GNCC Buckwheat 100 Race Coverage
Rain delays couldn’t hold these guys back for long.
The Progressive Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Racing Series, presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship, kicked back off after its summer break with the Kanati Tires Buckwheat 100 in Newburg, West Virginia at CJ Raceway. Mother Nature would bring hot, humid and dusty conditions to begin the Saturday racing, but as the afternoon race lined up a weather delay would be placed and everyone sent back to their vehicles and campsites until the impending storms passed through.
After a weather front passed through the delay was lifted and the afternoon race lined up for a 4:15 pm start. The earlier dry, dusty conditions were now slick and somewhat muddy from the downpours that took place. Phoenix Racing Yamaha’s Brycen Neal would try to waste no time getting out front as he grabbed the $250 Kanati Tires XC1 Holeshot Award.
Neal would continue to hold the lead for the first two laps but would be stuck by the bad luck bug as he came through 12th on the third place and then be unable to complete any more lap on the day. Neal would finish 12th in class but score no points as he did not finish inside the top 20 overall.
Action Off-Road/GBC/Houser’s Wyatt Wilkin continued to push after getting a good jump off the starting line. Wilkin would remain at the front of the pack, steadily moving up. With two laps remaining Wilkin would make his way into the lead position and remain there until the checkered flag flew. Wilkin charge through the finish to earn his first-ever ATV overall and XC1 Pro win.
After a last minute decision to line up and race at round 10, WFR/GBC/Fly Racing/BNR Yamaha’s Walker Fowler would fight his way up to second by the time the 2-lap card came out. Fowler would hold the second place position from then until he crossed the finish line to see the checkered flag. Action Off-Road/GBC/BNR Motorsport’s Joshua Merritt would appear again on the podium after putting in a good ride, coming back from a 10th place start to the day, to round out the top three finishers on the day.
BNR Motorsports/Fearless/Kenda Tire’s Steven Harrell would battle back to finish fourth overall and in the XC1 class in West Virginia. JMR/GBC/Elka/Moose Racing’s Jarrod McClure would have another top five finish on the season as he came through the finish line just behind Harrell. Action Off-Road/Maxxis/Fly Racing/Lonestar’s Austin Abney put in another good ride as he charged through to finish sixth on the day.
Action Off-Road/AMSOIL/CB Racing’s Chris Borich found himself towards the front of the pack running third on the opening lap, but he would unfortunately fall back to finish the day seventh overall. Action Off-Road/Pro Graphx’s Jay Shadron returned to racing and put in a good charge as he battled for the duration of the race and came through to finish eighth overall on the day. McGill Mafia/OBOR Tires/Moose Racing’s Adam McGill fought his way back up to ninth in the XC1 class after having to make a longer pit stop to do some maintenance to his machine. BulletProof Doorz/Kenda Tires/Senge Graphic’s Ronnie Rusch rounded out the top 10 finishers in the XC1 class at round 10.
In the XC2 Pro-Am class, Phoenix Racing Yamaha’s Grayson Eller would lead from start to finish as he grabbed the $100 BNR Motorsports XC2 Holeshot Award and led the way until he saw the checkered flag. BNR Motorsports/Pierce Performance/GBC Tire’s Alex Thieman would try to catch Eller after making his way up to second from a ninth place start to the day. Thieman would be unable to make a complete push for a pass, and he would cross the line in second. Action Off-Road/GBC/Senge Graphic’s Keaton Henderson found himself battling towards the front of the group and would be third in the class as he came across the finish line to see the checkered flag.
The Top Amateur spot would go to Talan Stout who finished 11th overall and first in College A (16-18) class. Jeremiah Wolf would be second atop that podium as he came through 14th overall and second in College A, while Dayton Hickey rounded out the Top Amateur podium as he finished 16th overall and third in College A.
Saturday morning’s ATV race saw a lot of great battles and surprises as mother nature brought hot, humid and dusty conditions to the first part of the day. As the morning race got underway, and the racers all headed into the woods some bad luck would strike throughout the first couple of laps. After Kenda/KMK/Ryco Electric’s Cody Collier earned himself the $100 BNR Motorsports 4×4 Pro Holeshot Award, he would be running in second but would suffer a mechanical issues on the second lap and be unable to complete any more laps.
Pro Row 784/TMS/Edgewood/DeRisi Racing’s Brandon Frazier would be the man out front, battling with KMK Off-Road/OBOR/FXR’s Kaden Wharff. Unfortunately, Wharff would also suffer from a mechanical issue, and after two laps would have to retire for the day. Frazier would seem to be having a good day as he continued to hold the lead, but then his 4×4 machine would begin to experience problems while out on the last lap of the race. SBR/Action Off-Road/DeRisi/HMF’s Haedyn Mickelson would find himself in the lead after passing Frazier, who was on the side of the trail at this point, and all he had to do was stay consistent until the finish line. Mickelson would keep the machine running and cross the line to take the 4×4 Pro class win. BNR Motorsports’ Robert Smith would find himself moving into the second place position after steadily making his way up throughout the race, and Frazier would be able to get his machine started again and make his way in to round out the top three 4×4 Pro finishers.
However, while all of this was going on in the 4×4 Pro class, the battle for the overall win was still going strong as Cole Lykins, a 250 All-Star (14-17) competitor, would cross the finish line earning him his class win and the top spot on the overall podium. Sportsman A competitor, Brian Wolf would be credited with the win in the results, but as the class is a non-points paying class, they are removed from podium procedures. Lykins fellow class competitor, Trevor Meadows would be up front with him for majority of the day and finish second in class and overall in the race. Osburn Off-Road/Pierce Performance/Moose Racing’s Chloe Harper would come through to take third overall in the morning race but would earn her third WXC class win of the season.
Harper, who landed on the overall podium in the morning, would hold the lead from start to finish in the WXC class, while Elioff Racing/BNR Motorsports/GBC Tire’s Jessica Elioff would battle back in the second place position for the duration of the day. Kenda/Moose Racing/Teixeira Tech’s Hannah Hunter would round out the top three WXC class finishers on the day at round 10.
Catch GNCC Pro ATV Racing free via RacerTV.com all season long. Pro ATV Racing starts Saturday’s at 2pm ET, with the exception of Big Buck, Snowshoe and Ironman events where they will start at 1pm ET. For more information on the GNCC series, visit the official website at www.gnccracing.com
Kanati Tires Buckwheat 100 GNCC Results and Points Standings
Newburg, West Virginia
Round 10 of 13
Saturday, August 31, 2024
XC1 Pro Event Results:
1. Wyatt Wilkin (YAM)
2. Walker Fowler (YAM)
3. Joshua Merritt (YAM)
4. Steven Harrell (YAM)
5. Jarrod McClure (HON)
6. Austin Abney (YAM)
7, Chris Borich (YAM)
8. Jay Shadron (YAM)
9. Adam McGill (HON)
10. Ronnie Rusch (YAM)
Overall National Championship Standings:
1. Brycen Neal (252)
2. Walker Fowler (226)
3. Wyatt Wilkin (196)
4. Joshua Merritt (195)
5. Steven Harrell (137)
6. Adam McGill (132)
7. Hunter Hart (125)
8. Austin Abney (117)
9. Jarrod McClure (106)
10. Chris Borich (105)
XC2 Pro-Am Event Results:
1. Grayson Eller (YAM)
2. Alex Thieman (YAM)
3. Keaton Henderson (YAM)
4. Kenny Shick (YAM)
5. Jeremy Ledonne (YAM)
6. James Glauda (YAM)
7. Daulton Keyes (HON)
8. Chase Allison (YAM)
9. Braxton Grosse (HON)
10. Christopher Howard (YAM)
XC2 Pro-Am Series Standings:
1. Grayson Eller (241)
2. Alex Thieman (230)
3. Braxton Grosse (176)
4. James Glauda (157)
5. Daulton Keyes (147)
6. Christopher Howard (138)
7. Keaton Henderson (127)
8. Dylan Walraven (126)
9. Kenny Shick (116)
10. Alex Elioff (108)