GNCC Round 9 Coverage: Snowshoe

Round 9 is in the books.

The Progressive Grand National Cross Country (GNCC Racing) Series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship, hosted its ninth round of racing at Snowshoe Mountain Resort in Snowshoe, West Virginia. ATV racers took to the course throughout the day on Saturday. With warm temps and dry conditions throughout the facility, the 2024 Yamaha Racing Snowshoe GNCC saw some intense racing during the day.

The Snowshoe GNCC event pays tribute to the Blackwater heritage as the race starts “in town” with riders lined up in groups of five on the main road. They start live-engine ever 10 seconds, and are time adjusted based off of what row they begin on. As row one of the top 20 riders took off, it was McGill Mafia/OBOR Tires/Moose Racing’s Adam McGill cruising down the road and into the woods first.

As the racers came around to complete their first lap, it was Hunter Hart Racing/Fly Racing/Ithaca Recreation Sports’ Hunter Hart making his way through timing and scoring first. Behind Hunter, Phoenix Racing Yamaha’s Brycen Neal would be battling with WFR/GBC/Fly racing/BNR Yamaha’s Walker Fowler for the first couple of laps. Hunter would continue to lead the way for majority of the race.

Neal would be hot on Hunter’s heels as they got the white flag indicating one more lap to go, and with that Neal would push to make the pass stick and overtake the lead from Hunter. Neal would continue on throughout the last lap pushing himself as he came through the finish line to earn his seventh win of the season.

Hart would hold on to finish second overall on the day, putting his machine on the box for the second time this season. Action Off-Road/GBC/Houser Racing’s Wyatt Wilkin would make his way up to finish third overall on the day after running fourth for the majority of the race.

BNR Motorsports/Fearless/Kenda Tires’ Steven Harrell would have his best race thus far in the season at Snowshoe this weekend. Harrell would battle in fifth for the first half of the day, but he would continue to push hard throughout the last lap as he made the pass to finish fourth overall on the day. JMR/GBC/Elka/Moose Racing’s Jarrod McClure also put in a good ride atop Snowshoe Mountain as he came through fifth overall on the day after running sixth for the majority of the day.

After getting a good start to the race and running third for the first half of the race, WFR/GBC/Fly racing/BNR Yamaha’s Walker Fowler would have a run in with a lapper and fall back to finish sixth overall on the day. Phoenix Racing Yamaha/Action Off-Road’s John Glauda Jr. would have a consistent race in West Virginia as he battled throughout the day back in the seventh place position. Another rider having a good race was BulletProof Doorz/Kenda Tires/Senge Graphic’s Ronnie Rusch as he battled back to finish eighth overall on the mountain.

Sturdivant Racing’s Brandon Owens made his way up to ninth overall from his eleventh place start to the day after battling back the first half of the race. Action Off-Road/Maxxis/Fly Racing/Lonestar’s Austin Abney would round out the top 10 XC1 and overall finishers on the day after making his way up from a 12th place start to the day.

Finishing just outside of the top 10 were McGill Mafia/OBOR Tires/Moose Racing’s Adam McGill, Action Off-Road/GBC/BNR Motorsports Joshua Merritt and Action Off-Road/AMSOIL/CB Racing’s Chris Borich who completed all laps but would be unable to make a push towards the front. Richardson Racing’s Cole Richardson would unfortunately be unable to complete a lap after a mechanical issue put him out early.

In the XC2 Pro-Am class it was CST Tires/LMR Motors/Elka/Fly Racing’s Braxton Grosse would battle back from a fourth place start to take the class win at round nine. Grosse would have his work cut out for him though as BNR Motorsports/Pierce Performance/GBC Tire’s Alex Thieman held the lead for the first half of the race. Grosse and Thieman would battle the last couple of laps, but Grosse would be able to hold the lead and take the win ahead of Thieman who would finish second on the day. Phoenix Racing Yamaha Grayson Eller would continue to push as he came through in second on lap one. Eller would continue to push but would be unable to hold off Thieman and Grosse, and ultimately finished the race third in XC2.

Earning the Top Amateur Honors at this year’s Yamaha Racing Snowshoe GNCC was Jeremiah Wolf who would come through to earn the College A (16-18) class win, while also finishing 22nd overall on the day. Andre Williams would be second on the Top Amateur podium as he came through to earn second in the College A (16-18) class and finish 23rd overall on the day. Cory Vandelinder would be third on the Top Amateur podium as he earned the win in the Junior A (19+) class and came through 24th overall.

As the 4×4 Pro row one took off it was KMK Off-Road/OBOR/FXR’s Kaden Wharff leading the way into the woods, but it wouldn’t take long for Kenda/KMK Off-Road/Ryco Electric’ Cody Collier to make his way into the number one position. Collier would lead the first lap, but Pro Row 784/TMS/Edgewood/DeRisi Racing’s Brandon Frazier was ready to battle as he made his way into the lead position during the second lap. Frazier would continue to lead for the next couple of laps before Collier once again made the pass stick for the lead.

Collier would cross the finish line with a 9 second lead over Frazier, who finished second on the day. LW Racing/OBOR/DeRisi Racing’s Landon Wolfe would battle back from a fourth place start to the day to make a last lap pass and finish third overall in the 4×4 Pro class.

As the WXC class made their way through the course, it would be Elioff Racing/BNR Motorsports/GBC Tires’ Jessica Elioff leading early on in the race. Elioff would continue to lead the way, but as the white flag flew Kenda/Moose Racing/Teixeira Tech’s Hannah Hunter was closing in. Hunter would make a pass for the lead on the last lap, and she would continue to hold her position until she saw the checkered flag waving. Elioff would hold on to finish second in the class, while Osburn Off-Road/Pierce Performance/Moose Racing’s Chloe Harper would steadily work her way into a podium position and finish third on the day.

Catch GNCC Pro ATV 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

Yamaha Racing Snowshoe GNCC Results and Points Standings
Snowshoe, West Virginia
Round 9 of 13
Saturday, June 22, 2024

XC1 Pro Event Results:

Brycen Neal (YAM)
Hunter Hart (YAM)
Wyatt Wilkin (YAM)
Steven Harrell (YAM)
Jarrod McClure (HON)
Walker Fowler (YAM)
John Glauda Jr. (YAM)
Ronnie Rusch (YAM)
Branden Owens (YAM)
Austin Abney (YAM)

Overall National Championship Standings:

Brycen Neal (252)
Walker Fowler (201)
Joshua Merritt (174)
Wyatt Wilkin (166)
Adam McGill (130)
Hunter Hart (125)
Steven Harrell (119)
Austin Abney (102)
Chris Borich (91)
Jarrod McClure (90)

XC2 Pro-Am Event Results:

Braxton Grosse (HON)
Alex Thieman (YAM)
Grayson Eller (YAM)
Daulton Keyes (HON)
Keaton Henderson (YAM)
Tanner Walker (YAM)
Kenny Shick (YAM)
Christopher Howard (YAM)
Dylan Walraven (YAM)
Jeremy Ledonne YAM)

XC2 Pro-Am Series Standings:

Grayson Eller (211)
Alex Thieman (205)
Braxton Grosse (164)
James Glauda (142)
Daulton Keyes (133)
Christopher Howard (127)
Dylan Walraven (120)
Keaton Henderson (106)
Alex Elioff (99)
Kenny Shick (98)