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View Full Version : 2006 GNCC "Big Buck" Round #4 Afternoon Race Coverage



Admin
04-07-2006, 07:51 PM
Union, SC – Two weeks after some intense racing between the Killer B’s (Borich, Ballance, Bithell) and yet another podium sweep by the women with Traci Cecco putting her Yamaha YFZ450 out front, GNCC ATV racing resumes this weekend for Round #4 of the 13 race series.

Unlike last weekend, there isn’t any chance of snow, but severe thunderstorms. When arrived earlier today, it was a picture perfect day for racing with temps in the 70’s and partly cloudy skies and a slight breeze, but the forecast isn’t looking as pretty for tonight and Saturday with a line of thunderstorm moving in overnight and into tomorrow’s racing, which has the area under a tornado and hail watch along with damaging wind gust.

Either way, GNCC racing will go on as it did last year at Loretta Lynn’s after the area was flooded along with a tornados touching down in the area, but racers better be prepared for possibly the first true mud race of the season. It may be muddy tomorrow, but if we didn’t get the rain it would be a major dust fest as the ground is super dry and even walking stirs up the dust, and I would rather race in mud than dust any day.

Here is a glimpse at tonight’s radar, so it looks like the weathermen might know what they are talking about for a change.

Admin
04-07-2006, 08:23 PM
The weather may not be perfect tomorrow, but these kids didn’t seem to care as they were happy just to get a chance to race as the Youth ATV Racing is really taking off as more and more riders begin signing up.

Admin
04-07-2006, 08:28 PM
I also am not afraid of a little rain and mud because I will be making my 2006 racing debut on a Yamaha Raptor 700 in almost showroom condition besides the addition of a killswitch, Hiper wheels, Tireballs, and ITP GNCC Tires.

From my intial ride on the all new Raptor 700, I am really impressed, and I can't wait to throw a leg over it tomorrow for my first GNCC race this year, so wish me luck because I haven't even had a chance to ride an ATV since my trip to California to test ride the new Suzuki LT-R450.

Admin
04-07-2006, 08:33 PM
It appears that this might be another record weekend for GNCC racing as a large crowd gathered early Friday to register and because of the huge turnouts, the track this weekend has been extended from the normal 10-11 miles to nearly 14 miles long, so the morning race will probably only be 3 laps with the Pros pushing for 4 laps.

Admin
04-07-2006, 08:37 PM
Elka's new track side support program is really gaining attention because they are available to help any rider running Elka Suspension, and they really take interest in their customers which is great to see.

Ethan was working with one of the youth ATV racers suspension in preparation for tomorrow race.

Admin
04-07-2006, 08:40 PM
Santo Derisi will be back in action this weekend after bad wreck in the Mid East Series, which sidelined him for his hometown race at Steele Creek, but he is feeling good and can’t wait to get back out on the track this weekend.

Also, Bryan Cook is out of his sling after breaking his collarbone at the Gatorback after working his way up to 3rd overall, and he plans to make his return to racing at Loretta Lynn’s in two weeks.

Admin
04-07-2006, 08:42 PM
Big John was on the prowl and putting the breaks on anyone he caught pit riding, and he can be the funniest and nicest guy, but you don’t want to make him mad or you will see a whole different person.

Admin
04-07-2006, 08:45 PM
The skies were completely clear when the sunset, but things will be much different tomorrow, so check back for updates through the day from the Big Buck GNCC with Special thanks to all the ATVriders.com sponsors, Supporting Members, and ofcource Monica for making the live coverage possible.

Admin
04-08-2006, 07:10 PM
The rain never did come overnight, but just as the sun was rising, the lightning was streaking through the clouds and it appeared that it was surely going to be a rainy day.

Admin
04-08-2006, 07:37 PM
With the Youth Racer heading to the line, it began raining, but the rain would end just as quickly as it began and only a few sprinkles were around during the Youth ATV Race. The first group of the line was the 90 Mod with Walker Fowler leading the way closely followed by Michael Keleman

Admin
04-08-2006, 07:40 PM
Without the anticipated rain, the mini ATVs were stirring up a major dust cloud, which was would only be worse for the Morning or Afternoon race without any rain, and the Big Buck would look similar to the Yadkinville, NC race of last year.

Since Mother Nature wasn’t following through with the desperately needed rain, Racer Productions were prepared to atleast emphasize by apply some water on the starting area and spectator sections of the track.

Admin
04-08-2006, 07:42 PM
Brandon Boso was able to cut his way through the dust on his Honda 90 this weekend to take another win in the 90 Stock Limited Class, but he wasn’t able to make the Podium as he finished 10th Overall

Admin
04-08-2006, 07:46 PM
The Youth Podium belonged once again to Walker Fowler even after an early crash, and he was joined by Sam Parr and Stephen Mcculloch.

Admin
04-08-2006, 07:50 PM
Jesi Stracham was on her game this weekend as she just missed the Podium by 3 seconds followed by Seth Mumford only 8 seconds behind her in 5th Overall.

Admin
04-08-2006, 07:55 PM
With the Women starting on the first row, whoever could jump out to the front early with the Holeshot could atleast have some clean air while the rest of the class eating dust, and the battle was underway early among the highly competitive women racers with Angel Atwell leading the way followed by Stephanie Patron, Jennifer Fulkerson, and Traci Cecco.

Admin
04-08-2006, 08:08 PM
The first lap, I could barely see for most of the race, which made passing very difficult in the wide open sections, but finally the rain arrived which cut the dust and provided the break that I needed to charge my way through the pack.

I caught Gallagher and Vickerd battling for the lead, which were my toughest pair to pass because I didn’t want to risk interfering with their battle, but I received a break several miles into the second lap, when I was able to find lines around them one at a time, which meant that I only had the women to begin to pick off.

The last lap, I put my head down and rode the Raptor like I have been riding it for years because it was extremely easy to adapt too, and I was extremely impressed at the way it handled in the woods and especially through some of the really whooped out sections of the track,. By the end of the lap, I passed several of the women, but I just didn’t have enough time to move my way to the front pack of ladies, but I did narrow the gap, and I had a blast after watching all these races this year through the lens of my camera.

I will be releasing a full story on my Raptor 700 ride in the very near future with videos.

Special Thanks to Fred Mudd and Bonnie Cook for helping with photos of the Morning Race, and Yamaha for making it possible for me to race this weekend on the Raptor 700

Admin
04-08-2006, 08:12 PM
In the end, Angel Atwell was finally able to take her first Overall Win of the season over Stephanie Parton followed by the Women’s Champion, Traci Cecco.

Admin
04-08-2006, 08:45 PM
Chris Borich was able to squeeze out the win at Steele Creek over Bill Ballance by picking the perfect line just before exiting the woods for the finish line, which extended his points lead. On the other hand, Matt Smiley has had a rough start to his season, which is reminiscent to the start of his race season in 2003, but he was able to get back on his game starting at Big Buck and finished the year in 5th Overall, so he is hoping for the same turn of events this year.

Admin
04-08-2006, 08:49 PM
Chris Borich’s early season charge doesn’t seem to have Bill Ballance worried as he feels confident in his Yamaha race prograrm, and he feels consistent finishes on the Podium will be the key this year because everyone is stepping it up.

Admin
04-08-2006, 08:55 PM
William Yokley finally returned to the racing the LT-R450 Quad Racer after racing the Suzuki LTZ400 the past two races while he waited on A-arms to pair with his Elka Shocks to narrow down the LTR for the tighter woods. He finally received the Roll Design A-arms a few days before the race along with a custom built dry break system from IMS to speed up the pit stops, which will hopefully be the right combination to get him back on the Podium as he did in Florida with the LT-R450.

Admin
04-08-2006, 08:59 PM
The IMS custom built Dry Break for William Yokley looked very similar to the Dry Break used by Jeff Stoess on his Cannondale in 2004

Admin
04-08-2006, 09:03 PM
Kim Kuhnle has returned to his Yamaha roots as he made the switch from the Polaris Predator to the Yamaha YFZ450.

Admin
04-08-2006, 09:10 PM
ATVriders.com Pro Race Reporter, Andy Lagzdins was looking for another Top 10 finish on his Dirt First / Duncan Honda 450R.

Admin
04-08-2006, 09:12 PM
With local Union City, SC high school student singing the National Anthem, the start of the Afternoon race was about to begin.

Admin
04-08-2006, 09:14 PM
Even the local Beauty Queen was among spectators lining the edge of the track for the start of the Afternoon race

Admin
04-08-2006, 09:17 PM
The start of the Pro Race had Matt Smiley grabbing the Holeshot on his Polaris Predator followed by Duane Johnson and Chris Jenks on the inside while Bill and Brandon Ballance drifted to the outside.

Admin
04-08-2006, 09:21 PM
The Ballance Brothers were throwing up a spray of roost as they tried to slingshot their Yamaha’s past Smiley heading toward the second turn.

Admin
04-08-2006, 09:24 PM
Bill Ballance and William Yokley were able to power their way past Duane Johnson, but Smiley remained in the lead followed by Chris Jenks

Admin
04-08-2006, 09:29 PM
The start of the Pro Am Class had Mike H. Carter rounding the turn on the inside with Taylor Kiser going wide as they lead the pack of 21 Pro Am Racers this weekend arpund turn one.

Admin
04-08-2006, 09:32 PM
Mike Carter would end up doing a 360, which allowed Kiser to take over the lead with Sean Neidlinger move into the second spot off the start.

Admin
04-09-2006, 03:02 PM
The first rider to arrive at the 9.5 Mile Point was William Yokley on his Suzuki LT-R450 QuadRacer closely followed by Chris Borich and Bill Ballance

Admin
04-09-2006, 03:08 PM
Matt Smiley had slipped back to 4th place followed the battling Santo Derisi and Duane Johnson.

Admin
04-09-2006, 03:10 PM
LTE Racing’s Michael Houston, was back in 7th place, but before the end of the lap, he worked his way past both Derisi and Johnson to take over the 5th spot behind Matt Smiley.

Admin
04-09-2006, 03:15 PM
Johnny Gallagher rounded out the top ten only a few seconds behind Adam McGill and Brandon Ballance.

Admin
04-09-2006, 03:21 PM
Bryan Hulsey launches over the hillside with Chris Jenks hot on his heals as he was back to 15th place and quickly charging his way back through the pack as he moved past Hulsey and up to 10th before the end of the first lap with Gallagher dropping back to 13th place and Hulsey moving backwards to 17th place.

Admin
04-09-2006, 03:28 PM
Pro Am Rider, Sean Neidlinger already caught several of the Pro riders and was chasing after Andy Lagzdins

Admin
04-09-2006, 03:31 PM
Another Pro Am Rider on the move was Jeffrey Pickens closely followed by Taylor Kiser

Admin
04-09-2006, 03:47 PM
3.5 Miles into the second lap, William Yokley remained in the lead with Chris Borich right behind him while Bill Ballance was several seconds behind the pair battling for the lead.

Admin
04-09-2006, 03:50 PM
The next rider to appear was Michael Houston moving into the 4th spot with Matt Smiley remaining close behind in 5th place with Duane Johnson now applying the pressure on Smiley

Admin
04-09-2006, 03:55 PM
Brandon Ballance was up to 7th place and Chris Jenks remained on the move as he was now up to 8th place and just waiting for the opportunity to make his move on Ballance, and before the end of the lap, Jenks would pass both Ballance and the fading Smiley as he moved up to 6th place behind Duane Johnson.

Admin
04-09-2006, 03:57 PM
The Pro Rookie, #9 Adam McGill was holding down the 9th spot on his Holz Racing Honda 450R followed by yet another Pro Rookie, Chris Bithell rounding out the top ten.

Admin
04-09-2006, 03:59 PM
Santo Derisi slipped back to 12th place behind Bryan Baker

Admin
04-09-2006, 04:01 PM
Andy Lagzdins was on the move in an attempt to make up for a bad start, and he was up to 13th behind Derisi

Admin
04-09-2006, 04:05 PM
Jeffrey Pickens had taken over the Pro Am Lead by the 6 mile marker followed by Taylor Kiser, and the pair was within seconds of the Overall lead held by William Yokley with adjusted time.

Sean Neidlinger was back to third place after his foot peg was almost ripped completely out of the frame on the shifter side apparently from one of the many tree stumps along the trail, which forced him to slow down.

Admin
04-09-2006, 04:10 PM
Ryan Morphew held the 4th spot with Craig Reed riding right on his rear bumper while Tyler Lenig was moving in on the pair, and by the end of the lap, Lenig passed them both and took over the 4th spot

Admin
04-09-2006, 04:41 PM
Jarrod McClure was also on the charge from a last place start when his Honda wouldn’t fire up on the starting line, but he was quickly recovering as he moved up to 8th place

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:12 PM
At the 11 Mile Marker on the 2nd Lap, was the second of two creek jumps and this one was more of a plunge than a jump as the face was worn away by the afternoon race, so there wasn't any lip to give the riders a boost, which is demonstrated by Chris Jenks as he plunges off the bank and into the creek holding down the 6th place position.

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:14 PM
Andy Lagzdins created a huge spray of water as he plunged into the creek with Pro Am Rider, Jeffrey Pickens right behind him ready to make the leap.

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:17 PM
Shortly afterwards, Gary Bryson would launch his Honda into the water, which surrounded him in cloud of steam as his 450R came to a stop and would not refire despite repeated attempts, which dropped him out of the race while he was in the top 5 in the Pro Am Class.

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:23 PM
The race was now in the third lap, and Borich had taken over the lead with Ballance right behind him as they blasted there way through the trees near the 6 mile marker on the track.

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:24 PM
The Rookie, Duane Johnson had moved into the 3rd spot followed by Michael Houston

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:26 PM
William Yokley not only had lost his lead, but was all the way back to 5th place

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:27 PM
Matt Smiley held the 7th spot over Brandon Ballance

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:30 PM
The always cheerful Adam McGill remained in 9th Place, and he couldn’t resist the opportunity to pose for the Camera as he leaped up out of one of the many ditches on the track in the woods section of the course.

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:33 PM
I rushed over to the 10 mile marker before the end of the third lap, and I arrived just in time as Bill Ballance came through in the lead now followed by Chris Borich

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:36 PM
Duane Johnson continued to hold the final podium spot with just over a lap to go with Michael Houston several seconds back in the fourth place with Yokley remaining in the 5th spot.

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:38 PM
Chris Bithell rounded out the top 10 behind Adam McGill.

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:41 PM
Jeffrey Pickens remained in the Pro Am Lead and running in the top ten overall, and he now moved past Andy Lagzdins

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:44 PM
Andy Lagzdins held down the 13th spot behind Scott Barron and Bryan Baker, and he was now feeling the pressure of Pro Am Rider, Taylor Kiser with Craig Reed and Ryan Morphew only several seconds behind.

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:47 PM
I headed back to the Pro Pits for the beginning of the fourth and final lap, which was only about a mile from the finish line, and the word came in that Michael Houston had taken over the lead, which had Cheryl Bithell (Chris Bithell’s Mom) jumping for joy as they waited for Houston to emerge around the corner from the pine trees.

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:55 PM
It was confirmed as Michael Houston rounded the turn holding the lead with Team Manager, Kevin Johnston and Crystal Houston rushing out on the track to root on Houston as he screamed down the Pro Pits with the rest of the Pro no where in sight.

Admin
04-09-2006, 05:57 PM
As Houston disappeared around the turn on the opposite side of the Pro Pits, Duane Johnson emerged in 2nd place with his hood smashed in on his Honda from hitting a tree before the Pro Pits, which bent his handlebars, bud everyone wondering what happened to Borich and Ballance?

The word would finally come in that the pair ran into problems in the last few miles of the lap with Borich’s Honda sucking water on the same creek crossing that took Bryson out of the race the lap prior and Ballance went over the bars.

Admin
04-09-2006, 06:01 PM
William Yokley was now back in third with Bill Ballance and Chris Jenks in chase as the top pro positions were all mixed up.

Admin
04-09-2006, 06:04 PM
Borch finally emerged around the turn, but he needed goggles. With only one lap left, he was so eager to get back into the race, he took off before his father, Joe, could get them secure, which required him to stop again and have his goggles fixed.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:11 AM
Next into the Pits was Brandon Ballance for a quick splash of fuel and a fresh set of goggles.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:16 AM
The Rookie Pros, McGill and Bithell both stopped for Fuel on the final lap with Matt Smiley coming in just under 10 seconds later for a final fuel stop to finish out the race.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:20 AM
In the Pro Am Class, the battle remained intense among the top four riders as they were only seconds apart with Pickens maintaining the lead followed by Kiser, Reed, and Morphew.

Tyler Lenig was nearly a minute behind in 5th place followed by Jarrod McClure in 6th as he continued his charge from a last place start passing Sean Neidlinger as he headed into the pits to see if they could fix his foot peg for the final lap of the race.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:24 AM
Bill Neidlinger had a fresh peg in his hand ready to make the change, but it was beyond a quick repair as the peg was almost completely ripped out of the frame similar to what happened to Sean a few years ago at Rausch Creek with his LRD Aluminum frame.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:27 AM
With the action in the Pro Pits settling down, it was time to head down to the first creek jump at the 7 mile mark of the final lap and see if Michael Houston would continue to hold the lead.

Sure enough, the Looney Tuned Exhaust rider, Michael Houston was out front as he launched over the creek jump with less than a half a lap to the checkered flag.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:30 AM
Next through was William Yokley in the second spot as Angel Atwell in the distance cheered him on with a thumbs up, and Duane Johnson was now back in the final podium spot.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:32 AM
Ballance remained in 4th place with Borich moving past Jenks into the 5th spot as the top 6 riders were only separated by 2 seconds each, which meant for an insane dash to the finish.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:35 AM
Nearly a minute later was Brandon Ballance followed by Adam McGill in 9th as he busted out a no footer over creek jump.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:36 AM
Pickens continued to hold the Pro Am lead with Craig Reed making the pass on Taylor Kiser and moving into the second spot.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:38 AM
Ryan Morphew remained in hunt back in 4th place, and only a few second behind the leaders.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:42 AM
Now it was off to the pines before the finish and just after the second creek jump to see who would be holding the lead with the checkered flag less than a mile away, and it would be Michael Houston hard on the gas as he took made not only his first Podium appearance, but also added his name to the list of Overall winners, which had the LTE Racing crew going crazy.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:47 AM
Next through was William Yokley in second place followed by Duane Johnson, Bill Ballance, and Chris Borich as together in a continuous line, which meant for a dramatic finish.

Ballance amazingly charged his way past both Yokley and Johson in the final mile of the track to take the second spot with Yokley holding off Borich for the final Podium Spot with Johnson finishing in 5th place and only 9 seconds out of the lead to show how tight the racing was to the checkered.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:48 AM
Chris Jenks worked his way through lapped traffic to finish out the day in 6th place followed by Brandon Ballance, Adam McGill, Chris Bithell, and Bryan Baker rounding out the top 10 Pros.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:52 AM
Up on the Podium, William Yokley couldn't say enough about the new Suzuki LT-R450 Quad Racer, and he will be on it for the rest of the season, and surprisingly the only two Podium appearances Yokley has had this year were on the QuadRacer in Florida and now South Carolina.

At Georgia and North Carolina he just missed the Podium with 4th and 5th Overall finishes.

Admin
04-10-2006, 10:56 AM
I don’t think that I have ever seen Bill Ballance so happy to finish in the runners up position as he gained 7 points on Borich with his last minute dash through the pack with Borich finishing in 4th place.

Admin
04-10-2006, 11:02 AM
The Overall Winner, Michael Houston seemed to be in complete shock after his outstanding performance at the Big Buck GNCC, and with many of his Mid East racing buddies in the crowd, excitement filled the air with cheers from the crowd.

Houston’s Wife, Crystal was on cloud nine in excitement and it was great to see everything come together for this racing family.

Congratulations Michael Houston on your great ride at the Big Buck GNCC

Admin
04-10-2006, 11:10 AM
Jeffrey Pickens would put his head down in the final lap and pull away from the pack to secure the Pro Am Win and 9th Overall finish followed by Taylor Kiser, Ryan Morphew, and Craig Reed in 11-13th Overall.

Tyler lenig worked his way up to 5th Place finish and 18th Overall with Jarrod McClure just missing the top 20 with a 21st Overall and 6th place finish.

This concludes the Pro and Pro Am Afternoon Race Coverage, and feel free to share your photos and comments.

sk8ter0712
04-10-2006, 12:30 PM
nice coverage Admin
and when will the photos be up

Admin
04-10-2006, 12:41 PM
Originally posted by sk8ter0712
nice coverage Admin
and when will the photos be up

tonight

watts16
04-12-2006, 08:13 PM
Originally posted by Admin
tonight

Great Coverage. Could you check your PMs?

Lurch
04-17-2006, 08:23 AM
Originally posted by Admin
I also am not afraid of a little rain and mud because I will be making my 2006 racing debut on a Yamaha Raptor 700 in almost showroom condition besides the addition of a killswitch, Hiper wheels, Tireballs, and ITP GNCC Tires.

From my intial ride on the all new Raptor 700, I am really impressed, and I can't wait to throw a leg over it tomorrow for my first GNCC race this year, so wish me luck because I haven't even had a chance to ride an ATV since my trip to California to test ride the new Suzuki LT-R450.

Harlen, what happened to your Suzuki support?

bradley300
04-17-2006, 08:50 AM
he quit racing so he could do the race reports, so now he just test quads at the races if he has a chance to race i beleive

angelon400ex
04-17-2006, 09:10 AM
By the way...Congratulations Harlen!!!!! Super race especially considering you haven't had much recent seat time and I have to say you are the epitome of the multi-tasker. You take some killer pics too! You the man!!!!:D :D :D