2007 GNCC Series Round #1 - The Triton - AM Race Coverage

[Pappy]

Round #1 of the Can-Am GNCC Series kicked off in sunny Vero Beach Florida this past weekend, marking the start of the 13 round series.

Riders from all over the country made the trek to compete in the coveted series including Youth sensation Walker Fowler. Fowler would be running in the Youth Production 300cc class aboard his race prepped Honda 300ex.

Morning Photo Gallery (http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thumbpage.aspx?e=2728619)

[Pappy]

Yamaha's Traci Cecco has been on fire, ending the 2006 series with yet another Championship in the Womans class. 2007 looks to be another stellar year for this incredibly talented rider and her off season training looks to pay off as she appears well prepped for her quest to grab herself another #1 plate.

[Pappy]

Can-Am is this years series title sponsor, and the impact they are bringing to the series is evident everywhere you look. The race rig, actually several of them, many models representing the brand and banners in every direction are showing how dedicated they are to bringing the Can-Am name to the marketplace. Enlisting talented riders to hopefully secure wins aboard the Can-Am sets the stage for factory versus privateer battles as the season gets heated up.

[Pappy]

ATVriders.com has teamed up with BMS(Bowers Motorcycle Supply) to run their graphics and promote the website in the GNCC series. John Bowers will be competing on his V-Force in the morning races and wants badly to finish the season sitting in the #1 spot.

[Pappy]

Racers swarm the vendors prior to the race in order to get final preparations completed before heading out to compete in the grueling 2 hour event.

[Pappy]

I watched during the weekend as tire after tire was changed and Tire Balls were installed. These guys worked non stop taking care of the riders.

[Pappy]

The course was laid out over 11.5 miles of the Florida landscape. With over cast conditions and temperatures remaining a relatively cool 68 degrees, it was shaping up to be great racing conditions.

Riders were called to the line and the formalities were soon underway to get the first race of 2007 underway.

[Pappy]

TEN SECONDS blared across the speaker system as all fell silent except for the outbursts of uncontrolable cheers from fans who lined the start. The excitement was building as the final few seconds ticked away.

I took a vantage point at turn 3 and had no trouble telling that 2007 was underway as the wide open run to turn one shook the Florida sand! The almost harmonious silence was short lived as the Womans class braked for turn two and then charged hard on the throttle setting up for the next turn. Traci Cecco was in control and out front as she raced through the turn and into the woods

[Pappy]

Shawna Bradshaw was running mid pack at the start as the womans class filtered into the woods amongst flying sand.

[Pappy]

Stefanie Verkade had issues immediatley as her 450r shut down. Help rushed to get her out of the way but thankfully the second someone laid a hand on her quad it fired and she was off hunting down the pack!

[Pappy]

Super Senior was next off the line and it was Mike Ockerman out front charging into the woods

[Pappy]

John Gallagher working his way through turn 3 and heading off on another quest for his class championship. John is alot more then just a racer to many of the fans and riders in this series, he is a welcome asset to all that know him.

[Pappy]

4x4 Open came clawing through the turn with Scott Kilby out to an early lead

[Pappy]

Jeffery Anderson leads Jamie Bougher into the woods as the next class could be heard firing off the line!

[Pappy]

U2 was making its presence known as they headed my way. The distinctive sound of the Kawasaki V Force hard on the throttle left no mistake as to what class was on the track!

Marcus Gonzalez was out front early

[Pappy]

#206 John Bowers works on the outside of turn 3 and was wanting to get to the front as quickly as possible. John had been training hard in the off season and it was about to pay off

[Pappy]

4x4 Limited was ready to tackle the florida sand and Michael Swift was the early leader

[Pappy]

600 pounds of meaness rub bars as the riders try to work things out, GNCC style!

[Pappy]

Sportsman was heading out, with Keith Brown leading John Rowling at the start

[Pappy]

The rest of Sportsman class was giving chase

[Pappy]

Sport Class rider Dan McConnaughey heads off into the now dust filled woods.

[Pappy]

16-19C were riding hard at the start trying to get ahead of their fellow competitors before starting the 11.5 mile track that now was already showing signs of ruts and whoops.

Chuckie Dunn and Joseph Ansbaugh battle at the start

[Pappy]

Two lines to choose from as the racers break into the woods

[Pappy]

20+ C

Fred Marley works in the roost left by holeshot rider Ryan Smith

[Pappy]

24+ C riders Nick Suttton and Todd Moshala battle in turn three. Moshala ran into problems and finished the day in the 21st position, while Sutton charged hard to the finish winning the class.

[Pappy]

The remainder of 24+ C gives chase to the leaders

[Pappy]

30+ C rider Michael Young smokes the field to turn 3!

[Pappy]

30+C was not going to let him get away with this for the next two hours as Gary Blocker leads the rest of the 30+ pack into the woods

[Pappy]

George Luton #293 shows this sport isnt just for the young bucks as he races hard in turn three.

[Pappy]

36+ C came full throttle off the start, but it was Scott Norton leading the charge on his 450R

[Pappy]

The opening to the woods was wide, with two lines leading to a much narrower turn causing a slight bottleneck in some of the larger classes

[Pappy]

Womens Novice rider Kristina Southerton was all alone as she rails through the turn

[Pappy]

She wouldnt be alone for long as the rest of these ladies hunt her down!

[Pappy]

LeeAnn Kirkland made the 16 hour trip from West Virginia to compete at this round, she finished the day in 4th!

[Pappy]

First Year Racer Sean Franklin grabbed the holeshot and never looked back, winning the class!

[Pappy]

First Year Racer 25+ rider Scott Nuss #810 go bar to bar early in the race

[Pappy]

Youth production 13-15 was the starting from the last row this round. The talent that is in this class was blown wide open as several of the young riders worked past most of the field infront of them placing extremely well in the overall results.

Neal McGrath #706 grabbed the holeshot and knew he had to get some ground between him and those behind him.

[Pappy]

Walker Fowler #914 works his way through traffic at turn three, then he proceeded to STOMP his way through the rest of the field finishing an amazing 9th overall and winning his class.

[Pappy]

Walking back to the pit area, I was able to catch John G SR has he worked his way into lap two. he went on to finish 3rd in his class.

[Pappy]

Jamie Bougher was pushing his ride and moving through the pack. He went on to finish second in his class.

[Pappy]

John Bowers was also working his way to the front of his class, and was able to finish the day in second.

[Pappy]

Youth Production rider Walker Fowler never relented, he just kept coming.

[Pappy]

By the end of the second lap, several of the Youth Production riders were well into mid pack of the overall running order.

[Pappy]

One by one the Youth riders picked off their elders, shown here is Austin Johnson making quick work of an adult rider. Johnson finished the day in the 8th spot

[Pappy]

Riding in familiar soil, florida native Neal McGrath finished in 2nd behind Fowler in Youth Production

[Pappy]

The course was a mix of just about everything Florida could offer. Racer Productions had designed it to snake back and forth through a mix of fields and woods that ended at the scoring area. Riders could only shake off sore hands and arms in a few straights before they would be back into the now deteriorating track.

[Pappy]

Youth Production rider Cody Hill was asked literally 24 hours before the race if he wanted to run it. Never one to say no to racing, we packed up and headed to the race. It had been 2 months since he had riden due to an injury and his goal was to finish the event. He met his goal, finishing in the 15th spot.

For the remainder of 2007, he will be running the 90 Production class.

[Pappy]

Traci Cecco clocked in for the class and overall win with a time of 1 hour 51 minutes in the Florida sand.

[Pappy]

Jennifer Albright had a great race and took second!

[Pappy]

Lexie Coulter rounded out the top 3 in the Womens class

[Pappy]

Jesse West took the win in 4x4 Open and from the looks of it, was feeling the effects of running a machine that big that hard for 2 hours!

[Pappy]

Clifton Beasley was your 4x4 Lites winner

[Pappy]

4x4 Limited rider Michael Swift was pretty happy with his class win!

[Pappy]

Jamie Bougher should be pumped about finishing 2nd aboard his Utility racer. He will be competing in both the GNCC and WPSA series!

[Pappy]

John Bowers brings his quad to the checkers in 2nd place and looks to be more then ready for the 2007 season!

[Pappy]

Walker Fowler, passing almost 200 riders, crosses the finish line winning his class and making himself known to every adult racer in the series. Folks, get his autograph now because he will be champion of this series in the future!

[Pappy]

This was our first time attending the Florida round, but I do not believe it will be our last! We had alot of fun, and it felt to me like it was one of the most relaxed GNCC's I have ever been to. I wasnt sceduled to do coverage so I apologize if I missed anyone.

Cody had a great time and is looking forward to being on the podium in the youth classes starting in Georgia! he said running the 300 was a great tune up for the rest of the season.

Good luck to everyone as the season continues!

[jb500ex]

pappy thanks for getting great pic's of jamie. he feel's really comfortable on the 4X4's and will be on a great ride in a couple of races. did you see your logo on our tent :D

[Pappy]

I sure did, thanks!

Cody saw it and came running back and told me all about it:D

[firefighterjosh]

Awesome PIcs. I looked at all the ones on your site too.

Congrats to Cody!

[xraven35]

Nice pics pappy, hope to see you at a D6 race this year.

[teethandtissue]

very cool pics. glad to see the increased coverage of the 4x4's!

[flyboy62]

anybody got any vids from thr Triton?