What a race weekend - and more importantly, what a Legendary track for the Grand National Cross Country series and Racer Productions.

The Penland name races on.

Literally thousands of people came out to the first-ever GNCC held here at the world famous track called simply “UNADILLA”. Hundreds of spectators and racers enjoyed the first hand look at what most, including myself, have only watched on TV. Legends of the motocross world like Roger Decoster, Bob” The Hurricane” Hannah and even new favorites like Ricky Carmicheal have been racing here for as long as I can remember. Just thinking about the possibility of sailing a quad down into the "Gravity cavity" or coming through the "Screw U Loop" is exciting enough. I can say this was the biggest Grand National Event I can remember.

The fields were packed by Saturday morning and hundreds of racers signed in to challenge the hills of New Berlin, New York. Racing is definately in the soil here and this day many would make history, with some being sorely disappointed. A total of 441 signed up to race here this weekend. Rumor has it that over 1,000 motorcycles raced on Sunday.

Rounding the pit area found Bill Balance finally back to the race scene and anxiously waiting for the beginning of the day's events. Bill, as you recall, had broken his leg at the Yamaha press intro as a jump went wrong. Bill seemed in good spirits and after only 15 minutes today on his quad claims to be ready for possibly the biggest challenge yet. Riding would be tough for Bill but the true champion would shine as the day went on.

We go now to the starting line where a total of 215 riders have entered the grid to start history into motion. Ten seconds after the call was a rush of four stroke powered Women's class riders making the first turn, with determination to win the first ever “Thrilla at the Dilla”.

Parton sets the pace.

Traci Cecco would take the women around the track and came out on top for this historic event. This years women's Championship will be decided by wins and with Traci Cecco and Stephanie Parton tied, it could be anybody's game from here. Both have strong determination and we have witnessed a last turn Championship in the past between these two.

Cecco, Mcclure and Foley make history.

Jarrod Mcclure makes history

Four stroke Stock class made its way around the track and the battle was on between Chris Neal, Harlen Foley and Jarrod Mcclure. Chris Neal made his move earley but mistakes would put him back in third, leaving Jarrod Mcclure to take his first overall victory and Harlen Foley to make up the second spot. History is on the books and these first three riders will be remembered in the future for sure.

The utility classes would play out like this - Utility Stock would find Ken Robey on top and a broken Mike Penland limping in at the seventh place position. It seemed that Mike had broken around the third lap and was unable to make it four. Mike is in a very tight points battle and now is tied with Micheal Swift for the 2005 Championship. This will most likely to go down to the last race of the year also. Man, I wouldn't want to miss the last race of the year for nothing as many “Titles” will be determined there.

Utility Modified class win would go to Jim Stack and Scott Kilby makes up the second position.

And finally the Utility Unlimited class was on fire as Neil Belcher wrapped up this title and with a top twenty overall to boot.

An interesting question for me is where is Brock Parker?. At the Yadkin valley Race Brock looked like he was on top again but he was no where to be found in this round. Maybe he's saving it all for next year..I guess time will tell.

So the morning classes wound out the track and had plenty from the story I was getting. The mud turned to dust in some places and most just tried to survive.

The Pro class starts are under way and this is anybody's race from here. A semi-healed Bill Balance would get the famous holeshot and lead the group of hopefuls into the woods. Then came Chris Jenks. Jenks is quickly becoming a force that must be noticed. He made his own personal history at the last round and looks to be aiming his sights on the same for this Race. Chris Borich had trouble early on and this is going to shift the points back into the favor of Ballance. At first most thought that Borich had only bent or broken a tie rod. This would develop into a broken spindle and a very disappointed Borich. Set backs are a part of racing that no one likes but I think Chris Borich is capable of making the best of this situation.

And just when things are going forward, Chris Jenks chooses a line around stalled riders into a large mud section that would take it all away. Getting stuck is just not what Jenks had in mind and this allowed “Flyin” Brian Cook to get the first taste of the number one spot for the day. Cook was able to hold off the charges of Bill Balance and Bryan Baker to take home the coveted overall win and place himself in the history of Unadilla.

“Feels so good” said Cook.

Bryan Baker has been fighting for quite some time to get in the front and his podium burnout showed just how excited he was. Congrats to Baker as he proves that persistence overrides resistance. William Yokley would suffer from tranny problems that set him back to place.

Bryan Cook takes the big one for FST.	Ballance shows true grit and places second overall.

And with Polaris on hand in force, the day seemed to be bright for Matt Smiley as he had the best possible seat in the house. But a quick hit from behind would injure the shoulder of this fierce competitor and Matt had a decision to make. Do I chance it and make this worse or can I just “Bring It” to the next round? We look forward to seeing the “Predator “ in St clairsville on Oct 8 th.

When I reported on last week's race I had spoken about Adam Mcgill trying out the Big Boys class this week. It seems that in the Pro-Am class he needed eleven finishes to be counted and this is why he did not show on the Pro row this week . Adam would also stumble with mechanical failure and this let Scott Barron make his presence known by leading the Pro Am class from start to finish.

These guys are the future Pros of our sport and like Adam Mcgill would say, ” I just keep thinking, I'm only a minute behind the number one plate”.

This kind of determination is what has lead Mcgill to the championship this year. Josh Ribley and Chris Bithel would make two and three.

Open A class had Craig Reed taking home the first place position and Mike Carter making number two. Ryan Lane would come in at four and this gave Craig Reed a two point lead for the championship. But it's not over yet because we know that anything can happen. In Craig's mind right now I think he hopes only great things will happen from here.

Four Stroke A class was won by Taylor Kiser and followed into the second spot by Tyler Lenig. Taylor has a close hold on the points for this class so far but the ever-present Todd Rothermel is only five behind. This didn't bother the third place finisher Brandon Summers of GT Thunder though because he wrapped up his four stroke B championship at the last round and is looking for stiffer competition.

This series is truly “America's series"and the strength of these competitors has proved that this year. New faces and new places have proved that we are blessed to be in this country and also to be doing something we enjoy. The last two races of this season are right on us and how we choose to use them could change our personal history forever.

Which of these quads was in the movie "Dust to Glory?"

Round number twelve is in the mighty state of Ohio at the Powerline Park and this one always draws a great crowd. Will Bill still be hurting from the “dilla”? Probably so but don't think for a minute that he wouldn't give it 100 percent. Will Chris Borich make a final statement before planning on next year? Count on it! And I think that most of the competitors in this series are still looking for the 15 minutes of fame they all deserve.

So that's a wrap. I will be ready for the action in only a week or so and I hope you are also. Check back with us as we get the “Lowdown on the Showdown”….

See ya at the races.

RS

[Editor's Note -Thank you to RaceDayPix.com for saving OUR day. They stepped up and agreed to provide these images for our readers, after our reporter had technical difficulty trackside. If you want to see more from this event or purchase prints, check them out at: RaceDayPix.com. Tell them Off-Road.com sent you!]

October 8 - 9 - Powerline Park, St Clairsville OH
October 22 - 23 - The Klotz Ironman, Crawfordsville IN