2005 GNCC "The Penton" Round #7 Afternoon ATV Race Coverage

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The track was going to be a muddy mess once again, and everyone knew what to expect after watching the morning race.

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If you planned on finishing this race, you better have a water proof machine and a little luck on your side because it was going to be a long day from some.

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With the morning racers out tearing up the track, these little guys were busy cleaning the mud off of Frank Kendall's machine after Tech Inspection, and pretending that they were preparing to head out for the Afternoon race.

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Bill's daughter also didn't miss the oppurtunity to sit on dad's Yamaha while it remained clean before the race.

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The start of the Afternoon race was delayed 1 hour to 2PM to clear the track from of the stuck morning riders, and Big John was kept busy all weekend directing traffic and spectators in the right direction.

As the riders began heading to the starting area for the Afternoon race, light rain began to fall once again, and the fear was that it would be a repeat of last year when it downpoured during the start of the Afternoon race.

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With umbrella in hand, Alba Action's, Traci Cecco was all cleaned up and headed to the starting line to show her support for Afternoon riders after her incredible ride in the morning where she earned her spot on the podium with a 2nd Overall finish, which was the 1st podium appearance this year for any women's class rider.

Angel Atwell and Traci Cecco had a great race going into the last lap, but Angel's YFZ started to sputter and took away her opportunity for the podium as well.

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Traci's Teammate, #3 Chris Borich, was called to line up his Honda 1st as he continued to lead the points in hopes of turning his #3 into a #1 for next season, but he was once again tied with current #1 Bill Ballance for the points lead as the battle for the championship remained the tightest it has ever been in over 5 years this late in the season.

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#1 Bill Ballance was next to line for the start of the race, and even on the starting line, he showed why ATV racers are amongst some of the best sportsman in all off-road racing as he signed autographs for several fans only minutes before the race.

All ATV fans should be proud to know that we have a great group of Pro riders representing all ATV racers at the track, which will only help our sport grow to a new level beyond even what it is today or many of us even imagine.

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#2 William Yokley once again volunteers to wear the helmet camera for the Racer Production crew, but with these sloppy conditions even with the Scotts Tear off system camera, I wouldn’t expect much useable footage after a few turns.

Yokley dominated last year at the Penton in the mud and won the race by over five minutes over 2nd Overall finisher #4 Matt Smiley with #5 Chad Duvall rounding out the podium 30 seconds behind Smiley.

With his 1st win of the season two weeks ago at Loretta Lynn’s, William Yokley heads into another mud race with confidence.

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#5 Chad Duvall’s year has been far from memorable after dealing with issue after issue that has kept him off his game all season, but Chad is far from a quitter and take every race one at a time, in hopes that today will be his day.

He is known for his ability to ride in the mud, and he earned several of his podium appearances in the mud last season with his last appearance on the podium actually at this track.