Just a side note for the youth events held at various tracks at 8:00am on Saturday mornings. Jesi Stracham is the first girl to podium in the top three for the overall of the youth races. Congrats Jessie. This could be a cycle of women riders showing the boys that it’s not that hard…

The morning buzz had started and it wasn’t long before everyone was wondering where is Traci Cecco. She was indeed there but had chose to race in the evening classes to teach some of those boys that she wasn’t afraid of them. Traci had secured the women’s class championship and was looking for some excitement of a different kind.

Did anyone miss Big John last race?.. Well I did. If I do not see Big John on the starting line then I know he is either sick or someone somewhere else in the facility is causing trouble that he needs to stop. It has come to my attention that Big John Knox is also in the security business and recently went over to England to be supercross star Ricky Carmicheals personal body guard. Man what a job that must have been. We will be getting all the great inside stories from John and sharing them with you here on Off-Road.com real soon.

Could there possibly be any other news?…Oh yes.. The racer production crew decided to add a new class to the morning lineup. In addition to having youth events in the morning we now have younger riders coming to ten o’clock race.

The Youth Production class has been successfully added and according to Walker Fowler it’s a hit. Walker as you may remember is the morning youth champion many times over and is now out growing his mini quad. I couldn’t tell you Walkers plans but with any luck he will be hunting down records set by Pro class riders with in a few years.

So that’s all you might ask.. No way man its just getting started..

Well the flag was dropped at 10:08 and Angel Atwell picked the best line to get her second hole-shot of the year. Stephanie Parton wasn’t far behind and closing fast. Angel would fight all day and hang on to the number one spot in the end. Stephanie Parton was right in the second spot for the whole race and closing each lap but would have to settle for second place. Kristen Atwell made her best race of the season finishing third and putting the shadow of big sister behind her.

There was some confusion on the podium though as the first two finishers had been disqualified?. Not really. Jeff Seegott and Harlen Foley had raced in the sportsman class, which is reserved for the Media guys. This class doesn’t pay points just glory and bragging rights. Therefore they were moved aside and the next three moved in.

Harlen brought out his best and almost pulled out the overall but came up short to Seegott.

Glenn Pritchard, Joey ”the winged one” Margueria and Travis bell would take the “legit” overall positions.

Back in the utility classes it was Micheal Swift (stock), Scott Kilby (modified), and Micheal Shelley in the unlimited class ruling the scene. Rick Cecco gave all he had on his new Can Am machine that had literally just been purchased the day before. Kilby may have took the overall had he not made an unscheduled stop late in the race. Scott battled hard to keep long time friend Brock Parker behind him. Brock has closed the gap on Kilby and could very well take Scott’s number one plate this year. Mike Penland would come through in a disappointing ninth place quoting that he was off the game today not the bike. The Cam Am Outlander 800 power is unbelievable and it no wonder why these guys are consistently gaining positions and winning races with this machine.

Last years Utility stock champ Ken Robey seems to be having difficulties of his own as he to was far off the pace today finishing sixth. Robey as you may remember has swapped to the Artic Cat line and will need to get more adjusted to his bike so he can come back for the championship battle next season.

Did I mention that Walker Fowler dominated the new Youth Production class? Well he did and it didn’t surprise me at all. He raced his class around and came in a full five minutes ahead of the pack. Typical Walker style.. Get the job done and leave it all on the track. This kid is just a prodigy that reminds me of greats like Ricky Carmicheal and Jeremy Mcgrath. He will be the future of our sport.

The woods are clear and our Pro’s take the line to make what some consider ATV history. Bill Balance has had a great run for the last six seasons. Today he hopes to make a pivotal point in his career come to pass. There was a time when a young man named Barry Hawk was ruling the roost in the very same class. I remember when guys like Chuck Delullo and Tom Tokay had the most championships. Bob Sloan was another that made two trips down victory lane to get the Championship trophy. Ted Trey who won the very first championship in our series, probably never thought of seven to be the lucky number?

So what will the competition be like in the hills of Stclairsville Ohio today. As my prediction Bill Balance took his day of riding serious and like any other racer he wanted to win. But today would be survival mode for the champion. He rode like he has always with great skill determination but most of all with patience. Bill gave the crowd a monstrous start and grabbed yet another classic hole-shot. Balance made sure he was around at the end and there he was coming in second to the long time rival Chris Borich.

William Yokley brought home a well deserved third place which could have easily been first had Yokley gotten on the game sooner in the race. Yokley admitted he didn’t get going until Duane Johnson came by and that’s when the switch turned on. It was time to go after Bill and the leaders to get what we deserve here at StClairsville.

Chris Jenks has been a contender for several years now and at anytime could charge the pack to take over the lead but today it just wouldn’t happen for the West Virginia native that fell victim to mechanical problems.

The most interesting story of the day is back in the FOUR STROKE A class. Traci Cecco gave it her all today as she decided to take on the evening classes by starting on the line with the four stroke a riders. Traci would grab an unbelievable hole shot and hold onto it close to the second turn where she was passed by another rider. Traci raced hard but the lap of glory was over as she fell back into the pack and ended up elevnth for the day. Donald Okerman, Kevin Yoho, and Richie Brown would take the first three places in four stroke A. Brandon Sommers is usually up in the front ranks of this class decided to race Pro today to see what all the fuss was about. He ended up 9 th in front of Brandon Balance.

So lets see here, did we miss anything? Maybe the fact that we only have one race left in another action packed season of GNCC racing. I just cant believe it has gone by so fast. Did I mention that a racer asked his wife to marry him before the whole crowd at the start of the evening race? Does he know that his race budget just got cut by half? Lets hope she cherishes the place and event at least for sentimental reasons and he gets to race this one next year. Good luck Brother!!!

The next and last event is in Crawfordsville Indiana October 21 st and 22 nd and I hope to see you there.

RS