2008 GNCC Racing - Round #8 "Yadkin Valley Stomp" ATV Race Coverage"

[Pappy]

When I saw the series schedule for 2008, I had high hopes of this round being one of the best and boy was I wrong:p Not that anyone besides mother nature had anything to do with it, but the dust was off the chain! Friday evening had the weather man calling for possible storms and while I had my fingers crossed, it was to no avail as friday drew to a close and the dust was making it's presence known well in advance.

[Pappy]

Friday afternoons are usually filled with good times and some wrench work as teams and riders get last minute items squared away.

[Pappy]

If the ladies have any stress, they sure dont show it as smiles were the order of the day

[Pappy]

Friday crept away and saturday morning was upon us in no time, and the rain that had been forcast went around the region as it had been doing for several months according to locals.

The Youth racers would be first to fire off the line and do battle as Joshua Merritt hammers his Cobra through the turn, grabbing the holeshot in Supermini 13-15

[Pappy]

90 Modified rider Brody Livengood had his race prepped TRX90 rolling hard off the corner as he gets the holeshot and set off to chase down the Cobra's

[Pappy]

90 Mod is a super competitive class and stocked with talent that will in just a few short years be tearing up the morning race aboard much larger machines

[Pappy]

Cheyanne Shadron runs out front at the start, and continued to be the leader until the checkered flag came out, securing teh win in 90 Limited 12-15!

[Pappy]

Brayden Schick drops the hammer as he leads out 90 Mod 8-11. Brayden would fall back to finish in the 3rd spot

[Pappy]

Thomas Owen running strong in 70 CVT

[Pappy]

#37 Charlie Welch would put his head down after getting a midpack start and win the 70 CVT class! Way to ride Charlie!!

[Pappy]

The dust was not going to show the youth riders any mercy as it filled the pit area. I knew getting pics would be tough and set off to scout for some locations for the morning racers, which amounted to a wasted effort:p

[Pappy]

I popped out fo teh woods just in time to see the checkered flag fly and headed to the pdoium.

Brody Livengood from Falling Waters WV had claimed the 3rd overall position! Way to represent Brody!

[Pappy]

Joshua Merritt had run a solid race and finished 2nd overall. Great ride Josh!

[Pappy]

Jerry Welch claimed his second overall of 2008 and stood proud atop the podium.

[Pappy]

Youth racing is alive and well, even if the economy is hurting every racer. I spoke to a few parents who stated that the damage caused by the early season mud events had severly eaten into their budgets, and the high cost of fuel was putting a hurting on them getting to the races.

I hope to do some special stuff at Somerset with the Youth riders if the weather cooperates, so riders please look for me as I will be searching for you rugrats as you arrive!

[Pappy]

While the Youth racers were busy ripping up the NC countryside, the Morning racers were steadily putting in the final touches as the 10 am race neared.

[Pappy]

Pro rider Matt Smiley chats with friends and fans as pro row started to come alive

[Pappy]

Scott Kilby has been running strong this season,and since round 3 has been Mr.#2, scoring 5 straight second place finishes behind teammate Bryan Buckhannon in 4x4 Open.

[Pappy]

Daryl Rath joined teh series after the fall of the WPSA and has high hopes of getting his Polaris Team up to speed in the GNCC's.

[Pappy]

Rath stated that they learned alot at the Sparta round, and made some changes to their machines by narrowing them up and tweaking the suspension, which included some new shocks with help from PEP

[Pappy]

Bryan Buckhannon appears to be unstopable and for good reason. The soft spoken WV native says it all once the green flag drops and has scored class wins in every race entered in 2008!

[Pappy]

Ahhhh, the ladies:p Its such a pleasure taking pictures of the women in the gncc series. Its also fun watching them run rampant over their male counterparts as they show that gender means nothing when it comes to banging bars during the race!

Angel Atwell has her sights set on the Womens class championship and is giving Traci Cecco a good run this season as only a few points seperate the dou.

[Pappy]

I usually catch flak for only getting the women on the front row and I must apologize, but getting to everyone I have to get shots of sometimes prevents me from doing what I would like. Maybe say hello in the pits or offer yourself up for a shot or two before the race as promoting yourself is the key to getting exposure, just ask those who routinely stay in front of my lens what good exposure can do for your sponsors! And being cute helps:blah: (Have you seen that Dave guy in C class...yuck:devil: )

[Pappy]

Bryan Baker gets the best vantage point he can for the starts!

[Pappy]

Scott Kilby and the 4x4 Open class were the first racers to tackle the Stomp, and Kilby wasnt being shy about being out front at the start!

[Pappy]

Greg Condon was hoping for a race that wouldnt find him heading to the Yamaha dealer for parts! The Grizzly has been taking a pounding as Greg punishes it while trying to run up front with the bigger names of the class!

[Pappy]

Stephanie Parton is admittingly taking this season for fun, but she was all business as she grabbed the holeshot in the Womens class!

[Pappy]

Traci Cecco gives chase to Parton and wanted the lead bad. The dusty conditions would mean being in clean air for the first lap would be a huge advantage

[Pappy]

Jordan Phillips has getting the holeshot in 4x4 Lites down! Phillips would run into issues and only complete 2 laps at todays event

[Pappy]

Clifton Beasley takes a more sane approach at the start, then puts his head down and runs to the front. 7 straight class victories heading into this round has Beasley heading for another championship!

[Pappy]

Micheal Swift charges hard at the start in 4x4 Limited. Swift has a perfect season going sans round #2 where he finished somewhere other then 1st:p The man is a machine!

[Pappy]

Jim Stack rolls on the throttle as he leads out the U2 class. Rick Cecco in the background gets out of shape as he pushes to get upfront

[Pappy]

Getting out front was paramount, however going outside at speed was going to prove costly for Cecco

[Pappy]

Now instead of running 3rd into the woods, Cecco was going to have to fight his way through several riders as a slight miscue cost him positions

[Pappy]

Patrick Paysinger was also about to see what a mistake can do as he gets ready for a wild ride

[Pappy]

Paysinger gets a veiw of the U2 class like no other!:eek2:

[Pappy]

In one fluid motion he was back on his feet and off racing

[Pappy]

Harold Bash leads out Super Senior 50+

[Pappy]

John Gallagher adds another GNCC event to his long list of racing history

[Pappy]

Jim Pinkston grabs the holeshot in the Sportsman class and would be doing battle against his Industry nemisis Jeff Horton as the ITP/Maxxis war takes it to the woods!

[Pappy]

What do you do when Can Am gives you a DS450 and asks you to write about it?

1st, you take a rider who has never raced a GNCC event, add him to a quad that doesnt have a great finishing reputation and mix it into an event that required radar to follow the course:p

Kevin Hill was our rider aboard a bone stock DS and he learned first hand they do not start very fast:p

[Pappy]

Gary Parmerter leads out C Class 30+

[Pappy]

Scott Norton gets himself a holeshot in 36+ C

[Pappy]

Justin Kirchoff gets the lead in C class 16-19C and would finish the day in 2nd! Justin has only entered 5 events on 2008, winning the class at round 1 and finishing 2nd at the remainder!

[Pappy]

David Burton rips off the line to grab the holeshot in 20+ C Class!

[Pappy]

Chris Barnes scores himself a holeshot in C 24+

[Pappy]

Womens Novice was graced by someone I stated in a previous coverage thread that would be a threat. Jesi Stracham proved me correct as she grabbed the holeshot and rode her YFZ to the class win! An awesome ride by a great rider!

[Pappy]

Jena Gray was among the 10 entries in Womens Novice and was looking pretty fast at the start

[Pappy]

First Year Racer 16-24 rider Aaron Graber was competing in his first gncc and rode to a 2nd place finish!

[Pappy]

Back in the woods things were getting interesting as the leaders all battled for position. The horrible dust was causing problems for many, especially in the field sections that quickly had zero visability. Back in the woods there was some relief as slower speeds equaled less dust.

Micheal Shelly was competing in the Schoolboy class, his first GNCC event. Shelly finished the day in the 18th position amongst some fast riders in the class

[Pappy]

The leaders came flying past me, with Cecco, Buckhannon Angel Atwell running as the top 3, however it was Kirten Atwell who grabbed my attention as she seemed to be running very strong.

[Pappy]

Daryl Rath was running strong, and it appeared the changes he had made were working as he seemed much more fluid as he raced by my position

[Pappy]

Shanna Bradshaw working her way through the increasing dust

[Pappy]

Robert Smith leads Micheal Benson in U2, however benson would make the pass and take the U2 class win!

[Pappy]

Jerime Dudding puts his hot rod(aptly named due to its distinctive small block chevy sound!) up front but couldnt run down Beasley in the 4x4 Lites class and finished the day in 2nd

[Pappy]

Rick Cecco had overcome the start follies and was riding hard, finishing the day in the 4th position and leaves Yadkinville with his points lead still intact

[Pappy]

Getting around a slower rider is alot easier when they help. Yadkinville is well known for being tight and offering little passing room

[Pappy]

Micheal Marley riding to a 7th place finish in C 16-19

[Pappy]

Somewhere on the second lap. Kevin and the DS found a few trees:p He said it was a lazy wreck and bent his clutch lever, and he had initially thought he blew a tire as teh quad was pulling severly hard to the right. On the 3rd lap he ran into some clean air and could see he had bent a tie rod so he spent the rest of the race just keeping the machine going straight. He did finish the race and said teh DS never missed a beat, and will be looking for another chance under better conditions to see how it can compete when pushed harded then he could at Yadkinville.

[Pappy]

The dust was bad in alot of areas, and every once inawhile it would clear just enough to allow a clean shot

[Pappy]

Micheal Benson was doing his usual thing, going very fast for two hours:p Benson drove to the front of the U2 class, taking the win!

[Pappy]

John Gallagher would once again be on top of the Super Senior class, claiming his 5th win of the season!

[Pappy]

Chad Duvall was once an ultra fast pro atv racer, now he is working on a new invisable machine that is quiet, 50 states emissions legal and in a class by itself:D

Chad wasn't content standing in the pits and ventured out to keep an eye on his ITP backed riders.

[Pappy]

Hanging in there to get the shot before being overtaken by a wall of red dust:( Hey, no guts, no glory:devil:

[Pappy]

Walker Fowler gets gassed up by his crew as he makes his return to competition after injuring his ankle in Georgia at round 2

[Pappy]

Fowler returned with excellence and won the schoolboy class! Great to see you back walker!

#320, Cody Parmerter would take second, followed by Kyle Riley in 3rd

[Pappy]

Angel Atwell had made a move and overtook the lead on lap 3, where she would be until the end of the race taking the overall win!

[Pappy]

Traci Cecco would remain in 2nd until the checkers flew, but kept it close by finishing 21 seconds behind Atwell.

[Pappy]

After a few laps of eating dust, I found a new spot:huh

[Pappy]

Ok, so the fields werent any better, so back into the woods:p

[Pappy]

Mathew Close riding to a 10th place finish in Schoolboy

[Pappy]

Ty Seiverd followed Close in for 11th

[Pappy]

Lexie Coulter finished 4th in the Womens class, and 4th overall. Lexie has been putting together solid races and the next few rounds could be really good for her!

[Pappy]

Heather Krouskoupf riding to 7th in Womens Novice

[Pappy]

I sure was hoping this corner did not get cut short:p

[Pappy]

When the dust settled(well, I am pretty sure it wont settle for about a week!) it was Angel coming out on top, giving her the 4th win which puts her 1 ahead of Traci.

[Pappy]

Kristen Atwell has been 3rd in the Womens class before, but on this day she also scored herself the 3rd overall position!

[Pappy]

The day belonged to the ladies as they filled the podium. Jesi Stracham marked her first Womens Novice class race with a win and I dont believe you could have paid her to not smile;)

[Pappy]

The racing over, hot, tired and dusty riders get support from family and fans

[Pappy]

Kristen Atwell hams it up as she deserved all the accolades she got! A hard fought race that culminated in her finding herself alongside two of the sports greatest competitors on the podium.

Congrats Kristen!

[Pappy]

For Cecco, Atwell's win keeps the points super close as only 2 points seperate them. It should be an exciting finish as wee head into the later part of teh season and these ladies break out every skill they have to go after the championship

[Pappy]

For Atwell, the days battle was over, and having nails seems to be quite the advantage when it comes to opening the bubbly:p

It will be a thrill seeing what she can bring to Cecco and I will be there watching every turn to see who gets the gold!

[Pappy]

The afternoon racers got an eye full of the dust kicked up by the youth and amatuer racers as the 1 pm start drew near. It would be anyones game in these conditions, and I had a feeling that McClure was on his game and would see the pdoium as I expressed my feelings to his father prior to the start. Jarrod can't say enough about his physical training the past few months and it has been paying off for him.

[Pappy]

Brent Sturdivant had found some success at Sparta, and was eagerly anticipating this race to try and prove the DS can be a competitor.

[Pappy]

For Bill Ballance, the perfect storm is on the horizon. His season started out with a podium, and then he watched Adam McGill steal the thunder for the next few rounds while he succumbed to mechanical failure at round 2 and a 5th at Big Buck. Not withstanding those two finishes, the 8 time champion has been steadfast and earned podium finishes in all other rounds racking up 3 consecutive overall wins to pour some water on McGills fire, which landed him once again in control of the points chase.

As Ballance rides this season out, his expierence and cunning behind the bars may well land him his 9th GNCC title.

[Pappy]

McGill was feeling the pressures of being at the top of this series as we chatted, and keeping it all together may be his biggest challenge as the season rolls on. The talent he has is amazing, but his inexpierence at dealing with the sheer stress of it all may be his Achiles Heel this season. There is alot of racing left, but if they give Ballance an inch, he will turn it into a mile!

(A little deep when we talk about Adam, he wasnt stressed, he was pimping his hair...lol):devil:

[Pappy]

The underdog of the year has to be that of Bryan Cook. Cook came out swinging in Florida and hasnt really let up for one second. He hasnt always found the success he was after, but is putting in a solid season as he finds himself 2nd in points. The privateer is proving he has the talent if not the funding of factory supported riders and this seems to be driving him to do even better this year.

[Pappy]

Racing is just that , racing. If it were garunteed it would be called winning.

Chris Borich in my eyes would have been my number 1 pick to carry the torch to the 2008 championship however things do not always work out as planned. Borich has been running solid, but has yet to put in a race since florida that showcases his talents aboard a quad. Always supporting his sponsors in a professional way, doing his job to the best of his ability on the race track, and keeping his eyes on the horizon is all anyone can ask for from a racer and he delivers.

[Pappy]

Matt Smiley is known as Mr. Consistancy, and he has been carrying that in 08 as he has finished inside the top 10 at every round with exception to 1. This race would be a brutal test of man and machine as the dust wopuld wreak havoc as visability would be limited and speeds curtailed in sections offering little in the way of an advantage to anyone. I am not sure wether the stress of what they were about to encounter during the race was on their minds, or I was just capturing a few moments of thought, but several racers were showing signs I hadnt seen in previous rounds.

[Pappy]

For others, it was just another day and no matter how it turned out, they were going to have fun:p

[Pappy]

The last few spectators were cleared of teh starting area and we were just a few minutes away from kicking off the Stomp!

[Pappy]

When the Pro's were turned loose, I could only hear them as my position keeps the first two turns blocked from me seeing them.

All I could see through my lens was a blue blur as Brandon Sommers was out front

[Pappy]

The last turn before hitting the woods usually has a few upset quads in it, but this time they got through clean

[Pappy]

Borich's jersey told the story as he had been involved in a wreck and was last to head off

[Pappy]

The dust kicked up by Borich wasnt even clear when XC2 riders took to the track. Donald Ockerman was out front and was already on the hunt for the XC1 class.

[Pappy]

The red dust was overtaking everything:p

[Pappy]

Brad Wilson leads out Junior A

[Pappy]

Vet A heads out as the starting area was filled with dust that wouldnt go away:p

[Pappy]

Dave Simmons grabbed the early lead in Senior A 40+

[Pappy]

Gary Belbeck (aka Popo) sets sail on his ultra slick YFZ

[Pappy]

Craig Bowman got himself a holeshot in College A

[Pappy]

Todd Moskala sets the pace in Junior B

[Pappy]

An inside move provided better vision as this pair of racers battle to turn 4

[Pappy]

Nick Regalia has had a season full of problems as he continues to try and get his engine package dialed in

[Pappy]

Jon Chambers pulls the holeshot in Vet B

[Pappy]

Big John pays me $5 for every shot I get showing who destroyed his work...LOL

[Pappy]

Don Simpson drops the hammer and secures the holeshot in Senior B

[Pappy]

Stephen McCulloch out front at the start in College B

[Pappy]

John Yokely got the holeshot in Sport 15+

[Pappy]

I knew where I wanted to be when the pro's came through so I headed off to get my spot.

George Mayes passes by on his Banshee as the air was fairly clean.....for now

[Pappy]

Josh Headen followed in Mayes dust trail and I knew I would have some dust free air once the first pro made it to this spot

[Pappy]

Jeff lemke competes in the Senior B class aboard a Can Am Renegade.

[Pappy]

It wasnt long before Sommers popped out of the woods and I could only image how he felt. He was running in clean air for the first lap, was only a few seconds away from starting to put lappers between himself and the rest of XC1 and this could be the day he gets his first win!

[Pappy]

Bryan Cook was keeping as close to Sommers as he could to maintain his pace and using him as a visual guide through the dust

[Pappy]

McClure rounded out the top 3 and now we had 3 riders running up front that all wanted their first win bad!!!

[Pappy]

Derisi and Kiser work through this section and crank up the speed for a run down alongside the field

[Pappy]

Jenks machine shows how far the DS riders are going to keep mud from causing them to overheat.

[Pappy]

Tyler Lenig was due a good race, and he got it at Yadkinville, posting his best finish of the season by taking 2nd in XC2

[Pappy]

Brian Spencer ran into some problems and did not have the race he was looking for. I dont know how any of you did anything in that confounded dust:p

[Pappy]

On pit row, the waiting game was well underway

[Pappy]

Ballance was in to pit and gets a pep talk from Johnny Gallagher. Johnny G was out without scoring a lap, I am not certain as to what happened

[Pappy]

Matt Smiley got fuel and was on the gas as he heads back out

[Pappy]

Sturdivant was in without scoring a lap and had him icing down some hurt ribs after hitting a ditch in the woods that wasnt marked. Houston possibly broke his collarbone on the same ditch:(

[Pappy]

Sommers pitted and skated out just ahead of a hard charging Bryan Cook

[Pappy]

Tim Seaman heads in to score his second lap, which would be his last for the day. People were dropping out left and right as wrecks and problems ended their race

[Pappy]

Dirk Decesare kept pushing and found himself the winner of Junior B!

[Pappy]

Shawn Collins rode to a 12th place finish after a brutal race in Vet A

[Pappy]

Fredd....dont eyeball me:devil: :blah:

Hope the 2 laps had you wore out and not hurt, i saw alot of ice bags walking around:(

[Pappy]

James Cobb was your Vet 30+ B winner!

[Pappy]

Austin Aldridge riding to a 4th place finish in College B

[Pappy]

Cook came past me with the lead and I was stoked!

[Pappy]

Bal;lance wasnt far off Cook and I had to check my camera to see it was indeed Ballance and not Sommers as he was flyin!

[Pappy]

McClure was still in 3rd and I had my fingers crossed he could fend off who ever would be there to challenge him at the end!

[Pappy]

Popo charging hard in some bad conditions!

[Pappy]

Ive been commenting on how well Ryan Lane had been riding all season, and this race was no exception as he was in 4th heading into the last lap!

[Pappy]

I thought the heat was getting to me as I felt dizzy when McGill came by, but then I realized it was his custom Hiper mud caps:p

[Pappy]

Borich has come from the back of teh pack to 6th, quite a ride in the dust and tight tree filled course!

[Pappy]

Sommers finally appeared and I could see his bumper had gotten some use. Tough break Brandon:(

[Pappy]

When the checkered flag cam eout, it was Bryan Cook leading the pack claiming his first GNCC Xc1 win!

[Pappy]

For Bill, second was going to be good enough after tangling with a tree. A taste of the Dew was on order to wash down that Yadkinville dust he had been eating for the past two hours!

[Pappy]

Bryan Cook gets the win on his home states turf infront of friends and family, a goal many of us dream of filling! Great ride Bryan!!!

[Pappy]

For McClure, the podium was satisfying as he has been working day and night to get there. He now knows he has teh speed, endurance and the drive to run upfront, keep an eye on him folks!

[Pappy]

There you have it folks, round 8 is history and here are the 3 riders who made it!

[Pappy]

The bubbly was sent flying as a hard days work was put to rest

[Pappy]

The swag was thrown out to wanting fans and we round another corner in the 2008 season.

The series heads to Somerset PA for round 9 and it looks like we could be seeing a ruff and tough course that will bare no mercy on man or machine. Yall be safe, and we will see you there!

[LeGaCyGiAnT124]

I love the descriptions you put with the pictures, the pitside pics are great to. Can't wait to see the pics at Somerset Pappy, once again great job!

[Flynbryan19]

It was a great race and alot of fun. Pappy the part of the track that was down by the creek/creek jump had several miles of track with very little dust. That was where we spent the day just for that reason. ;)

[xcountry]

Awesome race coverage and pics!

[Pappy]

Originally posted by Flynbryan19
It was a great race and alot of fun. Pappy the part of the track that was down by the creek/creek jump had several miles of track with very little dust. That was where we spent the day just for that reason. ;)

Yep, I know where the creek jump is, so does everyone else:p(creek jump gets way crowded for me) Its tight in alot of areas which offers little shooting, has a darker canopy from the tree's and being on foot wouldnt allow me to get the shots I needed to get(I may have ended up just sitting in the creek watching:p )

Tnx Amy


A few wallpapers:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3177/2610828452_c0da37d2b4_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3130/2610831812_d35abc14ba_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3247/2606566702_9e898bbc7f_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3136/2610033521_3ace6472c6_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3033/2603247546_543145852c_o.jpg

[kchristine]

Thank-you Pappy for the great race coverage and photos!!!! you are awesome.
Brayden Shicks mom

[Pappy]

Originally posted by kchristine
Thank-you Pappy for the great race coverage and photos!!!! you are awesome.
Brayden Shicks mom

Thanks, this year hasnt worked out like I wanted it to with the Youth racers, but I will try and do better in the coming rounds.

My favorite shot of the weekend....he looked like I felt!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3275/2610915724_cac589ae25_o.jpg

[Pappy]

And thanks to everyone that chatted with Cody. He sat in the truck doing live updates from 7:45 am to 4 pm seeing he couldnt walk around to much.

Monday was his doctors appointment and they cleared him to walk with applying full weight to his leg and yesterday he had about all he could stand and geared up for the first time in 10 weeks!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3080/2608452269_0fe8297d01.jpg

He can now start rebuilding his leg muscles and if all goes well, he should be back in action at Powerline!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/2609292446_78786a6263.jpg

[Flynbryan19]

Originally posted by Pappy
Yep, I know where the creek jump is, so does everyone else:p(creek jump gets way crowded for me) Its tight in alot of areas which offers little shooting, has a darker canopy from the tree's and being on foot wouldnt allow me to get the shots I needed to get(I may have ended up just sitting in the creek watching:p )

Tnx Amy


A few wallpapers:



You are correct. It was VERY tight in that area. I didn't think about that limiting photo oppertunities, but it makes sense. ;) Enjoyed the pics as always. :cool:

[Pappy]

Jason Hooper just pm'd me to remind everyone to check out his video report of Yadkinville!

http://www.gnccracing.com/video/

[Dave400ex]

Who is this Dave guy you speak of? :confused:

[Pappy]

Originally posted by Dave400ex
Who is this Dave guy you speak of? :confused:

I'm sorry, I only reply to those that atleast finish in the top 3:devil: Do I need to properly motivate you again:p

[Dave400ex]

Please do! Last time I won. I had a little run in with a ditch as well and banged my shoulder up pretty good. Was happy just to finish. I'll be ready for Somerset.

[Pappy]

Glad to hear your ok, that was another race I heard more then I saw I think:p

See you in PA