2005 GNCC "Yadkin Valley Stomp" Round #10 Afternoon ATV Racing Coverage

[Admin]

Yadkinville, NC - The summer break is officially over as racers made there way to the newly added “Yadkin Valley Stomp”, which replaced the “The Spartan” after a scheduling conflict with an already schedule car race event forced Racer Production to find another location for the 10th Round of the GNCC Series, and as far as parking, accessibilty, and local vendor involvement, they couldn't have picked a better location, and for more information of the location and track layout check out the "Live Coverage" (http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=180819) thread for all the preview information.

To kick off the Afternoon Coverage, I would like everyone to be introduced to the latest additions to, 8 Time GNCC Champion, Barry Hawk's Family, his son, Talon Hawk.

Over the summer Barry Hawk was invited to compete in the ESPN Great Outdoor Games, but he was forced to decline to be with his wife during her pregnancy.

The new addition to the family for Barry Hawk didn' t slow him down one bit as he road his way to his second consecutive win and third of the season, which closed the gap on points leader Juha Salminen to 46 points.

[Admin]

Barry Hawk wasn’t the only rider with Championship hopes heading into the final four rounds of the GNCC series as #3 Chris Borich had his Championship hopes revitalized over the summer after five time champion, Bill Ballance, was injured at the 2006 Yamaha YFZ450 Press Intro at the beginning of August, which will have him sidelined for atleast the Yadkin Valley Stomp and possibly Unadilla as well, but even with Bill Ballance out this weekend, Borich would still need to be on the top of his game because even if Chris won this weekend, Bill Ballance still could easily comeback and win his 6th Championship by finishing near the front the remaining three races.

Chris Borich pulled out all the stops over the summer by traveling around the East Coast to race various local events to get him into his best condition of the season before resuming the GNCC series in hopes of winning his first Championship.

Please keep Bill Ballance in your thoughts and prayers as he hopefully will be ready to compete at Unadilla.

For more information on Bill Ballance’s Injury
Click Here (http://www.atvriders.com/atvnews/2005_ballance_injured.html)

[Admin]

With Bill Ballance sidelined at home, his brother, #9 Brandon Ballance, was left to attend his first GNCC race without being in the shadow of his older brother, and #9 Brandon Ballance headed into Yadkinville, NC in high spirits looking keep Ballance Racing team on the podium as either Bill or Brandon have held a spot on the podium the entire 2005 season.

[Admin]

#2 William Yokley, Suzuki/Yoshimura, was gracious enough to interrupt this vacation get away in New York over the summer to attend the ATVriders.com Rausch Creek Ride this past August, which was greatly appreciated by the members in attendance.

Unfortunately, between now and then, William also injured himself by pulling a hamstring muscle, which was still bothering him heading into this weekends race, but it wasn’t enough to take the smile off his face as usual.

[Admin]

#5 Chad Duvall was hoping to get back on track after coming on strong in rounds #7 and #8, but he ran into problems at the Wisp, which shortened his race to only one lap.

Over the summer, Chad Duvall also was dealt a slight setback in his health as his he had to increase his medicine dosage to control his white blood cell count, and everyone at ATVRiders.com hopes this is just a temporary setback.

[Admin]

On a brighter note, #13 Todd Knippenberg had his newly built 450R fully assembled with his new Axis Suspension and ARS-FX components and was ready to race.

[Admin]

#23 Bryan Baker quietly returned to the Pro Class this year aboard his Honda 450R after making his return to racing last season for Kawasaki aboard the Vforce 700 in the Open A Class.

It take him long to readjust as he is currently ranked 9th Overall and 8th in the Pro Class amongst some talented riders.

[Admin]

#4 Matt Smiley and #7 Chris Jenks are good friends off the track and even teammates at the 6 Hours of ATV at Rausch Creek over the Summer, but on the track, they are in a heated battle for the 4th Overall Position.

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With 191 entries and only 17 Pros, there are plenty of Amateur riders with stories of their own.

The Missouri Series was well represented this weekend with both Duane Johnson and Michael Burrows making the long trip East to compete against each other in the Pro Am Class.

#706 Duane Johnson was only able to compete in a few races at the beginning of the season in the 4 Stroke A Class, but he made the switch to Pro Am this season, and he has been on fire ever since running in second place behind #66 Adam McGill and is currently ranked 15th Overall.

Michael Burrows kicked off the first three races with lack luster results, and he has spent the rest of the year focusing on his local series, but he decided to make to get his feet wet once again in the GNCC Series.

Michael Burrows not only races, but he also fabricates his own custom nerf bars without nettings to keep the other riders from smashing his legs, but he still can easily hope off and push his quads without a problem.

[Admin]

Brent Sturdivant and his brother Brandon Sturdivant has also been busy racing all summer.

#316 Brandon Sturdivant has been on a roll since round #4 and hasn’t finshed lower than 33rd overall since with his season best 12th Overall coming at the Wisp, and he is currently ranked 9th in the highly competitive Pro Am Class.

#152 Brent Sturdivant on the over hand hasn’t had any luck all season and hasn’t finished more than two laps the entire season since the season opener, and he still hasn’t missed a race yet, while many others probably would have become discouraged, but not Brent.

[Admin]

#23 Chris Bithell finished in the Top 5 Overall at both the Penton and Summersville where he earned his first Pro Am Win, but the Wisp was a major setback after finishing 23rd, and with the points chase so tight in the Pro Am Class, the final four rounds are crucial

[Admin]

The Vet Class was the most controversial class in the GNCC Series beside the Stock Class last year because of Eric Lemley and the other extremely fast 30+ riders, which had riders petitioning for some changes in the class for 2005.

The only change that came was Eric Lemley missing from the lineup in 2005, which has allowed the dust to settle in the class, and Steve Zapfe is now the Class Leader after a terrific start to the season and is currently leading the points over Kenneth Tincher and Jeff Breast.

[Admin]

#50 John Rowlings has now become the man to beat in the Vet Class after making the switch from 4 Stroke A to the Vet Class mid season, and he hasn't finished below 2nd place since, and is quickly working his way up in points and is currently in 6th place.

Unfortunately, he won't be eligible for any year end awards because he will not have the minimal 9 races in the class, but I wouldn't be surprised to seen him up to 4th by season end regardless.

[Admin]

Their is an intense battle for the Championship in the Open A Class with only 3 points seperating the Top three before throw aways, and Craig Reed is right in the middle of it in 2nd place.

Craig Reed was a dominate rider in the Stock Class last year, and he is just as fast on a modified 450R, but he admits that he misses racing in the Stock Class.

[Admin]

With Dave Simmons making the move to the race in the Stock Class atleast for one round, it gave the Senior Class to crown a new race winner, which meant one of the twelve entries was going to claim the 1st place honor for the first time this season with John Cunningham Jr coming to mind first with his 6 second place finishes, but in racing anything could happen and Mark Ambrose on the starting line with his son was also a possibility.

[Admin]

The Sport Class could be easily missed by many with normally less than 10 riders, but those that compete in it week after week take the class serious, but are all close friends before they fire up the engines.

[Admin]

With everyone lined up lets get on with the racing action.

[Admin]

With the completion of the National Anthem on this historical weekend of 9/11, which will be forever be in the minds of American’s who work up that morning to found out that we were under siege by terrorist, and hopefully that will be the last time American’s will be under attack, so please keep all those serving in the military in your thoughts and prayers as they try keep America free from future terrorist attacks.

[Admin]

With the race about to begin, fans lined the start and you just couldn't mis Kevin Johnston with his "Tough Guys Wear Pink" shirt after racing in the morning with pink fenders to bring awareness to breast cancer.

For more information on Breast Cancer:
http://www.breastcancer.org/
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
http://breast-cancer-research.com/

[Admin]

Pro Class Start

The first class off the line is the Pro Class, and heading into turn one, Chris Borich lead followed by William Yokley and Brandon Ballance.

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By the second turn, William Yokley was able to put his Suzuki out front with Brandon taking over the second spot with Borich back to third with Chris Jenks moving in fast.

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Matt Smiley, Todd Knippenberg, Kim Kuhnle, Rhett Butler, and Chad Duvall scrambled to avoid Bryan Baker after he collided with the corner post spinning him around the post.

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Bryan Baker worked to free his Honda from the fence to quickly return to the race while David Schloss looked on after quickly moving from the spot earlier to take photos.

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With Yokley, Br Ballance, Jenks, Borich, an Cook leading the way the remainder of the Pros piled into the woods behind them.

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Chad Duvall immediately had his first encounter with a tree heading into the woods and was forced to back peddle to get his YFZ450 going forward once again.

[Admin]

Pro Am Start

After spinning out or flipping at the last two GNCC races, #66 Adam McGill was looking to keep his Holz Racing 450R out front heading into the woods, but all he needed to do was finish 9th or better to wrap up the Pro Am Championship even if Duane Johnson Won the remaining four races.

Right behind McGill was #706 Duane Johnson himself followed by #152 Brent Strudivant and #63 Scott Barron.

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Out near the front, Josh Davis and James Wahl collide heading into turn two which sends the pair flipping.

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#15 James Wahl launched off the side of his 450R and almost on the the back of #32 Andy Klingworth's 450R.

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Michael Burrows avoided the pileup and checked out the scene of the accident as he passed by, just like people do at car accidents, but he didn't have time to slow down and cause a backup behind him because he was in a race.

Davis and Wahl would eventually remount their machines and head into the woods near the back of the pack, but Davis would remain there as it took him over an hour to complete the 1st lap before dropping out of the race, but James Wahl was on a roll and quickly working his way past riders.

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Open A Start

Anthony Hill jumped out to descent lead right off the start pulling away.

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#51 Rick Cecco was back out of retirement and showing he still knew how to get his YFZ450 fired up quick as he chased down Hill out front while Mike Benson began to spin out around the second turn, which allowed Mike Carter to take over the third spot.

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Tom Hertz decided to give the rest of his class a head start, or he just couldn't get his 450R to start on the line, which will be solved with the 2006 model 450R with Electric Start.

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4 Stroke A Start

#458 Jarred Childess didn't have any trouble getting his 450R started as he held the lead around turn one with #847 Taylor Kiser right behind him on his YFZ450 followed by #429 Wes McGlumpy.

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2004 Stock Class rider, Ryan Morphew has been on fire here of last on his Honda 450R in the 4 Stroke A Class, but starting in last place this weekend wasn't the start he wanted, but by the end of the 1st lap, he already worked his way up to 10th place.

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2 Stroke A/B & Senior Start

Bruce Marshall put his LRD 250R out front early.

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Right behin Marshall was Jim Vanlockie leading the way for the Senior Class with Brian Edwards in chase.

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#72 John Cunningham took off in last place, which meant he would have his work cut out for him if he planned on claiming his first win of the season.

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Vet Class Start

#50 John Rowlings wasted no time taking over the lead and looking for yet another first place finish, and by the end of lap one, he held a 38 second lead over #60 Scott Smalley

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Junior Class Start

#608 Chad Wallance rounded the first turn hard on the gas and leading the way.

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By the 2nd turn, #462 Greg Lott had taken over the lead with Wallace in second followed by #27 Gregg Stewart.

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Last off the line was #75 Jim Pinkston, but he would catch a break on the third turn heading into the woods.

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#70 Pete Stadtmueller spun sideways in the woods, which blocked the path for many of the riders behind him, which allowed Pinkston to catch up to the pack and pick up a few positions right away.

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Open B Start

#426 Gabe Phillips was able to beat the class leader #224 Darrell Bozarth around the first turn.

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Darrell Bozarth would go to wide around the first trun, which allowed both Blake Kramer and Sloan Jackson to move in behind Phillips in the lead with Borzarth dropping back several positions.

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4 Stroke B Start

#784 Brandon Sommers charged around the first turn with #334 Christopher Stephens right behind him.

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By the second Turn, #356 Mike Novak had secured the lead carving his way around the inside of turn one and immediately setting up for turn two, which put his 2006 YFZ450 out front ahead of Sommers with #231 Michael Howell followed by #254 Wyane Tharp.

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#979 Donald Ockerman and #218 Tyler Lenig were in chase heading into the woods.

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Sport Class Start

#160 Tom Bobrowicz hammered his 300EX through turn one hard on the gas and out running Terry Rowh aboard his Yamaha Blaster.

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Class leader, Steven Mitchell aboard his Yamaha Warrior moved in behind Terry Rowh in the third spot, and by the end of lap one Mitchell passed his way into second place behind Bobrowicz and was applying the pressure.

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With all the starts completed, and the race well underway, it was time to make the journey to the creek section, and since it was probably close a mile walk, a wagon ride was the best alternative for those not looking to walk.

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Rodney Tomlin and Jason Weigandt were already at the creek recording their intro for the section only minutes before the Pros were expected to arrive.

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The first rider to appear through the tunnel was #2 William Yokley

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Less than a few seconds behind Yokley were #9 Brandon Ballance and #7 Chris Jenks

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Just to 10 seconds later, #3 Chris Borich emerged in 4th place by his self.

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Soon afterwards, #16 Santo Derisi splashed through the water in 5th place

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Close behind Derisi was #6 Bryan Cook holding down the 6th spot.

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The battle was on between #5 Matt Smiley and #11 Michael Houston for the the 7th spot.

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#14 Andy Lagzdins was 16 seconds back in 9th place

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Rounding out the Top 10 was #18 Johnny Gallagher just under 20 seconds behind Lagzdins.

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#59 Bryan Hulsey was back to 14th place in his first Pro Class race since 2002 when he finished 18th Overall for the season and returned the follow two years onboard the Kawasaki Vforce 700 in the Vet Class.

Without Team Kawasaki backing any riders in 2005, Hulsey made the move back onto a sport machine and jumped into the Pro Am Class before making his return to the Pro Am Class this weekend.

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Pro Am Rider, #66 Adam McGill was only a few seconds behind Hulsey as he lead the way for the Pro Am Class.

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Wyatt Westmoreland was running in 3rd behind Duane Johnson with Scott Barron closing in from behind with Barron passes Westmoreland to take over third by the end of lap one, but it would be short lived as both of them would drop out of the top 10 by the end of lap two and were both out of the race by the third lap.

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Brandon Sturdivant would then take over the third spot before his brother Brent would pass him in the second lap to move into 3rd dropping Brandon back to 4th.

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#15 James Wahl was on a mission to salvage the race and worked his way up to 15th by lap one and then up into 10th by the end of the second lap with a laptime one second faster than Adam McGill's in the lead.

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Pro Am Rider, Kevan Thomas, wasn't making any dramatic charge through the pack from 18th, but I just really liked this photo.

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Near the end of lap two in one of the dusty field sections, #2 William Yokley remained in the lead creating an enormous dust cloud behind him.

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#9 Brandon Ballance remained in hot pursuit carving his way through the cloud of dust.

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#3 Chris Borich remained in 4th place only a few seconds behind both #7 Chris Jenks and #9 Brandon Ballance.

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Nearly 20 seconds back was #11 Michael Houston working his way past both Smiley and Derisi into the 5th spot followed by his teammate #6 Bryan Cook.

Santo Derisi was experience problems with his one rear tire and was forced to slow down to finish the lap and make a tire change before returning to the race.

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#14 Andy Lagzdins came through in 9th place hot on the heals of Santo Derisi, who he would pass at the beginning of lap three while Derisi changed his tire and dropped back a few positions.

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Bryan Baker was off to a slow start and was only up to 14th by the 2nd lap and almost 30 seconds behind Jeremy Rice in 13th

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#5 Chad Duvall moved out of last place in 16th after passing Kim Kuhnle and was just under a minute behind Johnny Gallagher in 15th.

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In the Pro Am Class, Brent Sturdivant continued his charge after McGill and Johnson out front.

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Chris Bithell worked his way up to 6th behind Jeffrey Pickens.

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Michael Burrows recorded the second fastest 2nd Lap time for the Pro Am Class to move up into 8th place from 13th after the first lap.

Word of advice, you can go even faster when you look where you are going. I found it funny that you were looking over your shoulder both times I took your photo early in the race.

[Admin]

By the five mile mark of the third lap, Brandon Ballance had taken over the lead.

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Chris Jenks would also gain a position and keep pace with Ballance in the lead.

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Yokley was back to third and battling wheel to wheel with Chris Borich for the 3rd spot

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The battle continued between Houston and Cook with Houston maintaining the lead.

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Matt Smiley remained in 7th place with almost two minute lead over Andy Lagzdins in 8th.

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Todd Knippenberg rounded out the top 10 behind Rhett Butler, and Santo Derisi was beginning to close the gap after replacing his tire.

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I rushed down to the 8 Mile Marker to watch the Pros work their way up the creek and into the tunnel, and Brandon Ballance dropped into the creek first with Chris Jenks right behind him.

[Admin]

Brandon Ballance with his goggles off was moving along at a slow speed to avoid getting water in his airbox or on his hands, but with very limited oppurtunities to pass, Chris Jenks was willing and ready to get a little wet if it meant he could take over the lead.

Once the creek widened, Chris nailed the throttle and pinned it around Brandon creating a major splash, but he accomplished his mission and that was to take over the lead.

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Brandon Ballance never broke stride and maintained his slow speed as worked his way into the tunnel after Jenks.

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Chris Borich however had made the pass on William Yokley and took over the third spot.

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Even though Yokley had dropped back to 4th after leading just the lap prior, it still didn't hamper his spirits as he gives me the thumbs up.

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Michael Houston maintained a slight lead over Bryan Cook as they headed through the creek behind Yokley.

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Matt Smiley created a wake with his Polaris Predator as he tried to make up some time on the Four Stroke Riders in front of him.

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Andy Lagzdins maintained his 8th place position, but he was receiving some pressure from the Rookie Pro, #24 Rhett Butler in 9th.

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As Lagzdins and Butler head into the tunnel, Santo Derisi drops into the creek in front of Todd Knippenberg as he started his charge back through the pack as the 8th-12th Place riders were only seconds apart from each other three laps into the race.

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30 seconds later, Jeremy Rice followed by Bryan Baker made their way through the water trying to close in on the pack in front of them.

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Next through was Pro Am Rider, Adam McGill continuing to lead Duane Johnson by a small margin.

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Brent Strudivant remained in 3rd place and stayed on the gas through the water trying to close the gap on both McGill and Johnson.

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As Duane Johnson exited the tunnel, Brent Sturdivant had move in right behind him.

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Chris Bithell continued his charge and was up to 4th place followed by Brandon Sturdivant and Michael Burrows with Jeffrey Pickens dropping back to 7th place.

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By the end of the third lap, Michael Burrows passed Brandon Sturdivant to take over the 5th spot.

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In the Final lap, Chris Jenks continued to lead the race as he worked his way through lapped traffic and clouds of dust in his path.

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Chris Borich worked his way around Brandon Ballance and began his charge on Jenks in the lead.

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William Yokley remained in fourth place, but receiving some pressure from both Houston and Cook.

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Bryan Cook kept both Houston and Yokley within striking distance through the dust.

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Chris Borich applied the pressure to Chris Jenks in the lead for most of the lap, but the dust became too much for Borich to handle as he let off with a few miles to go and focused on maintaining his 2nd place finish over Brandon Ballance.

Jenks would cross the finish line and capture his first Overall Victory of his career with Borich only 10 seconds behind him in second place.

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#9 Brandon Ballance took the third and final podium spot to continue the Ballance racing team podium string alive as for the second time this season Brandon Ballance would earn his spot on the podium.

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Jenks and Ballance immediately requested some water and a towel to wash the dust off their face

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Less than a minute later, #6 Bryan Cook crossed the finish line in 4th place as the crowd cheered own their North Carolina rider after his impressive charge past both Yokley and Houston in the final lap.

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William Yokley finished in 5th with Michael Houston in his shadow in 6th place as the Four Stroke Team shined this weekend with all three of them finishing in the Top 6 Overall.

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Over a minute later, Matt Smiley charged his way to the finish line in 7th place where he stayed most of the race from start to finish.

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#16 Santo Derisi didn't disappoint his local fans either by charging his way back up to 8th place in the final lap of the race after having a tire/wheel issue earlier in the race.

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#24 Rhett Butlerf finished only 7 seconds behind Derisi in 9th Overall, which was his career best overall finish, which isn't bad considering this is only his second complete season of GNCC Racing.

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Todd Knippenberg finished out the day in 10th Overall and 10th in the Pro Class, which virtually tied his finish at the Wisp, which was his best overall finish of the season.

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#8 Jeremy Rice stayed hard on the gas the last lap and was able to close the 30 second gap between him and the middle back of Pro Riders, and he was able to pass his way up to 11th place.

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An exhausted #14 Andy Lagzdins dropped back to 12th Overall after Jeremy Rice caught and passed him on the last lap, which was only the third time all season he has finished out of the top 10 Overall.

If I were Lagzdins, I wouldn't feel too bad considering he was actually only 24 seconds out of 8th Overall as Derisi, Butler, Knippenberg, Rice, and Lagzdins all finished within a few seconds of each other after two hours of racing.

[Admin]

Adam McGill and Duane Johnson remained together the entire race with Adam McGill holding on to take his 7th win of the season and wrap up the Pro Am Championship, which will allow him to make the move to the Pro Class for the final 3 rounds of the GNC Series.

Brent Sturdivant held on to finish all four laps for the first time since Texas to finish in 3rd place and 16th Overall. Congratulations Brent, and I hope you rubbed it in to Brandon all the way home after he finished in 6th place.

Chris Bithell moved to within 5 seconds of Brent by the end of the race with Michael Burrows finishing right behind him in 6th.

[Admin]

The Top Three Overall Finishers (Jenks, Borich, Ballance) took to the Podium with the crowd gathered around.

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Chris Jenks apologized to blasting past Brandon Ballance in the Creek, and explained he knew that it might have been his only chance to pass.

Brandon Congratulated Jenks on his Win with a hand shake.

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Brandon had more important things to worry about like getting the Troph Girl, Traci Cecco's phone number and finding out what time Rick Cecco goes to bed, lol.

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Chris Borich didn't win this weekend, but his 2nd place finish moved him one step closer to his goal of a GNCC National Championship.

[Admin]

#7 Chris Jenks was #1 this weekend with his 1st overall Finish, and he displayed it with pride, and I have no doubt that this won't be the last time we seek Jenks at the top of the Podium because I think once someone gets the taste of a win, they want it even more the next time.

Congratulations Chris Jenks on a great race!!!

[Admin]

With the Podium Celebration about to begin, Brandon and Chris Borich wait for Jenks to pop his bottle of champagne.

[Admin]

The Podium Celebration concludes the coverage of the Pros and Pro Am Classes, and Woolin will take over from here with the Amateur Coverage.

[Linda Reed]

Originally posted by Admin
Their is an intense battle for the Championship in the Open A Class with only 3 points seperating the Top three before throw aways, and Craig Reed is right in the middle of it in 2nd place.

Craig Reed was a dominate rider in the Stock Class last year, and he is just as fast on a modified 450R, but he admits that he misses racing in the Stock Class. :D :D :D:) :)

You do a Great Job with your coverage of the races. Thank you!!:D :)

[Nikkiann]

Those are awesome pictures. I so wish I could've been there to support Brandon. He did awesome, though, and I'm so proud of him. :)

[ex kid]

best pictures I have seen yet!

[fastrider450r]

very great coverage as usual harlen!!!!

[Taz14racer]

Wat is up William?
dude i wanted to no if u had any spare parts?


Later Peace

[03GNCC270]

JUST WANDERING WHEN YOU ARE GOING TO FINISH THIS ONE. THANKS