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Longtime GNCC racer, #19 Rob Hertz, hasn't been having the best of luck this season, but it hasn't dampened his spirits as he experienced the same luck in 2003, but came back strong again last season. Hopefully, he doesn't have to wait till next season to get back into his groove again.
The start of the Pro Am Race had last weeks Class winner and 4th Overall finisher, #63 Scott Barron grabbing the holeshot with #66 Adam McGill and #25 Brian Schmid in chase.
#28 Chris Bithell was also off to a great start in 4th out of 32 riders fighting for those front positions.
#36 Mike Lucas and #854 Noel Cook got pushed off into the mud on the outside of the third turn with Noel getting the worst of it as he wrapped his front tire around a stake in the ground.
While many spectators ran from the slinging mud, this spectator helped free Noel from stake and get him on his way again.
Meanwhile Bill Ballance continued to lead the way in the Pro Class with William Yokley remaining close behind in 2nd place with #5 Chad Duvall running near the front holding off #4 Matt Smiley, but with numerous mud holes and slippery hill climbs ahead of them positions were constantly changing amongst the pro riders every couple of miles.
Also, it didn't take long for the Pro Am riders Adam McGill and Scott Barron to catch many of the Pros and begin moving their way up through the class early in the 1st lap, which put them a minute in front of each Pro they passed with adjusted time.
By the beginning of the 2nd lap, William Yokley had taken over the lead with train of riders right behind him with Bill Ballance, Matt Smiley, Chris Jenks, and Brandon Ballance all within 10 seconds of each other as they headed into the Pits for goggles.
The Pros may have held the physical lead, but Pro Am riders #66 Adam McGill and #63 Scott Barron were actually running 1st and 2nd Overall with lap times of 21:24 and 21:27, which were faster than William's laptime of 21:33.
Also, #28 Chris Bithell was tied with Bill Ballance for 3rd Overall with both of them having laptimes of 21:35 as Chris Bithell was once again proving his mud riding skills.
#16 Santo Derisi also made a great comeback from a deadlast start and was back up into the hunt in 10th place and only 40 seconds behind leader William Yokley at the beginning of the 2nd lap, but his charge to the front would quickly come to an end as he found himself stuck in the mud and dropped back to 16th by the end of the 2nd lap.