McGill hung on for fourth, his best finish of the season. The West Virginia rider, like many racers from the northern states, is getting stronger as the weather gets better close to home, which allows for more practice time.
"Yeah, I've just been lifting hard and working on my guns," joked the fun-loving McGill before the race. "I tried to put my shirt on this morning and it wouldn't even fit over my arms."
Veteran Matt Smiley is another northerner coming around. After a few bad years, the former GNCC points leader, race winner and title contender is beginning to look like his old self on his East Coast ATV/Elka/Maxxis Honda. He still slowed just a bit down the stretch, but held on for his first top five finish since 2005. Rookie XC1 Pro rider Taylor Kiser put in another good run to finish sixth, with DeRisi Racing/Pirelli rider Bryan Cook in seventh. Brandon Sommers took his GT Thunder Yamaha to eighth overall and first in the XC2 Pro Am class--he's undefeated in that class after four rounds. How many can he win? "I'd like to win all of them," said Sommers with a laugh. The Ohio rider is billed as one of the most promising young racers in the game. "I got a good start, that helps, and just kept on pushing. If you're just riding by yourself, you can lose focus, so I try to push for the overall. I'd like to get top ten, I don't think top five every week is realistic for me right now."
Ryan Lane finished second behind Sommers for the fourth time this season. "You can call me the comeback guy, because I got another horrible start," said Lane, who routinely rounds the first turn in the back of the pack. Dave Crane finished third in the class for his first career podium.
Ninth overall went to Duane Johnson, with Craig Reed in tenth. Popular Monster/Kawasaki/National Guard rider William Yokley ended up eleventh after another bad start on his KFX450. Yamaha's Michael Houston, the winner of last year's Big Buck race, was 12th.
Chris Jenks scored the ITP Holeshot Award on his Houser/GT Thunder machine, but he ran into yet more bad luck when he broke a spindle, knocking him out of the race. Yamaha's Brandon Ballance, still suffering from lower-back problems, was unable to finish as well.
As for the Can-Am GNCC Title Chase, Ballance and Borich are still battling hard, as they each have two firsts and two seconds on the year. "If we did 100 laps, I bet we would still be close by the finish line," said Ballance. "Chris is riding awesome and I know he wants it as bad as I do. It's a long season and it will come down to who makes the least mistakes."
In the morning race at 10 a.m., Yamaha's Traci Cecco kept her streak alive with her fourth overall win of the season. He gap is shrinking, though, as Four-Stroke Tech's Michael Benson almost ran her down, riding in the U2 class on his Kawasaki KFX700. Cecco's run was smooth, but she knows the Utility riders are coming. "I had the lead, then I went up a hill, and Angel (Atwell) had a great line and go around me," said Cecco. "I had to fight to get her back. With the other guys coming up in the other class, you have no idea how close they are to you, so you just need to keep pushing it."
Benson took third with fellow U2 (Utility Unlimited) racer Marcus Gonzalez in third overall. Top U2 contender Brock Parker held an early lead on his Can-Am Renegade 800, but he crashed and broke his arm, which should knock him from title contention.
Scott Kilby took his Can-Am Outlander 800 to the Open 4x4 class win, with his Can-Am teammates Michael Swift (4x4 Limited) and Cliff Beasley (4x4 Lites) taking the wins in their classes.
The Can-Am GNCC Series continues in two weeks with the Acerbis Loretta Lynn's GNCC in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. For more information, check out www.gnccracing.com.
The AMA/ATVA-sanctioned Can-Am Grand National Cross Country series is America's premier off-road racing series. The 13-round series is produced exclusively by Racer Productions. Cross-country racing is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. The nearly three-hour long GNCC races lead as many as 1,800 riders through tracks ranging from eight to twelve miles in length. GNCC Racing airs weekly television shows on Versus (formerly Outdoor Life Network) every Saturday at 3 p.m. and Thursday at 4 p.m. beginning on April 14. With varied terrain including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of both survival and speed. GNCC featured sponsors include BRP Can-Am, Parts Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis, Pirelli, Wiseco, Acerbis, Elka, Geico, Klotz, FMF, ITP and Weekend Warrior, and riders compete for over $3 million in series prizes and contingency money. Associate sponsors include Alpinestars, Cometic, EK Chain, HiPer Technology, Laegers, Moose Utility Division, The National Guard, Powersport Grafx, Race Tools, REM, Scott, Thor, Tire Balls, Twin Air, and MotoTee's. Media Sponsors include Racer X Illustrated, ATV Rider, ATV Sport, ATVRiders.com, Quadzone.com, Dirt Rider and ATV Insider. For more information log on to www.GNCCRacing.com.