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View Full Version : 2008 GNCC Racing - Round #7 "The Spartan" Pro ATV Race Coverage



Pappy
06-02-2008, 06:54 PM
Round #7 of the Can Am GNCC Series would head south, to the home state of 8 time GNCC Champion Bill Ballance to be exact. Kentucky would play host to the "Spartan" and it was a race that Ballance wanted badly to win.

While the champ knows he is the target for all others, he was in typical race mode as he made his way to the line. I would imagine that trying to concentrate was a bit harder this round as he was surrounded by friends and family all wanting to see their wayward son win the event in front of them!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 06:57 PM
For Brent Sturdivant, a brand new DS450 would be brought out to hopefully turn around his luck.

Pappy
06-02-2008, 06:58 PM
Bryan Cook is having a great year, and makes one last adjustment before he is called to the line

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:02 PM
Jarrod McClure is all grins before the start. Jarrod has been working extensively with a trainer to get his physical conditioning and nutritional intake at optimum levels as he heads through this season.

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:05 PM
I dont think there is much really to say about Brandon Sommers. He likes to do his talking on his quad at a high rate of speed:p My hearing isnt so good and I know I cant keep up with him so I have to let my Nikon run him down:blah:

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:07 PM
Jeff Pickens giving me a GQ look as he waits for his call to the front row. Pickens has been off track the past few rounds and I was hoping to see him get in a good race

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:08 PM
I took 2 shots of Chris Jenks, 1 when he was looking at me and smiling, and this one when he thought I was done.

I will call it "The thinker" :devil:

Jenks isnt having much luck this season but keeps giving it hell round after round

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:10 PM
Brock Lyons would be competing in the XC1 class starting this round aboard his Polaris/Rath backed machine.

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:12 PM
Borich surrounded by his security detail:p

Poor Chris has his hands full this season, and I sure hope he can turn it around. Every one will have an off season for a myriad of reasons and we all wish him the best....well those of us that dont have to race him:D

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:14 PM
Matt Smiley has alot of looks. there is the stern look, the dont bother me look, the whats going on look and here, the laid back relaxed look:p

(I think he was nervous there was guys with guns behind him:devil: )

Go get'em Matt!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:16 PM
McGill knows all about the "look", and has it perfected. I have been studying the riders and will compile a list at the end of the season!:p I am always glad to see the riders having fun, even though at their level it is serious business.

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:18 PM
William Yokely has a look, here is how he looked when he found out the guns the National Gaurd had on hand were fake and they were not going to be setting an ambush up for everyone except him at the 5 mile marker:eek2:


Yokely had to enjoy a "home state" race!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:20 PM
Taylor Kisers "look" after Tim farr leaned in and told him that they removed all his brakes because they would just make him want to slow down, and slowing down really isnt in the game plan!:eek2:

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:24 PM
A beautiful women strolls in front of you guys and only ONE!!! of you guys looked:eek:

Traci, it's not you;) I think they have all wised up to the official Yamaha distracting technique:devil:

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:52 PM
All fun aside, the start was going to be tricky. The morning racers had already shown that the off cambered 1st and 2nd turn would quickly ruin your day.

Bill Ballance gets the holeshot and Jarrod McClure narrowly escapes an unexpected grab bar buddy as Taylor Kiser starts the first turn folies

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:56 PM
Kiser went sideways, Cook followed suit, Smiley was hard on the brakes as all hell broke loose. McClure skated through turn one!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:57 PM
The downhill first turn, and tons of loose cut hay sent everyone in every direction

Pappy
06-02-2008, 07:58 PM
Ballance was off and running as he sets up for turn 3

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:00 PM
Braking for turn 3 was to be an almost stop, and Sommers and Yokely closed the gap immediatley

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:03 PM
Xc2 start was amess for me:p A lady screamed so loud when a wreck started that I actually looked away as my position was kind of in an iffy spot.

Donald Ockerman got the holeshot and I got a crappy pic, sorry:p

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:26 PM
XC 2 is one fast class, and these guys battle non stop, maybe even hard then the Xc1 class!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:28 PM
Getting these two apart took some help

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:32 PM
Vet 30 A

Dennis Switzer battles for the holeshot

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:34 PM
Senior 40+

Dave Simmons takes the early lead

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:36 PM
College A

Jonathan Snaff pulls the holeshot

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:38 PM
Junior A

Brad Wilson works his way through turn 1

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:40 PM
The wider that first turn got, the more I was worried :p

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:43 PM
VET B 30+


Chad Hieronimus battles Jon Chambers for the holeshot

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:45 PM
Fred Mudd finding out that the ride on his Suzuki is smoother then his rear end:p Hope your ok Fred!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:48 PM
Senior B 40+

Don Simpson gets around the 1st turn ok, but would follow many others as he found himself almost flipping before hitting turn 2

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:50 PM
College B heads out!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:53 PM
Junior B

It wasnt Ballance, but he looked just like the champ taking the holeshot!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:55 PM
Joey Margueria narrowly gets the holeshot over a hard charging John Yokely

Pappy
06-02-2008, 08:58 PM
With the starts over, it was time for everyone to head back to the pit area to tend to riders or just kick back and watch!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 09:00 PM
William Yokely was the first Xc 1 rider to fill my lens and McGill was all over him!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 09:01 PM
When Ballance came into view, he was hugging the trees. Im not sure if he was avoiding dust, looking for smoother ground or trying to break off his rear brake pedal that was bent under his footpeg!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 09:06 PM
Kiser came past and it wasnt until after the race I was informed he had wrecked. Looking at his helmet shows the signs.

Pappy
06-02-2008, 09:07 PM
XC 2 rider Donald Ockerman was on fire, running like a mad man and ripping way into teh XC 1 class! Ockerman would keep up the pace, finishing 6th overall!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 09:23 PM
The field sections would allow no relief, and hitting the side of the course was akin to busting a curb!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 09:31 PM
Even a simple field can turn rough, forcing alot of energy to be spent

Pappy
06-02-2008, 09:33 PM
6 races entered, 6 races won in the Sport 15+ class for Joey Margueria

Pappy
06-02-2008, 09:40 PM
Brad Morrison ran into some problems and was only able to complete 2 laps. (Sorry I did not see you before or after the race Brad!!!)

Pappy
06-02-2008, 09:41 PM
Yokely came charging past me with the lead! I knew William and Bill both wanted this win badly.

Pappy
06-02-2008, 09:43 PM
McGill wasnt far off Yokely and the pair had alot of open ground in front of them

Pappy
06-02-2008, 09:48 PM
Sommers came into view hard on the gas as he gave chase to the leaders

Pappy
06-02-2008, 09:51 PM
I was shocked when Ballance rounded the corner in 4th! I had heard he was in 9th and with out any updates i assumed it would take a few klaps to get back up front if he could, however in 1 lap, he had made up the ground and was now hunting down the front runners

Pappy
06-02-2008, 09:52 PM
McClure was in 5th and having a great day!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 09:59 PM
Chris Bithell was running, and with Sturdivant doing I had my fingers crossed the Can Am riders would have a solid race

Pappy
06-02-2008, 10:00 PM
Borich had a bad start, and a wreck during the race that kept him out of contention. He finished the event in 8th after a good run that kept him insode the top 10

Pappy
06-02-2008, 10:02 PM
Chris Jenks would be out after scoring 2 laps, continuing a trend that we all hope he can reverse!

Pappy
06-02-2008, 10:03 PM
Jeff Pickens would have a hard battle, coming from 16th to finish the evnt in 9th

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:16 AM
I was burning up staying in the fields as the afternoon temps climbed to almost 90, so I headed off to try and find some shade.

The woods were full of, well, woods and getting a good view of the action wasnt easy.

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:18 AM
Ballance was reported as the leader and I knew this was going to be a battle because the top 3 or 4 were so close.

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:20 AM
It wasn't long before I could hear the leader coming, and it was still Ballance in control. He had overcome the brake pedal issue, battled his way through the field and was now in control of the race with 1 lap to go!

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:22 AM
Yokley was still very much in the hunt for the lead and I only wished the track was more viewable because this was turning into a race I wanted to watch more of:p

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:24 AM
McGill was charging, and running in 3rd wasnt a bad place with a lap to go.

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:25 AM
Sommers came through in 4th, and I was figuring the intense run he had put forth was wearing on him, heck I was getting tired just watching them:p

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:29 AM
Bryan Cook and Jarrod McClure had been running together and were having their own battle for position as they swapped spots throughout the last few laps

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:31 AM
I decided to stay put and take a break from the heat as it was easily 15 degrees cooler in the shade:p

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:32 AM
Sturdivant was chugging along and he was finally looking at finishing a race without major issues!

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:34 AM
Bithell was in 7th however would not finish the 4th lap.

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:36 AM
Finally a quad that wasnt coated in a thin brown film! Belbecks white fenders gave me atleast 1 decent shot for my efforts in the woods:p

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:38 AM
Knowing the leaders were well on their way through the last lap, I started heading to the finish line to see how this race would unfold.

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:40 AM
I picked my spot and caught the cross talk about the leaders. Ballance was holding a 15 second lead and the top 4 were all within seconds of each other

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:42 AM
For those running just infront fo the leaders, the white flag would mean 30+ minutes in some rough racing conditions. 45 minutes after the checkered flag flew, we still had racers running on the track and it wasnt a muddy event!

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:44 AM
College B 16-21 rider Josh Konecheck on his way to a 3rd place finish!

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:46 AM
I saw a ton of blown front tires and broken ball joints, a testement to the tree smacking that was taking place

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:48 AM
Bill Ballance came scooting through the last turn on his way to victory!

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:50 AM
Taking the checkers had to be a great feeling infront of his Kentucky fans!

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:52 AM
Sommers ripped in and took the 2nd spot, a great accomplishment!!!

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:53 AM
Just seconds seperated Sommers and Yokely, as William glides in for the final podium spot!

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:54 AM
Bryan Cook celebrated another top 5 finish as he took home 4th

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:55 AM
Jarrod McClure rounded out your top 5 XC1 finishers at this event!

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:57 AM
Ballance being congradulated and informed again "NO PODIUM BURN OUTS!" lol

Pappy
06-03-2008, 08:59 AM
For William, a podium spot was a great treat for his family, friends, fans and for himself!

Pappy
06-03-2008, 09:01 AM
At any event we can count on Sommers to be there for a win, and it will come!

I did see him get ready to hose Ballance down by getting that champaign ready long before it was time:devil: Prep is the key right Brandon;)

Pappy
06-03-2008, 09:02 AM
For Bill Ballance, overcoming issues is all in a days work, and while sometimes it works for you, sometimes it doesnt and he was thrilled to have pulled off the win!

Pappy
06-03-2008, 09:07 AM
Thats it folks, round 7 is history! Ballance regains the points lead, and has even more drive to go for broke and make a full speed run to his 9th GNCC Championship!! If it comes down to Crawfordsville as the deciding race, I will give up my deer hunt planned for that weekend to be there, I want to be part of that historical moment because I doubt anyone will ever top 9...8 maybe...but not 9:devil:


McGill broke a rear sprocket at the 8 mile marker on the last lap, ending his day. This marks the second race where he has been sidelined on the last lap in a great position, but thast racing folks! Adam will be back on top in no time!

Hope you all enjoyed teh coverage, and many thanks to those of you who thanked me in person forthe coverage and pictures. For those that gave or offered drinks, food and even places to stay I appreciate it all, you are what makes this series so great!

See you all in Yadkinville!

BFELIX
06-05-2008, 03:59 PM
Great pics!!!

Great work...congratulatios from Portugal!!!