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The Ironman GNCC
ATV Race Series Report by William Yokley
Round 13: Crawfordsville,
Indiana, October 25, 2008
Crawfordsville, PA (10/28/2008) -
William Yokley finished 12th Overall today in
the season ending race. There were 228 total entries
with 27 XC1 Pro Riders. Team Rider Mark Notman
finished 16th Overall and 2nd in the 31 rider
XC2 Pro Am Class.
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William with
his mechanic Ronnie Wade at the start
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It’s been a long season and the last race
of the season has arrived. I always like coming
to the Ironman; it’s a great area and the
town of Crawfordsville is full of diehard race
fans - rain or shine. Unfortunately, it was cold
and rainy, but that didn’t stop a huge crowd
from showing up to enjoy the races and displays.
I arrived early on Friday to display my bikes
and sign posters at the local National Guard Armory
just a mile or so from the track. SGT Such and
SSG Lillard worked the display and talked to potential
recruits while giving out hats and shirts. The
track looked like it was going to be perfect,
but some heavy showers moved in overnight to make
things pretty messy.
Mark and I prepared for a mud race. The worst
part was just getting over to the start area through
a deep muddy field. The actual track was not too
bad, and looked like it was going to be wet but
fast. My bike had been starting great this year,
but as I was practicing some practice starts just
before the race, it started acting up and did
not want to start quickly. Everyone shut their
engines off and we waited for the 10 second signal;
I hoped it would start. The flag dropped and everyone
roared toward turn one in a sea of mud, except
for me. I kicked and kicked but nothing happened.
It finally started after the pack was around a
few turns. I caught up to the tail end of the
pros just as we headed into the woods.
The first lap was just what you would expect-terrible!
I was getting in jams and eating mud big time
while trying to make something happen. I stopped
for fresh goggles and ended up in 17th at the
end of lap one. My bike was actually working well
once I got going, but staring so far behind made
me take a lot of chances; some worked and some
didn’t. I worked my way up to 12th at the
finish, right behind Kiser; we had a good battle
that last lap. Congratulations to Chris Borich
for the win, and to Bill Ballance for yet another
Championship.
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Mark on the
podium at the Ironman
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Mark Notman got a good start in the XC2 Pro Am
class in 4th place. He battled for 3rd the entire
first lap, and passed about five XC1 Pros in the
process. He hooked up with Brandon Ballance and
moved into 2nd place on lap 2. On the last lap,
he was within 24 seconds of the leader and was
closing in. He caught the leader at Ironman Hill,
but got hung up in the creek at the bottom. Mark
lost about a minute and was now in 3rd. He charged
hard and passed for 2nd about 2 miles out and
held on for the finish. Another podium and 17th
Overall – Great job!
The Yokley Racing National Guard team had a good
year. I finished 8th in the XC1 Pro Class and
Mark finished 2nd in the XC2 Pro Am Class and
17th Overall. We are excited about the off season
and switching to the new Polaris 450 MXR. I can’t
wait for next season to start! We intend to get
on the new bikes soon and begin getting them dialed
in for 2009. I’ll keep you posted as our
testing progresses, and we will be running local
and regional race series throughout the winter.
I want to thank all our sponsors for their support
this year; none of this would have been possible
without them. See you next year!
Yokley Racing Team Sponsors:
The Army National Guard, Rocky Mountain
ATV, Polaris Industries, ITP Tires, Elka Suspension,
Roll Design, HMF Exhaust Systems, IMS/Roll, Tire
Balls, Andrews Cycle, Douglas Wheel Technology,
Baldwin Motorsports, CGR, O’Neal Clothing,
Panolin Lubricants, IMS, Hinson, 317 Graphics,
Intense Fabrication & Design, Tsubaki Chains,
Hardkor, Shoei Helmets, Axcalibar Axles, Streamline,
Powermadd, Moto Pro Training, and KG Clutch Factory.
www.YokleyRacing.com
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