As for Ballance, the Kentucky rider needs only to finish in Ohio to wrap his record-tying seventh-straight GNCC Championship. He grabbed yet another ITP Holeshot Award and then settled into a big battle with Borich. Borich led as the white flag came out, but then he headed into the pits for fuel, allowing Ballance to catch back up.
"When I came out of the finish line I saw him shoot in to the pits, and I assumed he had gone over to his trailer," said Ballance. "I don't know if he was running out of gas or maybe it was just running funny with the overheating and he just thought he was running out of gas. I got back around him three or four miles into it, and then he got back around me. And then I thought this is where I really need to cool it. We were pushing really hard."
For Jenks, who would love a factory ride so he can put in more training time next year, second place was proof that his program works. "I don't know what went wrong there for two races," said Jenks. "That's part of it, you've got to be strong and believe what you're doing. But that's pretty hard when you're sitting there with an 11th or 12th place finish."
McGill is learning his program as well. "I have definitely learned you don't have to be fast, you have to be smooth," said McGill. "I also learned about set up. I had Santo DeRisi do my shocks and they worked phenomenal. One of the biggest things is I wanted to beat Duane. I haven't beaten him all year, and last year, you know, I was able to win the Pro Am title against him. So this feels good."
The AMA-sanctioned Suzuki 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 1800 riders through tracks ranging from eight to twelve miles in length. 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 Parts Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis, Pirelli, Wiseco, Klotz, FMF, ITP and Tire Balls, and riders compete for over $3 million in series prizes and contingency money. Associate sponsors include Moose Utility Division, Scott, Acerbis, Alpinestars, Cometic, Outerwears, Twin Air, Polisport Plastics, Thor, Motion Pro, Hyper Wheels, Elka Suspension, MotoTee's, Weekend Warrior, Owens Motorsports, Tom's Marina Polaris, EK Chain and Laeger's. Media Sponsors include Dirt Rider Magazine, ATV Sport Magazine, www.ATVRiders.com and Racer X Illustrated. For more information log on to www.GNCCRacing.com.