"Powerline Park"
GNCC Amateur Race Report
St. Clairsville, OH (10/8/2005) –
Since the summer break it has been dry and fairly
dusty especially at Yadkinville, but dust wouldn’t
be a problem at Powerline Park as the remains
of tropical storm Tammy marched up the east coast
dropping several inches of rain along the way,
which set the stage for yet another Ohio mud race.
The rain and high gas prices didn’t seem to
deter many ATV racers from attending as over 500 hundred
riders signed up excluding the 58 youth riders, which
was a record attendance for ATVs at Powerline Park.
Youth Race
With a steady mist of rain , the youth riders headed
to the starting line bright and early for their fifth
race of the youth ATV series. The conditions were
less than favorable but in GNCC racing the weather
is just another element that every racer will need
has to deal with during a race.
Brandon Boso(90cc Limited 8-15) and Dylan Kell (90cc
Production 8-15) jumped out to the early lead in their
respective classes with Boso leading the Overall,
but with each passing lap the youth track deteriorated
and bottlenecks began to form. Brandon Boso found
himself stuck in a bottleneck. “"I was
fifth off the line because one of my brakes got stuck,
and I worked my way back up to first until the bottlenck",
said Brandon Boso, “two riders were able to
get around the bottleneck and pass me.” Those
two riders were Seth Mumrford and Joshuah Dains as
they went on to finish first and second in the 90cc
Limited (8-15) Class and claim their spot on the podium,
but the Overall Win would go to Walker Fowler for
the fourth consecutive time this season as he worked
his way up from an eighth place start to take the
lead with one lap to go with Cheyne Gravely finishing
twenty seconds back in second place followed by Michael
Keleman.
Both Micheal Mussi (70cc Production 7-11) and Dusty
Wright (90cc Limited 8-10) would lead their class
from start to finish as they would each win their
first race of the season.
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Michael
Mussi claims his first win of the season in
70cc Production (7-11) |
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Walker Fowler wins fourth race
in a row and claims 90cc Production (8-15) Title |
With only four of the six races counting toward the
season end points, the championship remains up for
grabs in every class except 90cc Production (8-15)
as Walker Fowler has it wrapped up with four wins,
so the final round at the Ironman will be an exciting
round to watch.
Morning Race
With the Women Championship on the line, all eyes
were on start as Traci Cecco barely edged out Stephanie
Parton for the Holeshot. By the the fifth turn, Parton
was able to make pass and take over the lead. Parton
would remain in the lead until the water crossing.
“She went left and I went right, and I made
it out before her. From that point I lead the entire
race,” Said Traci Cecco. “I pitted once
on the second lap for gloves, goggles, and fuel, and
my pit crew was awesome.”
Traci Cecco claimed her second win in a row over
Stephanie Parton with less than five seconds separating
the pair once again. The win was Cecco’s sixth
of the season, which is one more than Parton’s
five wins.
The Championship will come down to the final race
of the season, and the pressure is on Stephanie Parton
as she must win the final race of the season to remain
the Women’s Champion or the title will return
to Traci Cecco.
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#202
Traci Cecco edges out #201 Stephanie Parton
for the Holeshot |
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Jarrod McClure takes the Overall
win for the second time in a row. |
Billy Good was back in action this weekend after
skipping out on the long drive to Unadilla from Tennessee,
and he knew that he only needed one more top five
finish at either of the final two rounds to claim
his second Stock Class Championship.
Billy Good wasted no time take over the lead with
Jarrod McClure right behind him for several miles
until Good spun out, which allowed Jarrod to get past
him. “Several of the women and senior riders
took a wrong turn up a hill, and pulled in right between
Billy and I, which gave me the opportunity to pull
away,” Said McClure. He would go on to win his
second race of the season with Billy Good finishing
in second place to secure the Stock Class Championship.
Michael Sroka put in his best ride of the season finishing
third and fifth overall.
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John
Saxon attends first race since Hurricane Katrina |
With the donations from ATVriders.com, Thomas Wright,
Racer Productions, and others, John Saxon was able
to make the long drive from Mississippi to compete
in his first race since his property and home were
severely damaged from Hurricane Katrina. His twelfth
place finish was enough for him to secure second place
in the 35+ class series points behind Thomas Wright.
“Thanks everyone for all your support during
this difficult time,” said Saxon. He will be
staying with family and friends until the Ironman.
35+ C class rider, Glen Pritchard, won his third
race in a row and finished an impressive eighth overall.
Kevin Yoho tightened up the points chase in the 16-21
C class with his second win in a row, and Michael
Pellegrini took the 22-28 C class win in his GNCC
racing debut. Jim Stack, Kevin Trantham, and Doug
Henke dominated the utility classes.
Afternoon Race
The rain continued throughout the day, which kept
the track extremely slick, and unlike previous mud
races, the hard packed dirt didn’t rut up as
much as expected, and the track remained fairly passable.
Scott Barron put his Yamaha out front early once
again and looked to be well on his way to his second
win in a row with yet another top 10 overall finish
until he got a flat front tire on the last lap, which
dropped him back to third place as Duane Johnson was
able to capitalize on the situation to earn his first
win of the season and twelfth overall finish. Rob
Hertz finished in second place and fourteenth overall
as he has come on strong the last two races. “I
have been struggling with my setup all season, so
I tried some Elka front shocks and ArsFx rear swingarm,
and the Honda has been working perfect for me.”
Said Hertz. “It also helped that I had some
fresh Maxxis tires and didn’t have any problems
with traction.”
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#50
John Rowlings didn't relax much during the race
with his vet class win |
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#63 Scott Barron grabs the Holeshot,
but a flat front tire cost him the win. |
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Reed was the top amateur finisher with his 13th
Overall |
Open A rider, Craig Reed, had his best race of the
season winning the class and finishing thirteenth
overall, which was his fifth top 20 overall finish
of the year. Open A Class newcomer, Brandon Sommers,
finished in second place and twentieth overall with
Timothy Gale finishing in third.
Both Zach(4 Stroke A) & Gabe Phillips (Open B)
both took home first place trophies as they showed
everyone their mud racing skills. The points chase
in 4 Stroke A when Taylor Kiser dropped out of the
race after only two laps and Todd Rothermel was able
to secure a third place finish behind Travis Styles.
After a string of second place finishes, Donald Ockerman
was finally able to pull off the win in he 4 Stroke
B Class and make a run for third place in points with
Adam Mallet finishing in fourth place.
Wayne Edwards made the switch from Vet to Senior
Class and had his best race of the season winning
the race and finishing fiftieth Overall, and John
Rowlings was able to capture his fourth win of the
season in the Vet Class. Jeffrey Vensel would go on
to win the Junior Class over Jim Pinkston.
The final round of the Suzuki GNCC Series is now
only two weeks away, and it will be the one race of
the year that you won’t want to miss with plenty
of festivities planned and a surprise from Yamaha
to be revealed Saturday Morning, so be sure to arrive
early.
www.gnccracing.com
122 Vista Del Rio Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26508
304-284-0084
