90 in the 90cc Production class. This season has not been kind to him at all with 2 DNF's posted in the first 3 rounds. I have watched him this year, and when I saw him on the line I simply asked him if he was ready to try and win this thing. His response was a simple"Yes". The response may have been short, simple and direct, but I had a feeling that today he was going to get his just reward.

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:05 PM
Stephen McCulloch , another PA native sits aboard his Honda90 awaiting the start.

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:09 PM
Michael Keleman sit's aboard his new Hetricks backed Kasea on the line. Since switching to the 90cc Production class, Keleman has been taking the backseat only to points leader Walker Fowler with two 2nd place finishes in the last 2 rounds.

Keleman said he liked the Kasea and felt he could now give his buddy Walker a run for a win!

Rider #106 Cheyne Gravley looks on in the background.

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:12 PM
One of the biggest things I like about the youth racing, is the honesty children tend to display. Walking up to a young face and asking a question can bring startling replies, not to mention priceless actions.

I asked this young chap if he brought his race face, he didnt say a word but showed me instead!

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:15 PM
It was not clear wether Micheal Mussi would be able to make this round. He had fractured his arm during the summer break but made a good recovery and was ready to roll.

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:17 PM
I also ran into the younger brother of one of the racers. His name is Bryte, and I would expect to see him in the ranks in a few short years!

Here you go Bryte and family, and thanks for the kind words;)

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:19 PM
Pro rider Santo Derisi has not failed to make it on the line to shake hands with the young riders this season.

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:21 PM
Words of encouragement or a simple "good luck", Derisi's presence is well recieved by the riders.

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:32 PM
Cody Hill waits for the start aboard his finally completed 90. With an engine built to conform to the rulebook, this would be it's first test in national competition.

The rules at the beginning of the season clearly stated no 90 over 90cc. I was informed at this race that maybe the rule had been changed after the break. I checked on this and the rule stands, no handicapping.

15. Can I race my 125cc 4-stroke in the 90cc Production ATV Youth class?
No. GNCC does not permit handicapping. The limit is 90cc for both 2 strokes and 4 strokes.

That made us happy after finally getting our engine dialed in and took some relief off my wallet knowing I did not have to have another engine built for a higher displacement.

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:35 PM
Pep talks abound on the line at this level of competition and run the range of simple encouragement and safety issues, all the way to full blown fire and brimstone courage boosting pep rallys!

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:38 PM
Walker Fowler is a machine. Plain and simple, that description fits him best. Well mannered, you just couldnt ask for anyone better to be out front and taking complete command of this series.

Other then a mechanical issue at Steele Creek, this young man has been on a tear and has won each following round convincingly!

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:40 PM
With all the spectators cleared from the line, it was time for the 16 riders entered in the 90cc Production class to head off the line for the days race!

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:42 PM
The start of these races are so critical and every rider launches almost in complete unison when the green flag drops!

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:44 PM
You can hang up the line staying even for more then 5 feet, here Walker Fowler is hard on the gas working to get his Hetricks Kasea to the first turn!

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:46 PM
Rounding the 1st turn, it was unclear who would grab the holeshot with Fowler on the inside being challenged by another rider on the blue Kasea!

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:47 PM
The first turn cleared and the drag race still wasnt over!

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:49 PM
A wide open charge to the second turn earned Walker the holeshot and a clear line into the woods. Emerging into another field section, Fowler was off and running strong!

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:51 PM
As other riders emerged, I spotted Devon Delucca and he was on fire! It was all I could do to grab a shot of him as he made a pass on #13 and was out of sight !

Pappy
09-10-2005, 06:58 PM
As the minutes passed, and laps were scored, Micheal Keleman was on his own mission and worked himself to second behind Fowler.

Pappy
09-10-2005, 07:04 PM
Cheyne Gravley was running 3rd behind Keleman and it looked as if this would heat up as the two remained close.

Pappy
09-10-2005, 07:07 PM
Travis Jumper was riding well, and was off to a decent race. He had worked himself up to around 9th in this picture

Pappy
09-10-2005, 07:10 PM
Cody Hill was only 2 points ahead of Jumper going into this round, and he knew that he needed to stay infront of him to hold his points position. After the bad start, Cody had worked himself up to Jumper and was driving hard to get infront of him.

Pappy
09-10-2005, 07:14 PM
With the white flag out, Fowler had a 2 minute lead on 2nd place! At one point in the race, his pit board stated "PATIENCE!"

I dont think Walker paid any attention to it:D He went on to win the race and is just untouchable! Congradulations Walker, you earn everything you win and we are all proud of you!

Pappy
09-10-2005, 07:19 PM
The battle of the day was going to be decided by Devon Delucca. He had worked his way to 3rd behind Keleman and on the last lap showed his quad no mercy in an attempt to run him down.

As Keleman appeared from the woods, Delucca was still charging hard, and as they entered the first of 2 turns to take the checkered, a lapped rider made Keleman check up just enough for Delucca to seize on the oppertunity! Delucca made a banzia charge to the inside carrying speed from the corner and before Keleman had time to make a block Delucca was past him and on his way to 2nd place!

That was some of the best and hardest racing i have seen in the youth series, and it was only diminished by the fact that another rider I cheer on regularly was the loser in the deal. Both riders, Keleman and Delucca rode an excellent race that was decided in one corner in the last 100 yards, folks, it doesnt get any better then that!

Pappy
09-10-2005, 07:25 PM
Keleman knew he had just made the slighest of mistakes, and he took about 2 seconds to figure out that its racing. In football or soccer, alot of kids would throw a fit if they made a mistake, but not here. One of the first things he did was to congradulate Delucca. Excellent race, and I can garuntee it wont be the last mistake this young racer makes, but I doubt you will catch him in the last corner again!

The next GNCC will have this young man fired up, and I am glad I dont have to race him!

Pappy
09-10-2005, 07:31 PM
With 2 laps to go, I knew something was wrong with Cody. He never pointed at anything or shouted anything, but being his father I knew something was not right.

He and Jumper had battled early, and Cody had taken the spot putting him in 7th, then 6th. He stated later that he did not think he could catch 5th so he just wanted to hold off Jumper. After the race, both of us had figured it was the fact he had not done a ton of racing this summer due to family health issues, and it was not until we were on the road did we realize I beared the mistake. I had forgotton to set his shocks back up for XC. They were set so hard that I am surprised he finished as well as he did.

6th place is more then satisfying for us, and we look forward to the next round with a better tuned suspension...lol:p

Pappy
09-10-2005, 07:34 PM
Walker has getting the champaign bottle open down, and wasted no time in his attempt to spray the crowd!

Your top 3 Yadkinville Stomp Youth GNCC winners!

Walker Fowler
Devon Delucca
Micheal Keleman

Complete Results (http://www.atvriders.com/results/2005_GNCC_10_Youth_ATV_Results.html)

Pappy
09-10-2005, 07:45 PM
I have several more pictures, and stories to share. I am opening up the thread for your comments, stories or just your views on the youth racing in general.

I will try and have some more coverage posted shortly.

fastrider450r
09-10-2005, 07:49 PM
nice coverage Pappy and nice race Cody!!!:macho

jlhughes750
09-11-2005, 06:22 AM
Congrats to 70cc winner Austin Findley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!followed in 2nd by his step brother Hayden Wolpert!!!!!!!!!Awsome job guys!!!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 07:57 AM
90cc Limited 11-15


#161 Joshua Dains grabbed the holeshot and leads this class into the woods.

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:02 AM
Seth Mumford rode a great race and finished 4th.

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:06 AM
Douglas Robey finished 6th this round.

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:10 AM
Canton Ohio resident Jesi Stracham had her best race of the season and took the class win over joshua Dains! It was a battle that did not stop until the checkered flag was waved, and then some.

It was great seeing Jesi get a win and she earned it! Great job Jesi!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:15 AM
90cc Production 8-10

Ryan Earley was out front and looking to finish well. he accomplished his goal by taking home a 3rd place class finish!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:18 AM
Nathan Honeycutt#198 finished 9th aboard his race prepped LT80

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:19 AM
10th place went to Dustin Adams

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:21 AM
Dusty Wright was on a roll and took 2nd place!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:24 AM
Kyle Hellyer went home with 6th

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:27 AM
Matthew Close secured his second class win this season at the "Stomp" ! Great job Matthew!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:35 AM
70cc Production (6-11)

This is always a fun class to watch. The talent can range anywhere from a first time racer to some young guns that can easily beat riders from older age groups.

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:37 AM
Colin W Dunn finished last, but his heart was big enough to take the overall! I was able to pal around with him this weekend and he even suckered me out of a bowl of chocolate ice cream:p

Keep it up Colin, you will be hanging with the big boys in no time!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:40 AM
Derec Robinson rode to a 3rd place finish, that makes 3 3rd's in a row! Way to go Derec!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:42 AM
Micheal Mussi ran into some trouble and only completed 4 laps finishing the day in 5th.

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:44 AM
Austin Findley was riding fast and hard, taking the class win giving him his second win on the season!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:51 AM
Unfortunatley for us doing the coverage, early morning races pose problems for the photography. usually we can find a few spots that allow for woods action but the canopy was to thick and the race to short so we did not get all the pictures we would have liked. For myself, I cant be in alot of places at once with my son racing and I apologize to any rider we did not get good pictures of. We will be working to get a few more shooters on the track for the youth races to add to our odds of getting shots of everyone in the future!


Here is Michael Ferraro before the start. He had some trouble and did not finish the race. I hope your luck turns around for the next round and we will be looking forward to seeing you then!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:53 AM
Anyone who misses the youth races should atleast try and get out there to see how the series is shaping up. There is some of the best youth racers in this country just waiting to give you a smile:p

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:55 AM
And do not let the age fool you, when it is time to go, the competition is as fierce and the tension is as high as any adult level of racing!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 08:57 AM
Watching these riders learn about our sport, and learn about competition is very rewarding.

Pappy
09-11-2005, 09:00 AM
Yadkinville was Jerry D Welch's first GNCC and he stomped his way to 4th in 90cc Production! Thats awesome and we hope he continues making the races!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 09:03 AM
I overheard 2 spectators that had just emerged from the woods trying to catch some action. The conversation was about getting out of these kids way because they could not believe how fast they are!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 09:05 AM
The top riders in each class will excite almost anyone. nail biting among parents is common, and i've considered tying a cinderblock to my wife's leg to keep her on the ground!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 09:09 AM
That wraps up the youth coverage, and I hope that all the racers, family and friends of the series remain safe and we will be looking forward to seeing everyone at Powerline Park!

Santo DeRisi
09-11-2005, 09:34 AM
I will tell you what everyone that has not seen these kids race do not know what they have been missing. Also i would not miss any of these kids race for anything!!!! They are all wonderfull and very talented riders that give it their 110%!! You have to look at it like this also these are going to be our next GNCC Pro Riders soon!!

See Ya at the races!!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 09:36 AM
I just looked at the gncc site, and they have cody's points split. After this round, he sits in 2nd place!

Codeman
09-11-2005, 09:49 AM
I did not try as hard as I think I could. So next race i will be ready and back on my game. Maybe luckily I will really step it up and try and give Walker a race.

The track was fun, but tight and ruff because of roots. It was a variety of sand, dirt and pine needles. The dust was a problem at the begining of the race but then we spread out. The cool part was you could tell when you were coming up on a slower rider.

Cody Hill

Arctic Cat Dad
09-11-2005, 10:48 AM
Once again great job Pappy! And to all the AWESOME riders who showed up to race,GREAT job! We were glad Michael was released by his doctor to race,but once again bad luck caused him a better finish. But he was glad to see his race buddys, I would like to thank his buddys for watching out for him. These 3 boys Cody Hill, Michael Keleman, and Walker Fowler are such great kids. It is an honor to have such good race buddys!

Pappy
09-11-2005, 11:31 AM
we were glad to see micheal back on the quad and we were also happy to see his arm doing good.


surveying the damage so far, we have shot swing arm bushings (we get 1 race out of a set) a cracked frame in atleast 2 spots, and he broke every motor mount:(

im glad he didnt ride it much harder or he would have ended up crossing the finish line carrying a few peices of metal..haha:D

hardkoratvmxr
09-11-2005, 01:13 PM
congrats

fastmini
09-11-2005, 02:34 PM
Fowler Racing would like to thank Racer Productions for adding the Stomp to the youth schedule and pappy and Harlan for their effort on the pictures. Congrats to all competetors! We hope to see everyone in Ohio!

KWIK CHIX RACIN
09-11-2005, 05:55 PM
Congrats to all the youth riders!! You are all winners!!!
Thanks Pappy & Harlen for the pictures. Now I am not going to
have a hard time explaining to Jesi's orthodontist why she has dirt in her teeth monday!!!!

QuadJunkies
09-11-2005, 08:53 PM
These kids look just like mini versions of the Big Dawgs! :D :macho

I really love watching the kids race and being a parent of two kids who race myself I support kids greatly. I cant wait to see what there futures bring , the mini classes are sure getting bigger!
Thanks for the Coverage Pappy. :) and congrats to all!