MORGANTOWN, W. Va. (December 5, 2013) – More than 1200 racers, family members and fans from all over the country came together in Morgantown, W. Va. on November 22 and 23 to celebrate the 2013 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country season. The Waterfront Place Hotel and Convention Center once again provided a stellar setting for this year’s GNCC Awards Banquet, as the top ATV racers were honored in front of over 600 people on Friday evening, while nearly 600 more attended Saturday evening’s ceremony to honor the top motorcycle racers in the series.
Each evening kicked off at 5:30 p.m. with dinner and opening ceremonies. The top 10 racers in each championship class were then honored on stage, in addition to a handful of specialty awards and recognition of series sponsors and supporters. Several thousand dollars worth of contingency awards were distributed to the top 5 finishers in each class and additional door prizes were raffled off to racers throughout the evening. GNCC series sponsors stepped up to distribute the biggest contingency prizes in history, thanks to AMSOIL, Rocky Mountain ATV-MC, Can-Am BRP, Parts Unlimited, Moose Racing, Maxxis, FMF Racing, Leatt, ITP, VP Racing Fuels, Dunlop, Wiseco, Polisport, Mid-State Chevrolet, Factory Connection, Elka Suspension, Cometic Gasket, Thor, Hinson Clutch Components, Moose, Utility Divison, RidePG.com, All Balls Racing, Twin Air, FOX, MotoTees, 100%, Tire Balls, Team Faith, Racer X Illustrated, Car Mate Trailers and Lazydays RV.
Door prizes included (6) certificates for an FMF PowerCore 4 Slip-on muffler, one free suspension re-valve from Factory Connection, one set of Elka Suspension, (2) Leatt chest protectors, (2) Leatt GPX neckbrace, (2) Leatt Hydration systems, and various other prizes.
But perhaps the biggest prize of both evenings came from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, as they gave four lucky winners a paid trip-for-two to Utah for a riding excursion with the RM ATV/MC crew. Congratulations to Friday night’s winners Vet B (30+) rider Jeffrey Flinn from Old Fields, W. Va., and College B (16-21) rider Cameron Bruce from Darlington, Pa., who will be provided with Side-by-Side machines on the trip, while Saturday night’s winners 250 A rider Anthony Stone from Reedsville, W. Va., and Open A rider James Steiner Jr. from Van Etten, N.Y. will be provided motorcycles for the trip.
2013 Specialty Award Winners
ATV Winners/Bike Winners
Rider of the Year: Chris Borich
Rider of the Year: Kailub Russell
4×4 Rider of the Year: Robert Smith
Amateur Rider of the Year: Trevor Bollinger
Amateur Rider of the Year: Jay Shadron
Youth Rider of the Year: Braxton McGee
Youth Rider of the Year: Hunter Hart
Most Improved Rider: Shane Hufford Jr.
Most Improved Rider: Cody Collier
Bad Ass Award: Randall Riggs
Bad Ass Award: Kevin Yoho
Rough & Ready Pit Crew: Pete Pratt
Rough & Ready Pit Crew: SICC Racing
Sponsor of the Year: AMSOIL
Wiseco Sport Ambassador: Rick Proctor
Manufacturer’s Cup: KTM North America
Sponsor of the Year: Rocky Mountain ATV/MC
State Championship: North Carolina
Manufacturer’s Cup: American Suzuki
In Memoriam: Kurt Caselli, Ryan Longstreth
State Championship: Ohio
In Memoriam: Grady “Allen” Vest, Jay Poole
Immediately following the awards portion of the ceremony, musical entertainment was provided by DJ ELO, as GNCC Racers and their families continued the celebration on the dance floor. GNCC also provided a free photo booth from 8:00 p.m. – Midnight to capture the evening’s accolade and video game stations were on site all evening to provide additional entertainment for the kids.
For those racers unable to attend the GNCC Banquet, awards can be obtained by calling Jessica at the Racer Productions office (304) 284-0084. Racers will be responsible for the cost of shipping and handling prior to shipping the award. The 2014 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series kicks off the weekend of March 8 and 9 in Bunnell, Fla. for the inaugural running of the Mud Mucker GNCC. For more information, please visit www.gnccracing.com.