GNCC Race Coverage: Amsoil Buckwheat 100

Fowler takes the holeshot.

The AMSOIL Buckwheat 100 kicked off racing on October 8, for the twelfth round of racing for the 2022 Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship. The day saw colder temperatures and cloudy skies, but the battles on the track were heated throughout the entire day.

As the XC1 Pro class saw the green flag fly it was WFR/GBC/Fly Racing/Yamaha’s Walker Fowler firing his machine first to grab the $100 All Balls Racing XC1 Holeshot Award and leading the way. Fowler would continue to lead the way on the second lap as the battles behind him heated up with Magna1 Motorsports’ Brycen Neal making the move into second after a mid-pack start. Getter Nissan/Kenda/Action Off-Road’s Cole Richardson who was running second on the first lap would continue to push at the front.

Fowler would continue to push and remain in the lead on lap three, as The Original Formula 88/Ithaca Recreation Sports/Maxxis/Fly Racing’s Hunter Hart had made his way up through the pack into second and was battling Neal for that podium position. The top five in the running order were merely just seconds apart as they came through to see the white flag waving, indicating one more lap to go.

On the last lap Neal would put his head down and push, making his way around Hart and setting his sights on Fowler. As they emerged from the woods and headed towards the finish line it was Neal leading the way with Fowler just two seconds off of him. Neal would come through to take the win, followed by Fowler and Richardson coming through just ahead of Hart to earn third overall. Neal now sits 12 points ahead of Fowler as they head into the season finale in two weeks.

Pierce Performance/GBC/Action Off-Road/Active Waste Solution’s John Glauda Jr. would round out the top five overall finishers on the day as he battled throughout the day. In his first XC1 race after earning the XC2 Championship, Action Off-Road/Pierce Performance/Pro Graphx’s Jay Shadron would battle back to finish sixth in the class.

Abney Racing/Action Off-Road/Maxxis’ Austin Abney had a consistent day in seventh as he battled back and forth throughout the race. OBOR/Moose Racing/Parts Unlimited/McGill Mafia’s Adam McGill would find himself eighth as the checkered flag flew, while CBR/GBC/Action Off-Road/Fly Racing/AMSOIL-backed rider Chris Borich and JMR/GBC/Elka/Moose Racing’s Jarrod McClure would round out the top 10 finishers in the XC1 Pro class in West Virginia.

The XC2 Pro-Am class saw a new race winner emerge as Action Off-Road/DIRTNASTY/Twizted Vision’s Wyatt Wilkin made a last lap pass to take over the lead and earn his first win of the season. Wyatt remains second in the points standings with one round remaining. Pirate MX Powersports/OBOR Tires/Moose Racing/Parts Unlimited-backed rider Branden Owens would have a consistent race as he came through to earn second after running in that position for the duration of the race. After leading a majority of the race Hetrick Racing/Kenda/Elka/HMF’s Steve Harrell would be unable to hold off Wilkin for the lead, but he would remain on the podium with a third in the class.

Earning Top Amateur honors at this weekend’s race was Vet A rider Kevin Yoho, who came through 17th overall and also earned his class win. Cory Vandelinder came through 21st overall, earning the second spot on the Top Amateur podium and his Junior A class win. Rounding out the Top Amateur podium was College A racer Layne McCormick, who earned his class win as well as finishing 23rd overall.

As the morning race got underway it was Pro Row 784/GBC/BNR/Victory Golf Cart’s Brandon Frazier jumping out to grab the $100 4×4 Pro Holeshot Award courtesy of BNR Motorsports. From there Frazier would put his head down and push for the duration of the race. As the checkered flag flew it was Frazier continuing to lead the way with a seven second lead over his competition.

OBOR/Can-Am/Action Off-Road’s Landon Wolfe and Kenda/Nine2/Custom Axis’ Cody Collier would round out the overall and 4×4 Pro podium for the morning race as the two battled for the second and third spot throughout the entire race.

The WXC class took off and it was Team Pickens/Fly Racing/GBC Motorsports/Yamaha’s Traci Pickens jumping out to grab the $100 WXC Holeshot Award courtesy of BNR Motorsports. However, it didn’t take long for OBOR Tires/Fly Racing’s Hannah “Hurricane” Hunter to overtake the lead. As the race wore on Hunter would continue to lead Pickens, and as the checkered flag flew it was Hunter over Pickens by five seconds. Elioff Racing/BNR Motorsports/GBC Tires’ Jessica Elioff would come through the pack to earn third in the class after starting her day back in the tenth place position.

Earning his first youth win of the year was YXC1 Super Mini Sr. competitor, Brody Pullen. Cody Whitaker and Cole Lykins would battle back to round out the top three youth overall and YXC1 finishers on the day.

In the YXC2 Super Mini Jr. it would be Andrew Smallwood holding onto the first place position to take the class win as Bryce Pullen would hold on to finish second in the class and Ryan Wilhelm would cross the line third in the class.

Earning the Micro ATV overall win was Cason Knecht of the MXC2 class. Knecht would earn his class win with fellow MXC2 racer, JP Pickens Jr. coming through second overall. Finishing third overall in the Micro ATV class was MXC1 winner, Kody Buckhannon. Rounding out the top three in MXC1 were Jase Strouse and Stratton Weddle, while Torque Tong rounded out the MXC2 top three.

The 50 Sr. (6-7) Micro ATV class saw Beau Collins take home the win, with Cash Knecht earning the 50 Jr. (4-5) class win and Brantley Slack earning the 90 Stock (8-9) win.

In the Micro Bike race, it was Maverick Boyer coming through to take the overall and MXC1 class win over Hunter Jones who came through second while Brody Haugh rounded out the MXC1 and overall podium. In the MXC2 class it was Gage Lane earning the win with Phillip Sollon and Blake Abboud rounding out the MXC2 top three finishers.

In the 50 Sr. 1 (7) class it was Tripp Lewis earning the win. Ben McDougald would come through to earn the 50 Jr. 1 (6-7) class win, while Kane Morrison earned the 50 Sr. 2 (6) class win. Cash Knecht battled back to earn the 50 Jr. 2 (4-5) win, while in the Micro (4-6) Shaft Drive class it was Hudson Utz earning the win. In the Trail Rider (7-9) it was Colton Propst bringing home the win.

Hunter Boyle was honored as the AMSOIL Buckwheat 100 Moto Hero this weekend. Hunter is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and a Firefighter for the city. Hunter is One State certified, National Vehicle Rescue certified, Water and Ice Rescue certified as well as Rope Rescue certified. Hunter and his fire department made National News last year when they helped rescue 40+ school students off of a flooding school bus. In 2019 Hunter received the Firefighter of the Year award in Pittsburgh. He races in the Junior B (22+) class. Hunter will receive a $250 AMSOIL Shopping Spree, set of Kanati Truck Tires courtesy of GBC, 100% Goggles and a commemorative American flag from Columbia Sign & Co. along with a $200 gift certificate from them.

The season finale will take place in two weeks with the Yamaha Racing Ironman GNCC event on October 22-23. A National Champion will be crowned between Fowler and Neal. Don’t forgot to wear your pink as Ironman is GNCC’s Breast Cancer Awareness race. Country music singer, Tyler Farr will be performing on Saturday night at 9 PM as part of the GNCC Monster Energy Concert Series. Trick-Or-Treating, a costume contest and ePeeWee Racing will also be taking place throughout the weekend. To keep up to date on the event information click HERE.

AMSOIL Buckwheat 100 Results and Points Standings
Newburg, WV
Round 12 of 13
Saturday, October 8, 2022

XC1 Pro Event Results:

Brycen Neal (YAM)
Walker Fowler (YAM)
Cole Richardson (YAM)
Hunter Hart (YAM)
John Glauda Jr. (YAM)
Jay Shadron (YAM)
Austin Abney (YAM)
Adam McGill (HON)
Chris Borich (YAM)
Jarrod McClure (HON)

Overall National Championship Standings:

Brycen Neal (307)
Walker Fowler (295)
Hunter Hart (210)
Cole Richardson (199)
John Glauda Jr. (192)
Devon Feehan (167)
Jay Shadron (166)
Jarrod McClure (139)
Adam McGill (135)
Wyatt Wilkin (126)

XC2 Pro-Am Event Results:

Wyatt Wilkin (YAM)
Branden Owens (YAM)
Steve Harrell (YAM)
Daniel Peters (YAM)
Grayson Eller (YAM)
Dylan Walraven (YAM)
Tanner Walker (YAM)
Chase Allison (YAM)
Nicholas Royalty (HON)
Shane McMillen (HON)

XC2 Pro-Am Series Standings:

Jay Shadron (321)
Wyatt Wilkin (264)
Steve Harrell (227)
Branden Owens (216)
Dylan Walraven (174)
Daniel Peters (171)
Grayson Eller (169)
Tanner Walker (153)
Shane McMillen (118)
Chase Allison (103)