ATV GNCC Round
8: Warnert Racing’s Beasley & Swift
Conquer The Dust to Continue Winning Streaks
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Clifton Beasley
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Yadkinville, NC (6/25/2008) - All
though this season has been dubbed the “Year
of Mud”, dust was the culprit that clouded
vision and clogged air filters this weekend, but
that did not seem to bother Warnert Racing’s
Cliff Beasley or Michael Swift one bit as Beasley
continued his sweep of the 4x4 Lites class and Swift
claimed his 7th 4x4 Limited win of the season. The
dry conditions also seemed to favor Chris Jenks
as well as he finished with a time of 02:01:30 in
the Pro class.
Cliff Beasley, who is know for his back of the
pack starts stayed true to form this weekend.
Beasley charged from the back and had taken over
the lead by lap two. “I started in the back
like normal, but my biggest weakness is dust,
so it took me a while to catch up,” said
Beasley. Once Beasley took over the lead, there
was no stopping him. Cliff took his lead all the
way to the finish line with a time of 02:01:32.
“I got beat here at Yadkin last year, so
it feels really good to take the win,” stated
Beasley, who admits that wide open tracks such
as Yadkinville are not his cup of tea, as he prefers
the tighter, more technical, rocky style tracks
such as Mountain Ridge in Somerset, PA, where
round nine is scheduled to take place.
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Warnert Racing's
Scott Kilby and Michael Swift on Can-Am
ATVs
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The fast, open track seemed to suit Michael Swift
just fine. Swift grabbed the holeshot and never
looked back. “It was a fun course. It was
pretty dusty in the open fields, but I just played
it safe. The bike worked great and I had no problems.
The only time I stopped was to pit for gas,”
said Swift, who finished with a time of 01:59:17,
which earned him 15th overall. Swift is hoping
to capture his 8th win of the season at Somerset
next round.
Scott Kilby also grabbed the holeshot in the
4x4 Open class, but was misdirected by a spectator
out on the track during the first lap and ended
up having to backtrack, which put him back to
2nd place. Scott maintained his 2nd place all
the way to the checkered flag and finished with
a time of 02:02:03. Kilby currently holds second
in the points race with 148 points.
Rick Cecco ran a solid race as well in the U2
class. Rick ran his fastest lap time in lap three
where he laid down a time of 00:23:22. Cecco ran
without any major complications to claim 4th place
with a time of 1:59:58, which got him 18th overall
for the A.M. classes.
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Warnert Racing's
Rick
Cecco
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In the Pro ranks, Chris Jenks’ luck seemed
to improve this round despite a slow start. “I
got tangled up with a couple people, which sent
me towards the back, but I worked my way back
up to 15th by the end of the 1st lap,” said
Jenks. After the first lap, Jenks did run into
a little trouble when he ended up with a flat
tire, which slowed him down a bit. In the last
lap, luck was definitely on Chris’s side.
“I went for the creek jump and ended up
casing it really hard. I thought I was going to
break the bike in two, but it took the impact,”
Jenks said. Jenks finished with a time of 02:01:30,
which put him in 13th place.
Chris Bithell was having a tough time of things.
Bithell came off the line in mid pack and was
doing well, but hit a tree early in the first
lap, which sent him back to last place. Bithell
began a charge to the front, and worked up to
7th, but got tangled up when another rider spun
out in front of him, once again sending him to
the back. Bithell just couldn’t seem to
catch a break this round as every time he would
work himself up, things just went wrong. “It
was dry and dusty out there and of course I had
to be the guy that found the only mud hole out
there and get stuck in it!” Bithell said
disappointedly. Chris managed to complete 2 laps
in 1:02:27, which put him in 19th place. “I’m
really looking forward to Somerset. That’s
my home track and I’m looking forward to
the hometown support,” said Bithell.
Round nine of the GNCC will have the Warnert
race team heading to Mountain Ridge in Somerset,
PA, where Beasley and Swift hope to continue their
winning streaks and Bithell and Jenks will be
chasing podium positions.
www.warnertracing.com
1203 33rd Street South
St. Cloud, Minnesota 56301
(320) 251-9100 - Fax (320) 251-4764
info@warnertracing.com
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