Driving up into the mountains of West Virginia the weather was predicted to be wet with rain on Friday into the night and the track just as brutal as it ever has been. Coming into the last round before the summer break and realizing this round is historically the toughest in the series Team UXC Racings Michael Swift would prepare for the worst. The Can-Am Renegade Xxc had been specially prepped to take on the long high-speed sections as well as the many rock gardens littering the lower sections of the course.

“We started into the dirt from the paved section third in our class and passing to first place before the two mile marker.” Says Swift. Michael was also able to catch and pass the open class riders before the five-mile mark on the first lap to try and pull away just a little. The plan was to pit early to insure enough fuel in case of any possible mishap that could prevent a pit late in the race. The second lap around was the scheduled pit and with a brief stop for fuel the second place rider in the U2 class was able to slip by. After getting back out in front of his class Swift made a line choice that narrowed to much for the Renegade to squeeze through. This kept the Team UXC racer behind his competition but with a level head Swift was not worried, at least not yet.

This is where the race turned a direction that was surprising for every racer. The two card was thrown on the finish line which most would consider two laps to go. The white flag should have been thrown in the first half of the double check point but it was not. Essentially there was no white flag. Thinking there was one more full lap and time to reel the front rider in Swift looked for fresh goggles and just held his position until he could get clean eyes for a pass. It wouldn’t come though as upon the next pass through the finish line the checkered flag was thrown. Amidst the confusion the race had ended and so did the chance to pass for a first place finish. Swift would end the day with a second place finish and second overall for the day. Michael had this to say about the days results “It was very disappointing but we will take this and move forward. I do wish to give props to my Evans coolant and Outerwears radiator cover for keeping the Team UXC Can-Am Renegade Xxc running cool all day. I also want to give a shout out to Rob Smith for his great run and first morning overall victory!”

The Team UXC number 640 of Don Higbee made a great run at the Snowshoe course and with a steady pace he managed a fifth place finish. When asked about his day Higbee had this to say “ We made a great start and even took over the class lead for a brief time. Keeping steady on this brutal course was our plan and just surviving the day made it worth the effort.” This keeps the Casper Wyoming native second in the points chase and ready for a summer break.

Micheal Swift as well as Don Higbee will be racing the Heartland Challenge and have made plans to Iron Man the Infamous Baja 1000. We will keep you up to date on any news as it becomes available but for now lets take a short break!

Team UXC Racing would like to thank their sponsors for the 2013 season:
CAN-AM BRP – MAXXIS – ROX Speed FX – CAN-AMTALK.COM  – CUSTOM AXIS Shocks – SSI Decals – EVANS Coolant
FLY – HIPER – RICOHETTE – LEATT – DP Brakes – FASST – CARBO ROCKET – HMF – MOTO CONCEPTS – KAL-GARD – SPIDER Grips – OUTERWEARS – DIRTWORKS – THERMO TEC – FOURWORX CARBON – SANTOR DESIGN – SCOTT – MOTO PRO – TWIN AIR – PIAA – HI-TEC – AMERICAS MOTORSPORTS – DRIVEN POWERSPORTS – TIRE BLOCKS – R+B COMPONENTS – MIKE PENLAND RACING – WALSH