The summer break seemed like it lasted only a few short weeks for some, but for others it was non stop work as constant racing and training would pass the time until we would once again be visiting the GNCC series for round#10 of the 2008 season.
This round was held at the SnowShoe ski resort in the heart of West Virginia and is a location you either love or hate it seems! Rider turn out was low with 432 ATV entries this round. The plush and expensive accomodations found at that resort set the stage for the series to step out of its usual racing conditions as high rise hotels took the place of tents and campers.
Ofcourse, saturday morning's weather had all the beautiful scenary hidden as dense cloud cover encompassed the mountain top facility. From the base of the mountain looking up showed what we would be in store for as race time approached.
The 6 mile journey to the summit is usually filled with awesome views, but not this day. Once reaching the top it was difficult to see much of anything! The Pro pit area was a wash in a thick dense cloud canopy but it could have been much worse! Rain had fallen the night before but wasnt scheduled to affect the event during the race, however in the bottoms, what rain had fallen would make for some seriously muddy sections.
The 10 am start time was closing in as the riders began heading to the line. Starting row numbers were assigned by points position and a draw during registration.
Traci Cecco and Angel Atwell are locked in a tight points battle as the racing resume's here at SnowShoe. I know Traci loves competition, but I bet you she would like to have some breathing room
With the riders being assembled, I took up a vantage point at the first turn, which everyone figured would be pretty exciting as the morning dew had the road surface pretty slick!
Angel Atwell got the jump as Traci Cecco remains on her grab bar through turn 1. The first lap of the race would be 14 miles long, and it was at the discetion of track officials to shorten the track if needed.
Rath Racing joined the GNCC Series after the cancelation of the WPSA Series, and they have been busy learning the ropes of how to keep themselves and their machines together for the 2 hour events.
Rath has also been a pivital player in the newly released Polaris Sportsman 850 and it is still up in the air if the new machine will be allowed in competition for the 2009 season.
Joe Borich, father of famed XC1 Pro Chris Borich is a very accomplished ATV racer himself. Many outside the GNCC Series have no idea that there are two Borich's that know how to make an ATV sing and Joe did not pick an easy class to compete in aboard his Suzuki King Quad! Joe would be running in the highly coveted 4x4 Open class amongst some serious competition!
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