GEICO Racing
Team at the Spartan ATV GNCC Race
Sparta, KY (6/4/2008) - The GEICO
Off Road team headed to Kentucky for round 7 of
the Cam Am GNCC series. The conditions for the race
were much different from what the team has been
facing all year, with temperatures in the mid 80's
and vibrant sunshine. The track for the quads was
close to perfect, by the time the bikes hit the
track, the dust had become quite an obstacle.
The GEICO pit found itself a host to the Plessinger
family and their lemonade stand. The Plessinger's
were "Shaking it Up for Cancer" as part
of the K12 Take a Stand Against Pediatric Cancer.
On Saturday alone, they were able to raise over
$800 for the cause. For more information on the
program, check out http://go.k12.com/operationlemonade/.
Team ATV member, Jennifer Albright took her hand
at the track Saturday morning, pulling a mid pack
start going into the first turn. By the time she
reached the woods, she was able to make up ground
in the tight, off camber corners and found herself
in 3rd place. Jennifer battled lap traffic all
day, but was able to hold onto her 3rd place position
and put time on 4th. In the last ¼ mile
of the race, Jennifer decided to say hello to
a tree, which flipped her quad, but she was able
to quickly pick herself up and head to the checkered
flag. Albright finished 3rd in the women's quad
A class and 6th overall. This finish moves Jennifer
up to 4th place
in the class for the season, just 2 points shy
of 3rd.
The Sunday bike race didn't go as well for the
GEICO boys. Josh McLevy found himself tangled
up at the start forcing him to push hard to catch
the rest of the field. Josh had run into some
problems due to his crash and the heat that only
allowed him to complete one lap. Josh is still
able to hold on to his 15th place for the season
so far.
JT Bennett was mid pack at the start and up to
third place going into the woods. JT said his
bike was running better than ever until his rear
wheel caught a rock causing his bike to start
swapping back and forth. The bike finally came
to a halt against a tree, but sent JT airborne
over the bars when he came to a halt against the
next tree. Thanks to Andy Shea for seeing JT and
going to get him help. It was originally thought
that JT broke both femurs and was air lifted to
the University of Cincinnati Hospital where he
was x-rayed and CAT scanned. All tests came back
clear, thankfully with no breaks. JT has some
pretty bad bruised and scrapped up
thighs. The doctors told him that it will be a
good 3-4 weeks before he's back to normal.
JT wants to thank everyone that helped him on
Sunday and everyone for their concern, thoughts,
and prayers. No one ever plans or even thinks
of these situations ever happening, but it's great
how everyone rises to the occasion and helps out
when it does. THANK YOU.
JT's wife Gretchen was a bit freaked out when
she found out what happened, but thanks to the
Racer Production crew, especially Carrie Russell
and Big John, Gretchen was able to calm down a
bit and get off to the hospital where she was
able to find JT in good spirits and joking with
the nurses. The nurses even told her when she
got to the hospital that JT asked them to send
an ambulance for her because she was probably
in worse shape than him. Gretchen wants to thank
everyone that helped JT, and Carrie, Big John,
Mark Sippel, Dan Nudi and Monica Conner for all
of their help as well.
The
team would like to extend a special thanks to
all of their sponsors:
GEICO, MSR, MAXXIS, Lojak Yamaha, Rekluse, Gaerne,
Factory Connection, SCOTT USA, Acerbis, HMF, Bel-Ray,
and EBC Brakes. And of course a huge thank you
to our fans.The GNCC series will continue on June
20 & 21 for the Elka Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC.
The Weekend Warrior Spartan GNCC will air on the
VS network on November 8th at 3:00PM (ATV) and
November 15th at 3:00PM (Bikes).
About
GNCC Racing:
The
AMA/ATVA-sanctioned Grand National Cross Country
series is America’s premier off-road racing
series. The 13-round series is produced exclusively
by Racer Productions. Cross-country racing is
one of the most physically demanding sports in
the world. The nearly three-hour long GNCC races
lead as many as 1800 riders through tracks ranging
from eight to twelve miles in length. With varied
terrain including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks
and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests
of both survival and speed. GNCC Racing airs weekly
television shows on Versus (formerly Outdoor Life
Network) every Saturday at 3 p.m. and Thursday
at 4 p.m. beginning on April 14. GNCC featured
sponsors include Parts Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis,
Pirelli, Wiseco, Acerbis, Elka, Geico, Klotz,
FMF, ITP and Tire Balls, and riders compete for
over $3 million in series prizes and contingency
money. Associate sponsors include Alpinestars,
Cometic, EK Chain, HiPer Technology, Laegers,
Motion Pro, Moose Utility Division, Powersport
Grafx, Pro Clean, Race Tools, REM, Scott, Thor,
Twin Air, Weekend Warrior, and MotoTee’s.
Media Sponsors include Racer X Illustrated, ATV
Rider, ATV Sport, www.ATVRiders.com,
Dirt Rider and ATV Insider. For more information
log on to www.GNCCRacing.com.
www.gnccracing.com
122 Vista Del Rio Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26508
304-284-0084
|