2006 GNCC Series Round #7 - The John Penton - Preview & Live Race Coverage

Millfield, OH - It might not feel like it, but the GNCC Season has reached the half way point, and there are only three races left till the summer break counting the John Penton this weekend, and with the soaring gas prices, the summer break probably can’t come soon enough for some. Especially for those that made the long trip to the Showtime! Missouri GNCC only to be rained on most of the race on Saturday, which gave the Utilities the advantage in the morning for a Utility Podium sweep and with the Swamp fox, Chris Jenks, taking his first overall win of the season over Chris Borich and Adam McGill in the Afternoon.

The past few years the Penton has either been a mud bog or a dust bowl with nothing in between, and it appears this year won’t be much different as it appears it is going to be another mud bog especially for the morning racers as the area received some heavy rain overnight into Friday morning, and the sun came out today, but it was once again replaced by clouds. It has started to rain again just about 10PM, but hopefully it is only a passing shower because if not it is going to be mud bog tomorrow morning and into the afternoon unless the sun comes back out again tomorrow.

The start this year will be on the motocross track, which hasn’t been done for a few years.

The Penton isn’t known for its level parking, so arriving early is critical if you are in a motorhome or want a level parking spot, and the lower parking lot filled up quickly this morning.

The BRP can-am Team were all busy preparing for the pending muddy race awaiting them tomorrow, which is a welcomed treat as the Utility racers hope for yet another podium sweep.

Check out the can-am team dog sporting its own sticker kit, lol

The can-am team weren’t the only people working on their machines as Ken Tincher was making the final additions to his new 2006 Honda 450R, and he won’t be the only rider making the switch to the new 2006 Honda 450R tomorrow.

My good friend, Darrell Bozarth assisted me with installing the kill switch, and Elka’s Jay Gobel helped me dial in the stock suspension to work their best for the woods, so he took almost all the preload out of the front shocks and made a few adjustments to the compression and rebound.

John Bowers wasn’t taking any chances with the mud as he headed over to have some fresh tires mounted with Tireballs ofcourse.

With the Youth ATV race starting at 8AM, many of them signed up this evening and taped up their ATVs to keep as much mud and water out as possible

With the 2006 Yamaha YFZ450 ready to go for the race tomorrow and the sun setting behind the trees, this will end the Preview coverage, but check back tomorrow for some live updates throughout the day thanks to Monica and all those that help out with the Live Coverage especially when I get a chance to play(race).

***Breaking News***

A huge gas line that runs through the property was found to be leaking tonight by some of those that walked the track, which has forced the area 1/4 mile surrounding it to be closed off, which also means that about 5 miles of the track on that side of the road will be have to be removed from the original track layout.

The Racer Productions crew will be busy tomorrow redesigning the track layout if the gas line isn't fixed, which could force them to have an extremely short track with it possibily in the 6-8 mile range unless they are able to work a miracle and zig zag the property on the otherside of the road.

I will provide an update on the situation in the morning as the rain continues and it is almost midnight and people are once again starting to get stuck trying to park.