Shelbyville, TN (9/28/2017) - After
a much depleted Unadilla race, the team were
back to full strength with all of their machines
and racers as UTVs are back in action! Marvin’s
Mountain Top of West Virginia welcomed Team
UXC and the racing nation family. The weather
was hot and there wasn’t a sign of rain anywhere,
which was thankful given the rocky nature
of this track. Early track walks showed that
the boulders and rocks were still big, the
dust was going to be a factor and it was going
to test rider and machine to the limit.
UTV Racing
Three rounds are left in the UTV series and
with 3 manufacturers in the mix, it was still
open for fighting. After racing consistently
in the first half of the season, Michael Swift
started on row 2 and Kevin Trantham just behind
on row 3. Swift was in the mix from the outset,
but you could see dust was making it hard
to stay close. In contrast, Trantham was able
to make a sharp move shortly after the start
that put him out front early and importantly
clear of the dust. Both Swift and Trantham
were pushing their cars hard and it was evident
the hard work put in with Teixeira-Tech to
develop the chassis components was paying
off. The RZR 1000XP was making light work
of the rock gardens yet handling the fast
turns with precision.
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UXC Racing's
Kevin Trantham Takes First GNCC Pro
UTV Win
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Around midway through the race, Swift and
Trantham were battling each other hard for
position. With adjusted time, Trantham was
running 2nd and Swift 4th. This continued
for most of the second half of the race until
a technical issue forced Swift to back off
and preserve the car. Trantham continued to
push the pace until the finish. When they
UTVs crossed the finish line it looked like
Cody Miller had taken the overall. However,
Trantham had chased down so much time, it
was to be his and the Polaris RZR’s day.
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UXC Racing's
Michael Swift finished 6th Overall
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After the race, Trantham was ecstatic with
his race win and attributed it to the often
endless hours of work put in to develop the
machine with Michael Swift and Team UXCs sponsors.
He said “Everything came together today; the
chassis, motor, wheels and tires all worked
seamlessly and perfectly”. Team owner, Swift,
said “We knew it was going to be challenging
this year, but we also knew we could put a
Polaris RZR back in the center of the box”.
Single Seat UTV Ace’s
It was to be a tough race in the rocks as
the Single Seat’s took on Marvin’s Mountain
Top for the first time since GNCC welcomed
them. The GNCC track team had laid out a great
and varied track that included much of what
the property had to offer. 10 machines lined
up ready to tackle it and both Jesi Stracham
and Becky Widdicombe got off the line well.
Stracham made her usual lightning fast start
and put her machine in 2nd.
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UXC Racing's
Jesi Stracham
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However, the course was cut a little too
tight for the wider XC and she clipped her
rear wheel on lap 2 causing too much damage
to continue. Widdicombe was running well in
4th but it would be a racing incident that
unfortunately resulted in damage making it
unwise to continue. She managed to complete
the lap, doing enough to secure 6th overall.
ATV Racing
Once the dust had settled from the Single
Seat UTV race, the flag dropped and the morning
ATV race was underway with the Pro 4x4 class
out front. Cunningham took an early dust free
lead and set a blistering pace well ahead
of Buckhannon. They looked to be comfortably
ahead, but none had counted on the pace set
by Kevin Trantham and Michael Swift. With
each lap, both were making passes up towards
the front until an unfortunate accident left
one of the Pro 4x4 riders pinned under his
machine. Swift was right behind him when it
happened and leapt from his bike to help.
It set Swift back a bit in his race, but he
was just doing what any other rider would
have done.
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UXC Racing's
Kevin Trantham finished 2nd in the
Pro 4x4 Class
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Ahead of the incident, Trantham had chased
down and passed Buckhannon. He had Cunningham
in his sights and closed the gap right down
to 3 seconds. Some smart play by Cunningham
put lappers in between them and allowed Cunningham
to gap Trantham. He would take first today
with Trantham coming across the line in 2nd.
It was some great, close racing and showed
the strength of the Polaris motor, RCV axle
and Maxxis tires combination.
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UXC Racing's
Michael Swift
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4x4 A rider, Josh Day, had a great day, finishing
6th in class and 38th OA. Graham Widdicombe
put it on the podium again with a 2nd in class
in 4x4 Senior and 41st OA. Nic Snyckers also
had a good race with a 3rd in the same class.
Youth rider, Tayton Swift, had a tough day
resulting in a 5th place after running 1st
until a collision with another rider left
him stuck in 1st gear and with a puncture.
He did well to finish and recover some points.
Of special mention is an independent rider;
Austin Parks. He moved over to a Polaris Scrambler
from a Can Am over the summer break and put
his machine on the podium in 2nd in 4x4 A.
Well done Austin!
That was the Team UXC Mountaineer race weekend.
Some excellent highs, frustrating lows and
plenty of reminders as to what’s truly important
in life. But then, that’s racing!! See you
in OH for more UTV and ATV racing.
Team UXC Racing
is sponsored by:
Airdam | Alco Cleaners | All Balls Racing
| Bair’s Powersports | Big Gun Exhaust | Carbo
Rocket | Carmichael Training Systems | Cool-It
Thermo Tech | Custom Axis Shocks | Dirt Works
Motorsports | DP Brakes | Evans Cooling |
FPS Racing | Fasst Company | Fly Racing |
Hilliard | K&N Filters | Leatt | Maxxis
Tires | Motion Pro | Ogio | OMF Wheels | Polaris
Engineered Lubricants | Polaris Factory Racing
| Polaris Power Generators | Quad Logic |
Quad Tech | RCV Performance | RT Pro | RZR
| Ricochet Off-Road Armor | Rigid Industries
| Rox Speed FX | Securadyne Systems | Scott
Goggles | Spider Grips | SSI Decals | STM
Powersports | Team | Teixeira Technology |
Tire Balls