2006 GNCC Series Round #8 -The Spartan - Sparta, KY - Race Coverage

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Sparta, KY - With threaten clouds moving in from the North, the Youth racers headed to the starting line for the last time until after the summer break, and the first Youth race ever in Kentucky attracted an impressive attendance of 64 Youth Racers.

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Michael Spadling made the long trip to Kentucky from Maryland, and his father tightens up his Helmet before the start of the race.

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Cheyne Gravley stands for the National Anthenm and the Youth Race was about to begin.

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Michael Keleman was the first rider to round turn one with the Holeshot in the 90cc Modified Class with Walker Fowler right behind him.

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Michael Ferraro would lead the way early in the 90cc Mod (8-10) Class

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Kyle Hellyer grabbed the Holeshot in the 90cc Limited Class while Austin Timmons and Ian Smith battled for position.

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Michael Mussi took the early lead in the 70 Production Class, and he would maintain it till the final lap of the race when he apparently ran into problems, which dropped him into second place behind Bryden Shick.

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Dakota Rodenbarger took a tumble in the second turn, which dropped him to the rear of the pack, and it didn't take long before Bryaden Shick was applying the pressure.

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Walker Fowler made the pass on Michael Keleman early in the first lap, and he held over a minute lead by the end of the lap. Fowler added to his lead with every passing lap, but unlike the previous race at "John Penton" he wasn't able to completely check out from the rest of the pack.

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Michael Keleman had been struggling all year, but he finally got the monkey off his back and rode his way to a Podium finish in 2nd Overall to match his number plate.

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Joshua Merritt earned his first Podium appearance after coming extremely close at Steele Creek when he finshed 4th Overall behind Brandon Boso who suprised everyone on his limited Honda 90. Brandon Boso once again won his class this wekend, but he 10th Overall.

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Kyle Riley claimed his third win of the season finishing ahead of Brycen Neal

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Jodi Stracham finished 3rd in the 90cc Limited Class, and her sister Jesi Stracham finished 11th in the 90cc Prod Mod Class.

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The tighest race of the day to the finish line was between Kyle Hellyer and Ryan Earley as Earley worked his way up from the rear of the pack to challenge Hellyer for the win on the final lap, but Hellyer was able to claim the win with only 3 seconds to spare.

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Walker Fowler did a donut when he crossed the finish line with his sixth win of the season.

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Cheyne Gravley just missed the Podium finishing 4th Overall on his Polaris.

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The top 3 overall finishers (Walker Fowler, Michael Keleman, and Joshua Merritt) took to the Podium. The Youth Racing Action will resume this September at the Yadkin Vallery Stomp in Yadkinville, NC.

Congratulations to all the Youth racer that made the trip to Sparta.

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With the Morning Race starting at 10AM, I quickly geared up after the Youth Race and mounted the Polaris Predator to join Jeff Stoess on the Polaris Outlaw at the starting line as we were both racing in the Sportsman Class this weekend on almost completely stock Polaris ATVs besides the addition of Tireballs and few setup changes performed by GNCC Polaris Racer, John Gallagher.

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Brock Parker was back on his Kawasaki after racing a Can Am at the WPSA this previous weekend in Georgia where he took the Win on Saturday and claimed $500 ATVriders.com Rock N Roll Award.

Brock was on a roll at the Penton when he took a nasty spill going through the mulch, which sidelined him for the remainder of the race, but he feels great and was ready to pickup where he left off at the Penton before his wreck.

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Can-Am (BRP) are really stepping it up as they now have a full rig, which will travel to the all the races for the remainder of the year.

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The Can-am race team were all lined up beside one another on the starting line with Mike Penland and Michael Swift in the Utility Stock Class followed by Cliffton Beasley and Scott Kilby in the Utility Modified Class.

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Reigning Utility Unlimited Champion, Kevin Johnston, was looking for a repeat win this weekend on his Kawasaki Vforce, and he was joined on the starting line by his wife JeAnn

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Jean Lovely literally carried her baby during some of the 2005 GNCC Season, but she hasn't been at the races in 2006 until this wekend when he showed up with her little boy

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Denise Oplinger made the trip from PA to race this weekend at "The Spartan" against of the fastest ATV women racer's in the World.

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Sligo Press, Scott Norton, it not only a racer, but he also is responsible for the awesome huge autograph posters that both Andy Lagzdins and Bryan Baker are giving out in the Pro Pits.

Scott has a real passion for ATV racing, and you find a nicer guy to be involved in our sport, so if you ever looking to some poster done up or any other type of printing needs, he is the man because he offers great discounts to fellow ATV racers, which is awesome.

For your Printing needs, contact Scott at 877 439-3626

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Shawn Collins is one of the few Stock Class racers from the past still racing in the Morning, and he is currently running in second place in points in the Novice C Stock Class behind Evan Williams

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Now for the racing Action, Stephanie Parton grabbed the Holeshot aboard her Polaris Outlaw closely followed by Jennifer Fulkerson and Traci Cecco. An Quincy Heller was also off to a great start before spinning out in the second turn.

By the end of the first lap, Traci Cecco had not only taken over the lead, but she had pulled over a minute lead over Angel Atwell now in second followed closely by Stephanie Parton.

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The Super Senior & Sportsman Class started on the second Row, and it was Jeff Stoess launching off the line with the Holeshot followed by myself (Harlen Foley) right behind him heading through turn one. Jeff and I both commented on how quickly the Polaris machines fired up at the start.

George Richards would take the early lead over the rest of the Super Senior Class, but it wouldn’t take long for John Gallagher to work his Outlaw to the front with Ken Vickerd moving into second place.

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Jeff Stoess quickly pulled away from John Rowling and I as we both ran into problems in the first lap. John Rowling normally races in the Afternoon, but since he is needed in the pits for Chris Borich in the afternoon, he decided to join Jeff and I in the Sportsman Class. John moved into second place before picking a bad line, which was too narrow for him to get through. He was forced to push his Honda backwards up a hill and around the trees, which surely had him wishing the Honda had reverse. I passed John and took over second place, but was over a minute behind Jeff in the lead.

I had my share of badluck in the first lap as well when my front tire popped off the bead, which made it difficult to steer as the front end wanted to drift to the right. As I was fighting with the front end, the seat came lose, which forced me to stop and re-secure it, but it remained on for the rest of the race without a problem, but I wasn’t riding very aggressively with the Predator wanting to pull to the right, which netted me a few collision with trees and eventually bending the front tie-rod, which only amplified the tendency to pull to the right.

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Hoyt Penland would grab the Holeshot in the Utility Unlimited Class with Kevin Johnston and Robert Obrick rounding the turn right behind him.

By the end of the lap, Doug Henke would charge his way into the lead, but he would run into problems in the second lap, which allowed Hoyt to reclaim the lead.

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Can-am machines pulled the Holeshots in both the Utility Stock & Modified with Michael Swift leading the charge in the Stock Class over Mike Penland, and Scott Kilby lead the way in the Modified Class.

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Joey Margueria with his Mercury wings blasted his way to the front past Caleb Jacobs to take the early lead, but by the end of the lap there was a three way battle for the lead between Joey Margueria, Scott Sleppy, and Travis Bell with Sleppy leading the way.

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Glen Pritchard on his Suzuki LT-R450 lead charge in the 35+ Class from start to finish, which earned him the final spot on the Podium, but more on this to follow.

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Josh Ross grabbed the Holeshot in the Novice Stock C Class with chaos breaking out behind him as Jason Kinder slide sideways on his YFZ450, and Erik Vickerd lost control of his Honda and went flying over the bars

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Erik Vickerd would get back on his feet only to collapse back to the ground with dirt packed into his helmet, which ended his day of racing, and I hope he is OK because I haven’t heard.

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The 16-21 C Class Start was just as crazy with over 30 racers coming through the first turn. Jon Horning would grab the Holeshot, but riders were going every which direction behind him.

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The 22+ Class had even more riders with over 40 riders, which was the largest class of the day, and Robert Brancamp would grab the Holeshot, but Brad Allamon would make that pass by the second turn and take over the lead before heading into a small section of woods.

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A bottleneck quickly formed as the over 40 riders tried to jam their way through the small section of woods before another high speed section of the fields.

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With nearly 300 racers out on the 11 mile track, Traci Cecco was leading the way on her Alba Yamaha YFZ450 and Jeff Stoess had moved into second Overall passing both Angel Atwell and Stephanie Parton.

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John Rowling had overcome his early problems and began to pressure Angel Atwell as he moved into 3rd Overall.

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5 Time GNCC Bike Pro Champion, Scott Summers was out of the track this weekend on a Utility Quad with a Helmet Camera strapped to his helmet.

The Sparta GNCC was sponsored by Tireballs, which was founded by Scott and his father Wade Summers several years ago, which has since changed ATV racing forever as riders don't need to bring spare tires to the race because they no longer need to worry about flat tires.

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Joey Margueria would go on to win his 5th consecutive race of the season in the Sport Class as finished his second best race of the year with a 10th Overall.

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John Gallagher was leading the way until the last lap when he got not one, but three flat tires, which dropped him back to second place with Ken Vickerd taking the win.

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As for me, after fighting to steer the Polaris the first two laps, I decided to end the race before the end of the third lap, so I could make it to the Podium for the Morning Race. If it weren’t for the steering issues, the Predator was really comfortable to ride and had plenty of power and torque, which allowed me to ride in a taller gear instead of constantly revving the engine. It was also very responsive and the thumb throttle was easy on the thumb as I didn’t get fatigued at all during the race.

Also, unlike other Sport ATVs, the Polaris machines have a connection plug for a kill switch, but I wasn’t aware of this prior to the race, so I ordered Pro Armor Kill Switches, which required us to splice the wires to install them on the Predator and Outlaw.

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Michael Shelley would battle with Hoyt Penland to the checkered Flag and take his third win of the season, and John Bowers would finish in third, which kept him out front in the Points battle.

Kevin Johnston proved his determination to finish the race because when his throttle broke, he was left pulling on the throttle cable with one hand and steering with the other to finish the race out the race in 5th place.

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Michael Swift would lead Utility Stock Class until the final lap when he apparently ran into problems, which cost him several minutes. This was the break that Sam Williams needed to claim the win, which was amazing considering what Sam went through to even make the race this weekend.

His ATV was stolen after the Penton three weeks ago, and he luckily was able to recover it, but not until it was basically destroyed by the vandals, which involved a collision with a truck. The Kawasaki was left with severe frame damage, which required Sam to use a Porter Power to straighten the frame, but he never gave up and amazingly he earned the win this weekend, which probably couldn't have come at a better time considering what he has been through the past couple of weeks.

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With the checkered flag out, Traci Cecco claimed her 6th win of the season and is well on the way to winning yet another Championship. Less than two minutes behind her was Jeff Stoess in second overall on the Polaris Outlaw as he put in an incredible race on the Outlaw, which he had only ridden a few minutes prior to the race and hasn’t even rode an ATV since last November.

Unfortunately for Jeff, he wouldn’t be allowed on the Podium as well as John Rowlings finishing in third Overall.

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Finishing 4th Overall was Glen Pritchard in the 35+ Class, which was enough to earn him a spot on the Podium after an impressive charge from several rows back at the start.

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Stephanie Parton finished just 3 seconds behind Pritchard with adjusted time and claimed 5th Overall and the final spot on the Podium

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To conclude the Morning Race Podium, Traci Cecco drew the name of one lucky person to receive a free complete set of Tireballs.

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As I headed over to the start of the Afternoon Race, I saw Houser Racing’s Jeff Houser heading to the pits after racing in the 22+ C Class in the Morning, and he finished 14th in a class of over 40 riders.

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I was able to catch the Pros just before they were leaving their pits to head over to the starting line, and I couldn't help but notice that William Yokley finally received an IMS oversized gas tank for his LT-R450, and I must say IMS did an excellent job designing the tank as it blends right in with the stock plastic and provides approx. an additional gallon on fuel according to William Yokley.

Prior to Sparta, Yokley has been using a stock tank with an aluminum fabricated quick-fill system attached, which doesn't work nearly as smooth as the real deal.

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"Mighty" Matt Smiley was geared up once again and ready to race the Polaris Predator as they have come to an agreement for the remainder of the 2006 season, and he was more determined as ever to get back up with the front runners.

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Chris Jenks has really proven his talent in the past two races winning the Overall, and he is doing it all working a fulltime job and even doing most of the wrenching on his Honda himself with the help of his family.

Jenks makes some last minute inspection off his Houser Racing 450R before heading over to the starting line.

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Andy Lagzdins signs a Sligo Press poster for a race prior to gearing up for the race, and for those of you that suspected he was making the switch to Polaris this weekend, I am sorry, but I just couldn't resist the temptation. Last Tuesday, Andy Lagzdins offered to help me with doing some testing on the Polaris Outlaw and Predator, and I happen to have some Polaris gear, so it was a perfect fit atleast on Tuesday.

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With Rodney Tomlin announcing to the Pros to head over the start, Brandon Ballance put on his game face and mounted his Yamaha YFZ450.

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Over at the start, Rhett Butler patiently waited his turn to lineup on the Pro Row with his mom by his side. Many of you probably don't realize how young Rhett really is, but he just graduated High School three weeks ago the day after the "John Penton", which makes him the youngest rider on Pro Row.

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Rhett Butler may be the youngest, and Kim Kuhnle is the oldest as he is twice the age of most of the riders on Pro Row, but as he proves with this photo, he still has what it takes to be competitive on the track and loving every minute of it.

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Adam McGill was his usual playful self and just couldn't sit still as he jumped from bumper to bumper, well maybe not, but he did jump on Michael Houston's Bumper followed by a quick dance, which had Houston thinking "where does he qet all of this energy", lol.

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Meanwhile, Johnny Gallagher sat on his bumper to keep Adam McGill off it, and he received some consoling from the Morning Overall Winner, Traci Cecco, on the condition of the track and some of better lines for him to take during the Afternoon race.

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Amazingly, Jeremy Rice finishes 4th Overall at the Penton on an almost completely stock LT-R450, and three weeks later, no one still hasn't stepped up to provide him with A-arms, shocks, and etc...

I could only imagine how much faster Jeremy Rice could be if he had the race program and backing like many of the other Top Pros.

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Back in the Pro Am Row is another extremely fast racer, Billy Good, that just doesn't have the budget to build a full race quad, but atleast Wilson Racing finally took notice and stepped up to the plate and provided him with a Polaris Predator to race for the rest of the season.

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Dustin Pigott has made the move to 4 Stroke A this year, and he has been improving all year with his two best finishes of the year the past two rounds.

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Thomas Wright dominated last year in the 35+ C Class, so he made the move to Vet for 2006, and he has been up against some stiff competition with Chris Earlywine leading the class, but Thomas is holding his own in second place followed by Kenneth Tincher.

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Mark Notman finished in the runners up spot in the Open B Class in 2004 behind Shane Benson, and he moved to 4 Stoke A in 2005 where he finished in 7th, so he is back again this year looking to move up in the ranks. The past two rounds, he has done exactly that by taking the win at the John Penton and finishing a career best 14th Overall, which followed a 4th and 23rd Overall at the Showtime! GNCC. As a result, he has jumped up into 5th place in points and not far out of the top three with Brandon Sommers leading the Class.

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Brandon Sommers & his father Laz have a plan and they are sticking too it! Brandon only started riding ATVs just a few years ago, and he finally gave racing a try at Mathew's Farm in 2004 at the end of the season in the first year racer class, and he finished an impressive 7th Place. By his fourth race, he earned his first win and has been hooked ever since.

He has went on to win the C jClass Championship(2004), B Class Championship(2005), and he is enroute to win the A Class Championship in 2006. If he achieves his goal, I believe he will be the first person to ever do it, and he will have done it despite receiving plenty of pressure to jump to Pro Am or even Pro.

If he wins A Class, I will imagine the Pro Am Class will be next on his list, and I wish him the best of luck.

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Well, enough history lets get ready to race, and I must say it has to be nice to get a good luck kiss on the starting line, and it must be working for Pro Rookie, Brent Sturdivant because he has been on fire this year and after just missing the Podium with a 4th Overall at Loretta Lynn's he made the switch to Pro and followed it up with a 5th Overall.

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Jason Weigandt gets in one last minute interview with Bill Ballance on the line prior to the start of the race, and Bill was pumped to have his entire family with him at the track this weekend including his newborn daughter.

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Chris Borich lost the Overall Points lead after a rough race at the Penton, but he remained tied with Bill Ballance in Pro Points, so he needed finish ahead of Bill Ballance this weekend more than ever, and with the playing of the National Anthem, he was about to get his chance in only a few minutes.

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I must say Michael & Crystal Houston show they are truly proud to be Americans with the attention they give to the National Anthem, and if it weren't for our freedom, we couldn't be doing what we love to do, but we still need to stick together and be heard by those Anti-ATV groups and tree huggers that feel we are bad people.

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With the first turn lined with spectators, it was time for the start of the Afternoon Race.

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Rounding the first Turn with the lead and the ITP Holeshot was none other than Bill Ballance

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By turn two, Duane Johnson remained right behind Ballance with Jenks, Bithell, and Borich in chase

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Bryan Baker & Kim Kuhnle emerge out of the woods almost side by side as they were running in the top 10 off the start.

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Brent Sturdivant and Rhett Butler were battling for position near the rear of the pack with Michael Houston in chase.

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Dead last into the woods was William Yokley after his Suzuki wouldn't fire on the starting line, which left him eating dust as he quickly began to work his way through the pack.

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Next Up, Pro Am Class, and Tyler Lenig took charge early on, and unfortunately his father was in attendance to see it, so Tim her was your boy's excellent Holeshot!!!!

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Chaos broke out behind Lenig as Kyle Martin collided with Mike Lucas, which sent Rob Hertz darting to his right to avoid being caught up in the mess.

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Billy Good was off to yet another great start in third place behind Jeffrey Pickens as he launched out of the short section of trees after the start.

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The Pro Am Class Points Leader,SEan Neidlinger dropped back to mid pack a few turns into the race ,and he wasn't looking as agressive as normal.

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The 4 Stoke A Class had Michael Sroka launching his Polaris Predator out front with the lead

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Thomas Brown and Brandon Sommers almost collided on the start, which left the pair back at the rear of the pack early on, but by the end of the first lap, they worked their way up to mid pack and continued the charge together for the next two laps with only a few seconds seperating the pair as they clawed their way to the front behind Kevin Yoho in the lead.

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Open A, Mrach Marshall crested the Hill first on the inside, but he would quickly receive some company from Matt Hanna and Ryan Lane screaming around the outside.

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Matt Hanna would claim the early lead from Marc Marshall, but he would later be passed by David Crane with Ryan Lane applying the pressure to Hanna and eventually making the pass as wel .

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Vet 30+ Class had Shane Gillispie grabbing the Holeshot with expert starter Michael Novak right behind him with his fenders stripped of all stickers besides the ATVriders.com stickers

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Thomas Wright was also on the charge, but by the end of the first lap, Sean DeLaney would be leading the way followed by Bruce Marshall.

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Yet Anothe Polaris would grab the Holeshot with Todd Rothermel leading the way in the Stock Class on a Polaris Outlaw.

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Jim Pinkston grabbing the Holeshot in the Junior 25+ Class

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Gary Belbeck, AKA "Popo" would lead the Senior Class through the first turn, but the end of the first lap, Dave Simmons would gain control of the lead with Gray dropping back to 13th place.

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Brent Flotz grabbed the Holeshot in 4 Stroke B with Timothy Wertman and an unkown rider on a White Yamaha YFZ450 giving him a run for his money.

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Unfortunately for Timothy Wertman, he caught a rut and was pitched off his Honda while rounding an off chamber turn.

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Part Two

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Part Three

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Part Four - The magnets he was wearing worked because his Honda chased him down, but luckily he wasn't hurt and jumped back to his feet to resume the race, and by the end of the first lap, he was back up to 12th. He wasn't finished as he worked his way up into second place and only 8 seconds behind the class winner David Parmerter by the checkered flag, which is an incredible come from beneath the quad ride.

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Dennis Switzer grabbed the Holeshot in the Open B Class

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Unfortunately, yet another Honda rider ended up on his lid, which had Kevin Johnston in the background searching for some hair.

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Back to the Pros, By the end of the first lap, Bill Ballance maintained the lead, but the Rookie, Chris Bithell was applying the pressure.

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A train formed behind the Ballance and Bithell with Duane Johnson, Chris Borich, Chris Jenks, and Bryan Cook back in 6th place all running within 2 seconds of each other as the tight woods track kept them bunched together.

The little bit of rain the track received during the Youth Race didn't do much to help with the dust in the Afternoon, which sucked for photos in the fields.

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Jeremy Rice was nearly 30 seconds behind the lead pack in 7th place and Brent Sturdivant, William Yokley, Todd Demaree, Johnny Gallagher, Michael Houston, Andy Lagzdins, Santo Derisi, Brandon Ballance, and Adam McGill all formed a train behind him with less than 3 seconds seperating each of them after the first lap, which is highly unusual.

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Pro Am Rider, Tyler Lenig had caught up to the rear of the train of Pro Riders and was eating plenty of dust along with Bryan Baker.

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Jarrod McClure was finally off to a great start and was running in second place only 6 seconds behind Lenig with Taylor Kiser in 3rd place over a minute back.

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Several miles into the second lap, Bill Ballance maintained the lead with Chris Bithell remaining right behind him along with a train of several other Pro Riders.

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Chris Bithell splashing through the water followed by Chris Borich and Chris Jenks.

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Bryan Cook remained only a few seconds behind the lead pack

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After nearly a minute, Jeremy Rice came blasting through the water with William Yokley right behind him followed by Brent Sturdivant.

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William Yokley danced around on his Suzuki as if he was trying to avoid the water droplets flying through the air.

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The next riders to appear were Michael Houston and Johnny Gallagher

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Andy Lagzdins was all over Santo Derisi as he attempted to make the pass while eating receiving a bath from the water spray off Santo's Tires. Lagzdins would eventually make the pass and move up into 13th behind Brandon Ballance.

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Bryan Baker blasted through the water as he tried to make up time after smacking a tree in the first lap, which sent his rear end smacking into Smiley, which broke off Smiley's foot peg.

Smiley was forced back to the pits to hose clamp on his footpeg and Baker was trying to recover from his mistake as he worked his way up to 15th place.

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Near the end of the lap, the Pros crossed the stream again the leaders remained unchanged with Ballance leading followed by Bithell, Borich, Johnson, Jenks, and Cook.

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William Yokley and Brent Sturdivant both passed Jeremy Rice, and Sturdivant was running without any goggles

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With Gallagher rounding out the top 10, Michael Houston and Brandon Ballance were right behind him and looking to move into the top 10 themselves.

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At the beginning of the 3rd lap, the lead pack of Pros came into pits for fuel except for Chris Jenks who opted to hold off on pitting till the next lap to take over the lead, and he hoped to pull away from the pack, so he could pit for fuel on the final lap and maintain the lead.

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Jeremy Rice came in for fuel, but was now out of the top 10. A gallon jug of gas was his quick fill system

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By the beginning of the fourth lap, Chris Jenks still maintained the lead, but his strategy didn't work and Bill Ballance was right behind him along with Chris Bithell.

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Chris Jenks cames in for a quick splash of gas and took off just as Bithell was rounding the turn through the pits.

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The pair sprinted down pit row with Jenks going one way into the brush and Bithell going another in hopes of making the pass. The two came back together and bounced off each other on the other side of the brush with Jenks maintaining the position before making a mistake, which allowed Bithell to move back into second place.

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Over 20 seconds later, Chris Borich came through the pits in 4th place and only one lap to try and make up some time.

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Back out in the fields, Bithell was now hard on the gas trying to chase down Bill Ballance with the lead.

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Bryan Cook was also still in the mix as he only a few seconds behind Chris Borich in 5th place

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William Yokley was able to take over the 6th spot when Duane Johnson crashed, but wasn't seriously hurt and returned to the race right behind Yokley.

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Brent Sturdivant also found himself a tree, which about ripped off his front bumper as he charged after Yokley and Johnson.

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With less than a miles to go, the battle was for the lead between Ballance and Bithell as they darted past lapped traffic through the trees.

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Chris Borich had passed Jenks, but was still receiving plenty of Pressure from Jenks for the final Podium spot as they were over 30 seconds behind Ballance and Bithell.

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With the checkered flag waving, Bill Ballance claimed his third win of the season and sole control of the Pro Points lead with Chris Bithell charging through the checkered flag right behind him in second place.

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Bill Ballance reached back to shack Chris Bithell's hand after an incredible race to the finish.

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Chris Borich would hold onto the the final podium position, but he no longer had Jenks behind him as it was now Bryan Cook.

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Bryan Cook finishes his best race of the year with a last minute pass on Chris Jenks when he made a mistake trying to pass Chris Borich. Jenks finishes right behind Cook in 5th place after having the last lap fall apart for him, which he understood is just part of racing as sometimes things go your way and other times they don't.

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Bill Ballance was greeted at the finish line by his baby girl, Leah, but all the excitement was too much for her, so she took a nap.

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Bill's older daugther, Lauren, was going to ride over to the Podium with dad, but she changed her mind just before he took off to the Podium.

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The runner up, Chris Bithell was surrounded by family and friends cleaning up his ATV and him for the Podium.

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Chris Bithell did his Burnout of the Podium

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Bill Ballance looked over at the crowd and setup to do his burnout as well.

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With smoke filling the air, Bill Ballance was burning up his Maxxis tires.

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Chris Borich joined Ballance and Bithell on the Podium as the Killer B's have done it again by sweeping the Podium for the second time this year.

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For Chris Bithell, this was only his third time on the Podium, but I am sure there will be many more to follow as he really proved himself this weekend.

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With a huge crowd of fans surrounding the Podium, it was time about time to pop the champagne and celebrate.

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With the kids front and center, Ballance, Bithell, and Borich sprayed them down.

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The 2006 Tireballs Spartan GNCC Pro Podium

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Once again, it was time for Bill Ballance to select one lucky person to win a complate set of Tireballs.

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The lucky winner was in the crowd and came up on the Podium and was greeted by Brock from Tireballs.

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Bill Ballance was joined on the podium by Leah as she held her hands in the air with joy, or maybe she was stretching, but either way it was a truly a special moment for the Champion.

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Bill's brother Brandon Ballance would finish out the day in 10th place only 2 seconds behind Michael Houston in 9th place.

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Bryan Baker with a little encouragement from his wife was able to work his way up to a 13th place finish behind Gallagher and Derisi.

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Andy Lagzdins had one of his worse races of the year finishing in 15th place and just making the top 20 overall.

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Scott Barron finished in 18th as he continues to struggle this year in the Pro Class on the Honda after having such a great year in 2005 on the Yamaha in the Pro AM Class.

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Matt Smiley was determined to finish the race despite having his foot peg broke off early in the first lap, and he managed to complete three laps

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Tyler Lenig held onto the lead from start to finish in the Pro Am Class and claimed his best overall finish with a 9th Overall and also gained control of the Pro Am Points lead.

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Kyle Martin amazingly worked his way up to a 2nd Place finish and 14th Overall after a collision with Mike Lucas on the start.

[Admin]

Jarrod McClure finished in 3rd place and 15th Overall to tie his best overall finish at the Showtime! GNCC, and he now 4th in points only one point behind Ryan Morphew.

[Admin]

Rob Hertz finally crested the top 20 with his 16th Overall finish and 4th in Pro Am

[Admin]

Sean Neidlinger finished in 6th place this weekend, which dropped him back to second place in points behind Tyler Lenig.

[Admin]

Ryan Lane claimed his 4th consecutive win in the Open A Class as he pulls away from David Crane in second place in points finishing right behind Lane this weekend.

[Admin]

The Steel City Yamaha Race, Kevin Yoho was on a mission as he claimed his first win of the year in the 4 Stroke A Class.

[Admin]

The 4 Stroke A Points leader, Brandon Sommers, gave him a run for his money finishing only 3 seconds behind Yoho.

[Admin]

Mike Sroka finished out the day in 5th place in 4 Stroke A only 2 seconds behind Justin Trevis in 4th place.

[Admin]

Gabe Phillips had his best race of the year in 4 Stoke A finishing in 6th Place.

[Admin]

Drick DeCesare is one of the very few die-hards still on a 250R, and he finished out the weekend in 5th Place in Open A and is currently ranked 7th in Points.

[Admin]

Arkansas’s Spencer Dickerson reminds me of Jathan Seale with his color scheme and even 316 number plate, and I am certain they know each other since they are both from Arkansas. Jathan gave up ATV racing after injuring his leg playing basketball, which required him to sit out the beginning of the 2005 season, so he is now racing cars.

Spencer Dickerson finished out the weekend in 10th Place in Open A and is currently 8th in points.

[Admin]

Marc Spartarp was no match for Ryan Schockling in the 2 Stroke A/B Class, but he still didn't do bad in first GNCC race this year finishing in 2nd place ahead of Chad Kelly

[Admin]

Greg Lott had to settle for second place this weekend with William Howell making a surprise visit to Kentucky and claiming the win!!! If you are new to GNCC racing, you may not remember the dynamic duo of Adam and William Howell in the Stock Class a few years ago, but when they do race, they are almost always capable of winning.

[Admin]

Dave "Super Man" Simmons claimed yet another win in the Senior Class, which was his 6th straight win of the year as he is on his way to yet another championship.

[Admin]

My buddy, Jeff Brest, over at Tireballs won the last two races in the 2 Stroke A/B Class, but he decided to try his hand at the Senior Class this weekend, and he finished with a 10th place finish.

[Admin]

Kevin Patterson finally had the chance to race in his homestate of Kentucky this weekend.

[Admin]

With the newly weds, Brad Morrison and his lovely wife walking off into the unknown, this concludes the Tireballs Spartan GNCC Race Coverage, and the Photo Galleries will be uploaded tonight.

[Johnny & Monica]

Great pictures as always Harlen. It was an awesome and close race again clear to the finish. As a fan you couldn't ask for more.:D

[Arctic Cat Dad]

Thanks for the great coverage. Harlen you always do such a wonderful job. We had a blast there. This place is awesome to race on. It was great to see Borich and Bithel back on the podium. Bithell almost pulled 1 off.

[Vertical Smile]

Awesome job!!!
Great pics!

[Johnny_G]

Great coverage as always Harlen!!

I think I almost ran you over while making a last lap desperation move on Houston and Brandon Ballance.

[Meat]

thanks for the coverage. :)

Why wasn't Ballance running his HMF pipe, it looked like he was using a GYTR?

[sajjnj]

Hey Harlan,
We just wanted to say a big thanks for the pics of Timothy Wertman. You do a great job and we could read the ATVriders.com stickers even upside down.

Wertman Racing
Timothy, Tim and Sharon

[buschdrinker08]

Hey Harlen, Timothy would like to thank Evan Williams for jumping in front of him to pit on lap 3. And a big hell yeah to the BMS crew, Johnny Bowers, Dennis Williams, Evan Williams, Jarode McClure, And there spouses. We live this and thanks again!!!

[Race4Yamaha38]

very nice coverage harlen. the pics looked great!

[SGA]

Very good coverage Harlen! :)

[YFZracer#450]

When's the photo gallery gonna be uploaded?? I'm ready to see some more pics..:D

[PowerMadd789XC]

Awsome coverage once again Harlen, GOOD job Brent Sturdivant and everyone else!:D

[parkers30]

Originally posted by nofearrider1
Why wasn't Ballance running his HMF pipe, it looked like he was using a GYTR?

he has been running the GYTR since he became factory Yamaha, he runs alot of GYTR accessories now

[XCAdam89]

Any other sport class pics? I want to see more of that Orange 300ex.