UNION, S.C. – The Coastal Racing ATV and Side-by-Side team had a successful day of racing on Saturday at Round 4 of the 2016 Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series in Union, South Carolina. The ATV efforts were led by Brycen Neal, who scored 2nd overall en route to his 4th consecutive podium appearance this season. In Side-by-Side action, Coastal Racing Team Drivers Bill Patterson, Sean Bogdan and John Henry each captured a top-ten overall in the highly competitive SXS category, with Henry earning the XC2 Pro Sport victory.
ATV Race
The XC1 Pro ATV holeshot was a chaotic one as two of the top riders collided off the start, causing a pileup around the first corner. Neal was able to stay clear of the carnage and put his Coastal Racing/MSR/Maxxis/Waynesburg Yamaha into a favorable second-place position on the opening lap. Neal soon made the pass on Chris Borich to overtake the lead on lap two and the Ohio native pushed hard to create a 30-second gap over the battle for 2nd place.
Brycen Neal led a majority of the two-hour race in South Carolina. Photo: Ken Hill
As the white flag flew, it was Neal who led the way into the final lap of racing with his sights set on the overall victory. However, Neal made a mistake on the final lap and clipped a tree, which allowed a hard-charging Adam McGill to catch up to his rear bumper. With about one mile to go, McGill took an alternative line to get around Neal for the lead and from there it was an all-out sprint to the finish. With limited passing opportunities in the final turns before the checkers, Neal was forced to tail McGill into the finish, only one second away from capturing his first career victory.
“Even though I came up short on the win I’m still happy to have four solid podiums to start the season off,” said Neal. “I’m the only person to have finished on the podium at every round so far and we’re expecting to continue that streak and keep pushing until we make the win happen!”
With a consistent start to the season, Neal holds a favorable second place position in the championship standings, only 14 points back from the top spot.
Coastal Racing/MSR/Maxxis/Waynesburg Yamaha team rider Eli Kiger came into round four with high hopes of capturing a win in the College B (16-21) Class. However, Kiger hit a tree early in the two-hour race and was unable to continue due to the damages on his machine.
Next ATV Event: GNCC Round 5 – April 30
Side-by-Side Race
In the XC1 Pro Class, Coastal Racing/Polaris/CST/OMF/Walker Evans/Racer Tech’s Bill Patterson, along with his passenger “Skinny Mike”, started from row three, where he powered his Polaris RZR 1000 off the line to capture the holeshot. As they began to catch the rows ahead, the duo was soon tasked with navigating through heavy dust from the dry trail. However, Patterson capitalized on the dusty conditions and made several passes on the drivers ahead.
Starting just behind Patterson on row four was XC1 Team Driver Sean Bogdan, who got off to a great start with his passenger Jade Kiger helping to navigate through the thick dust. Bogdan entered the woods in second place on the opening lap, where he kept his Coastal Racing/CST/OMF/Walker Evans/Racer Tech Polaris on the gas to slowly pick off the competition ahead.
“Our Polaris RZR 1000 was flying through the dusty trail and it was really gripping to the ground, which allowed us to make so many passes,” Patterson exclaimed. “We had some minor issues that held us back from going as hard as we wanted to but we held pace and finished strong.”
XC2 Pro Sport driver John Henry, along with his son Colton as a co-pilot, started on row seven with a solid holeshot and early lead heading into the woods. Despite the dust, Henry stayed within striking distance of the class leaders and he finally made his move into the lead on lap three. The hard-charging Henry caught up to his teammate Bogdan on lap four and the teammates battled nose-to-tail all the way to the finish.
Although Bogdan came through the finish physically ahead, it was Henry who claimed 7th overall on the adjusted time clock. Bogdan captured a hard-fought 10th overall and 9th in XC1.
“The track was fast and dusty so I knew I had to drive smart and finish the race to gain points,” Bogdan said. “The track was so dusty that we were driving off the other cars’ running lights until we had a clear, clean line to make a pass. My co-pilot Jade Kiger was a big help in pointing every turn to keep me on track due to the low visibility.”
In addition to a notable top-10 finish in the overall running, Henry’s impressive performance for Coastal Racing earned him the XC2 Pro Sport victory for the 2nd straight year at the Big Buck GNCC.
“This win is extra special because I won Big Buck last year with my son Colton, who left for the U.S. Army right after that race,” Henry explained. “This year he was on leave – he’s now a U.S. Army Ranger – and was able to co-pilot again for the first time since last year and we got back-to-back Big Buck wins! I also want to give a shout out to my teammates for capturing top-ten overall finishes as well!”
Next Side-by-Side Event: GNCC Round 5 – April 30
Results from the Big Buck GNCC – Saturday, April 16
XC1 Pro ATV Results
1. Adam McGill
2. Brycen Neal
3. Jarrod McClure
XC1 Pro ATV Championship Standings
1. Walker Fowler (106)
2. Brycen Neal (92)
3. Chris Borich (89)
Side-by-Side Overall Results
1. Kyle Chaney – XC1 Pro
2. Cody Miller – XC1 Pro
3. Jamie McCoy – XC1 Pro
4. Tim Farr – XC1 Pro
5. John Yokley – XC1 Pro
6. Bill Patterson – XC1 Pro
7. John Henry – XC2 Pro Sport
8. Kevin Trantham – XC1 Pro
9. John Barnes – XC1 Pro
10. Sean Bogdan – XC1 Pro