2005 GNCC "Steele Creek" Round #4 Afternoon ATV Race Coverage

By the end of the 1st lap, Bill Ballance had once again taken over the lead, but only a few miles into the lap, Chris Borich passed Bill for yet another leader.

With the brutle track conditions and stuck riders all over the track creating additional obstacles for the Pros that the Overall Leader would change several times each lap through out the race with new lines constantly forming, and the key was picking the fastest line for that lap because it may be the worse line the next lap.

Close behind Borich and Ballance were #2 William Yokley and #10 Greg Trew who really needed a strong race after a string of bad luck had dropped him out of contingency the first three races of the season.

#9 Brandon Ballance had dropped back to 5th Place, but remained less than 30 seconds behind Chris Borich in the lead.

Just a few seconds back in 6th place was #8 Jeremy Rice and right behind him #23 Bryan Baker, but unfortunately for the pair, they would both pick bad lines heading through the mud pits and bury their machines in the mud losing several minutes on the leaders before being able to return to the race which dropped them both back to 12th and 13th by the end of the 2nd lap.

#13 Todd Knippenberg was running strong in 8th early in the 2nd lap, but also would get stuck for a short period of time which would allow several riders to get around him, but he also was able to pass several other riders which kept him in the top 10 by the end of the lap.

By the beginning of the 3rd lap, William Yokley had taken over the lead.

William's lead wouldn't last long as he would get caught up with lapped riders and get stuck, which allowed Bill Ballance and Chris Borich to move back out front.

#10 Greg Trew would also get into the act as he also would pass as way up front only to drop back several positions as the top 4 riders were constantly changing position mile after mile, which made from some exciting racing, so it was anyones guess who would be out front by the end of the race.

Meanwhile, while the top 4 riders swapped positions back and forth, Matt Smiley made his charge on his Polaris Predator through the pack by using his experience to move all the way up to 6th place right behind Brandon Ballance who was almost one minute behind the leaders early in the third lap, but with Matt Smiley breathing down his back, Brandon stepped up the pace as the two riders closed the gap to less than 2 seconds of Chris Borich in 4th by the end of the lap as the top 6 riders ran bumper to bumper.

#7 Chris Jenks was also on a tear as he recorded the fastest Pro lap time of 24:52 which was over 1 minute faster than Bill Balance out front, but surpisingly the fastest laptime in the 3rd lap went to Pro Am rider Scott Barron with a 24:39 as he worked his way up to 2nd in the Pro Am Class.

Jenks used his impressive speed to move his way up to 7th place and within 10 seconds of the lead pack early in the 4th lap.