GNCC ATV Awards Banquet
Four Points Sheraton
Cranberry, PA
November 24, 2006
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2006 Grand National Cross
Country Awards Banquet
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Mark
Pittman (Novice C 22+) Champion proposed on stage
to his girlfriend after receiving his awards |
Cranberry, PA - The 2006 GNCC Awards
Banquet was held this past Thanksgiving weekend at Four
Points Sheraton in Cranberry, PA, which was an all new
location. For years, the GNCC banquet has been held
in Morgantown, WV at Lake View Resort, but the facility
was no longer large enough to accommodate the ever growing
GNCC family. While other forms of ATV racing experienced
a decline in attendance, GNCC racing continued to grow
with an increase in attendance, which made for one of
the most competitive years of racing as highly competitive
racers chased after the 27 class championships up for
grabs.
With over 600 riders and families in attendance, the
banquet hall was nearly filled to capacity, and the
awards ceremony began shortly after dinner at 6PM and
lasted to nearly 11PM. The top finishers in every class
was invited on stage to accept their awards with the
top five receiving very attractive plate trophies with
the rest receiving traditional plaques. As usual, Racer
Productions had a room full of contingency prizes, which
were distributed to the top five finishers in every
class. Prizes ranged from ITP tires, Thor riding boots,
Ogio gear bags, championship jackets, and many other
great prizes donated by all the GNCC Series sponsors.
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A
room packed full of contigency prizes were given
out to the top five class finishers |
2006 was one of the most exciting years of racing in
the Pro Class as Bill Ballance chased after yet another
championship with Chris Borich giving him a run for
his money early on in the season, but a string of bad
luck for Chris Borich opened the door for Bill Ballance
to secure a record tying seventh consecutive GNCC ATV
Pro Championship, which tied ATV racing legend, Barry
Hawk. For his seventh championship, Racer Productions
awarded Bill Ballance with the GNCC championship ring
with seven diamonds to commemorate each of his championships,
and he was once again awarded “Rider of the Year.”
As a new tradition, the pro champion, Bill Ballance,
presented the “Youth Rider of the Year”
Award to Youth Overall Champion, Walker Fowler.
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Pro
Class Top 10 (Left to Right)
Bill Ballance, Chris Borich, Chris Jenks, Chris
Bithell, Adam McGill, Bryan Baker, Brandon Ballance |
2006 was also a big year for young talent in the pro
class, with Duane Johnson, Chris Bithell, and Adam McGill
all making their pro debut, and by the end of the year
all three earned multiple podium finishes. Duane Johnson
was biggest surprise of them all by never finishing
out of the top 10 overall all season, and his consistency
secured him third overall ahead of veterans Chris Jenks
and William Yokley with his peers Chris Bithell and
Adam McGill finishing respectively in 6th and 7th Overall.
Duane Johnson was awarded “Most Improved Rider”
for his outstanding accomplishment, but he wasn’t
in attendance to accept his award because he was home
with his wife and newborn.
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Women
Top 10 (Left to Right)
Traci Cecco, Angel Atwell, Stefanie Verkade, Lexie
Coulter, Kristen Atwell. Shanna Bradshaw |
In the Morning Racing, no one rider stood out more
in 2007 than Yamaha’s Traci Cecco. Unlike in years
past, Traci Cecco dominated the women’s class
over Angel Atwell and Stephanie Parton. Traci credited
her success to Ballance Racing and Johnny Gallagher
for stepping up to the plate for her at the beginning
of 2006, and she plans to continue to race under the
blue tent again 2007 as she goes after her sixth championship.
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Racer
Productions brought back the "Best Bod"
Contest with the GNCC Ladies nominated the male
racers, and Adam McGill put on a real show in
an attempt to win the trophy, but Brandon Sommers
stole the show by ripping off his shirt to claim
the prize |
John Gallagher also rocked the ATV world in 2006 by
earning his second career podium finish at the Wisp
in the Super Senior Class 50+ onboard his all-new Polaris
Outlaw with its revolutionary independent rear suspension
system, and he would go on to win his third consecutive
Super Senior Championship as he approaches the sixty
year mark, but there isn’t any plans for a 60+
class in 2007, so he will be back again to defend his
title in 2007 on KTM powered Polaris Outlaw 525.
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John
Gallagher felt like a kid again with his RacerX
Lunch Box |
There
were plenty of Shutter Bugs with digital cameras
to capture the moment |
With 2006 in the record books, the 2007 race season
will be underway before you know it, and as always,
there were some exciting changes announced for 2007
at the banquet. One of the biggest changes is all the
new classes for 2007. There will no longer be any 4
Stroke, 2 Stroke, or Stock Classes, and the all the
classes will now be based on age and skill level. The
Youth Production (13-15) Class will be added fulltime
to the Morning program, and the Utility Classes have
been expanded and renamed 4x4 Open, 4x4 Limited, and
4x4 Lites. The 4x4 Lites Class will be for 500cc and
under utility ATVs, which until 2007 never really had
a place to compete and be competitive. Finally, the
Women's Class will be split into two classes with a
Women and Women Sport Class to give novice women riders
a chance to get a taste for GNCC racing without racing
against the fastest women racers in the world.
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Team
Can-AM (Left to Right)
Jeff Gruhke, Clifton Beasley, Michael Swift,
Scott Kilby, Mike Penland, Mark Warnert |
Several new locations will also be introduced in 2007
with the season kicking off in Vero Beach, FL and two
new Pennsylvania locations and one Kentucky location
is under review to replace the final two TBA events
on the schedule with Brownsville, PA as strong contender
for hosting an event with a new parking lot.
As always, the GNCC banquet was a fun filled evening,
which for many lasted till well after Midnight, and
now it is time to begin preparing for 2007 because the
start of the season is only a little over three months
away.
GNCC
Specialty Award Winners |
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Bill
Ballance
Rider of the Year |
Duane
Johnson
Most Improved Rider |
Walker
Fowler
Youth Rider of the Year |
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Kurt
Marshall
Good Samaritian |
Brock
Parker
Sportsman of the Year |
Stefani
Verkade
Hard Luck |
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Chuck
DeBault
Award of Media Excellence
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Cheryl
Bithell
Rough & Ready Pit Crew |
GT
Thunder
Sponsor of the Year |
The
AMA-sanctioned Suzuki 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, trees,
mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events
are tests of both survival and speed. GNCC featured
sponsors include Parts Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis, Pirelli,
Wiseco, Klotz, FMF and ITP, and riders compete for
over $2.8 million in series prizes and contingency
money. Associate sponsors include Moose Utility Division,
Scott, Acerbis, Alpinestars, Cometic, Outerwears,
Twin Air, Polisport Plastics, Thor, Motion Pro, Hyper
Wheels, Elka Suspension, MotoTee's, Weekend Warrior,
Owens Motorsports, Tom's Marina Polaris, EK Chain
and Laeger's. Media Sponsors include Dirt Rider Magazine,
ATV Sport Magazine, www.ATVRiders.com
and Racer X Illustrated. For more information log
on to www.GNCCRacing.com.
www.gnccracing.com
122 Vista Del Rio Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26508
304-284-0084
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