2016 GNCC Racing Series Round #9 - Snowshoe Snowshoe, WV June 25, 2016

“It was really tough to focus on the last lap,” said Buckhannon. “I knew if I just stayed on the inside, and didn’t make any mistakes, it was going to be hard to pass me on the outside. It all worked out. The Can-Am had all kinds of power. It’s the total package. Everything came together. We’ve been fighting hard for this win this year.”

Kevin Trantham leading the pack during the Snowshoe GNCC on his Polaris Scrambler

Trantham, at 44, admits he’s the oldest rider in the field. While he may not have young energy, his experience definitely paid off as he snagged his third runner-up finish of the season. He also has one win, in Round 2, and now sits third in points.

Kevin Trantham ran in the top of the class to snag second place at the finish

“It was a challenging course,” said Trantham. “We had a good time with everyone out there racing. We were all just mixing it up and having a good time. I’m just glad to be back here on the box. I thought I was going to win today, but I came up a little bit short. I was all over Bryan trying to make a pass at the end, but I just ran out of track.”

Kevin Cunningham lost the early lead when he pitted for a fresh pair of goggles

Cunningham’s third-place finish marks his seventh podium of the season, including three victories, on his Can-Am. The former sport quad rider padded his points lead in his first season in the class and heads into the summer break with a 26-point lead.

Kevin Cunningham captured his seventh podium finish this season at Round 9, which has him leading the points

“Coming into this race, we had about a 20-point lead, so I just planned to run well and try not tear up the quad too much,” explained Cunningham. “I got out front and led most of the race. I started riding a little too aggressively and hitting things a little too hard, so I backed it off. I didn’t think it was going to be as brutal as it was, but we held on for a podium. We’re just trying to chip away at the points and make a run at the championship. The track was extremely rough, so we settled in and tried to get that win at the end. We were all battling pretty tight, but settling for third is good for us.”

Though he finished off the podium in fourth, Swift is happy to have his Polaris second in points with just four races left. He overcame overheating issues to net the top five.

Despite overheating issues, Michael Swift finished fourth on his Polaris Scrambler

“We had a rough day today,” said Swift. “I made a mistake early on and we had some overheating issues. But we were right there at the end. Our program is getting better every year. Polaris is doing so much for us. We’re excited.”

GNCC heads into its traditional summer break before returning to action September 10-11 at Unadilla MX in New Berlin, NY.

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