2004 GNCC Round #8 Rausch Creek AM Race

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Brandon Carter had worked his way up to third behind Tyler lenig in 2nd Place.

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Brad Whitehead was up to 4th place, but the course took its toll on his quad and he ended up dropping off the pace in the 2nd lap and fell to 10th by the third lap and never finished the last lap

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I started the race mid pack and had to work my way through traffic up to 5th place behind Whitehead the 1st lap.

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Mark Rhodes amazingly worked his way up from last place to 6th by the end of the 1st lap and was hunting me down on the 2nd lap, and he eventually made the pass when I stalled the Z squezing between two trees, which allowed him to move up to 4th place after Whitehead dropped back.

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Brian Vasko had worked his way up to 10th place by the end of the 2nd lap, but never finished the race.

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Meanwhile, Tyler Lenig was having the race of the year. He passed Cashion in the 2nd lap and built over a minute lead by the start of the third lap. Tyler looked like he was going to win in grand fashion until around the 7 mile marker of the third lap his fuel pump shutdown and left him sitting in the woods. Again, Tyler had been struck with bad luck after having such a great race, and it was sad to see him sitting there hopelessly on his quad as we went bouncing by him.

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Mark Rhodes and I managed to pass our way through traffic and caught Traci & Stephanie working through lapped traffic around the eight mile marker after we past the sitting Tyler. I eventually was able to pass Stephanie when a lapper blocked her and Will Cashion. I then followed Traci for a few miles until I found a faster line around her in the woods. Finally, I caught Angel Atwell by the end of the lap, which put me in first overall.

In the Final lap, I made several attempts to pass Angel, but just didn't have the speed through the wide open sections, so when we headed through a very rough rocky section I took slightly different line and was able to gain a slight lead heading into the line merge, but Angel stayed on the gas and we bumped tires as I took over the Overall lead. Unfortunately, less than a mile later, I had to stop for fuel, which allowed Angel to get back around, but I was still able to hold off the charging Rhodes & Cashion heading back into the woods.

Angel and I battled for several miles as I attempted several times to make the pass her again, but I couldn't risk wrecking at high speeds to get by her. Eventionally, Angel finally let me by heading toward the 3.5 mile marker.

Will Cashion also worked his way past Angel and almost passed me by taking a line that I never saw, and I was barely able to hold him off heading into the fast rocky section of the course. I put the hammer down and started to develop a gap between Cashion and myself heading into the eight mile marker, but that is when everything went downhill for me.

Two Utility quads became stuck and I attempted to go around them and got myself stuck in the process. Before I knew it, another utility quad hit me with just enough force to break off my already weakened subframe and bend my rear rotor. My quad didn't want to move after this unless I sat up on the front of the seat to keep it from engaging the rear brakes.

Meanwhile, Will Cashion, Angel Atwell, Mark Rhodes, and Stephanie Parton passed me sitting on my quad trying to figure out what to do.

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Will Cashion went on the Win the Overall by 17 seconds over Mark Rhodes.

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I finally was able to get the Z moving again, and I struggled to keep it going to finish the last two miles of the track. I ended up finishing the race third in the Stock Class and fifth overall behind Stephanie Parton and Angel Atwell.

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My Damage consisted of a severally bent rotor, rotor hub, and blown seals on the caliper which was also destroyed. The silencer, subframe, master cylinder, skid plate, and carrier all have to be replaced before the next race. Also, I ended up destroying one lower front A-arm.

The engine was almost ruined after the carb pulled away from the Airbox when the subframe broke off and I rode it two miles that way in the dust. I checked it out and everything with the engine seems fine, but time will tell.

All and all, I am just glad that I finished the race and count my blessings that my race didn't completely end like poor Tyler's and many others.