Ohio's Josh Merritt had a breakout performance in his home state of Ohio as he took his first-ever XC2 Pro Am podium finish. What began with a back-of-the-pack start turned into a personal milestone for Merritt as he worked his way to the podium from outside the top 10. Greg's ATV & Cycles' Matt Hanna challenged the lead early on but eventually fell back to fourth, where he finished for the day. Eric Hoyland rounded out the top five in the XC2 Pro Am division.
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GNCC XC2 Pro-Am ATV Podium (left to right)
Patrick McGuire (2nd), Braden Henthorn (1st), Joshua Merritt(3rd) |
Maryland's Landon Wolfe finished an impressive ninth place overall in the afternoon racing, giving him the Top Amateur Award over College A (16-24) class runner-up Marshal Goings. Wolf's performance landed him ahead of Henthorn and the rest of the Pro Am division on the adjusted time clock, an impressive feat for the young gun.
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GNCC Morning Overall Podium (left to right)
Michael Swift (2nd), Bryan Buckhannon (1st), Zach Zakowski (3rd) |
For the first time this season, GT Thunder's Dave Simmons didn't end his day atop the overall morning podium, but it wasn't due to a shortcoming. Simmons continued his perfect season in the Super Senior (45+) class on board the #737 ATV in honor of longtime friend and fellow GNCC Racer, the late Glen "Jody" Pritchard.
While Indiana's Kevin Cunningham topped the morning overall podium in the non-points paying Sportsman A/B class, it was Can-Am X-Team's Bryan Buckhannon who took the overall win, in addition to the 4x4 Open win over UXC Racing's Michael Swift. Zakowski Motorsports' Zac Zakowski finished third overall, making the morning overall podium a 4x4 sweep.
In the U2 division, BNR's Robert Smith bested points leader UXC Racing's Cliff Beasley, reducing the points gap to less than 10 with two races remaining. The Women's class showcased yet another ultra-competitive battle as Lexie Coulter pulled off a big win over former champ Angel Atwell and Yamaha Racing's Traci Cecco. Cecco's third place finish was enough to secure the 2012 title, marking her ninth-career GNCC championship.
The 90 Open (12-15) division dominated the ATV Youth overall, this time led by South Carolina's Zachary Jones (APX), who secured his fourth overall win of the season. Finishing only one second behind the leader was defending champ Hunter Hart (COB) and Ohio's Cody Collier (YAM) rounded out the overall podium with a close third place finish behind Hart. Less than three seconds separated the top three finishers. Indiana's Charlie Welch (DRR) took fourth overall in the (12-15) division and Pennsylvania's Seth Wilson rounded out the top five.
Side-by-Side competition resumed this weekend for Round 5 of the 6-race series and the competition level was at all time high. Pennsylvania's Team Excavating 3 won its second-straight race in the XC1 Modified division, but after missing the first two rounds the team still sits eleventh overall in the standings. Although Coastal National Guard finished fourth overall for the day, the Pennsylvania-based team currently tops the premiere XC1 class in the overall standings. Team Barron Eastgate Racing finished second overall, while Team Krecelich/Jacks rounded out the overall podium with a third place finish in the XC1 class.
The 2012 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series returns to action October 20 and 21 for the Amsoil Ironman "pink-themed" GNCC. For more information, go to www.gnccracing.com.
