Heading into the longest running GNCC racing stop, the Sunday Creek raceway was the host for round seven the Wiseco John Penton. The weather was scheduled to be unpredictable with sunshine at first glance and then rain with possibilities of severe storms being rumored before the weekends wrap up. Luckily the weather remained slightly overcast with a good breeze to help stifle the 80 plus degree days.

Team UXC Racings Michael Swift prepped his Can-Am Renegade XXC to continue the U2 class success but would find out that truly anything can happen. “We had a great start and lead the field of four riders to the first corner securing the hole shot for Team UXC. I worked my way to the front of the field of other morning riders and put my head down to try and get our Can-Am Renegade XXC on the podium,” explained Swift. Swift lead the overall for the morning every lap from the start consistently picking off riders as he went.

 Swift would push hard and find himself out front well within the two-mile marker, headed for the completion of the final lap. “Our Maxxis Vipr tires were grabbing at the Ohio earth giving me the control and confidence I needed to keep moving forward.” Little did Swift know, trouble was brewing. “Our Renegade just died and I had no idea what could be causing the problem,” says Swift. It wasn’t until they had the U2 machine back in the pits an hour or so later when they had figured out that the fuse box lid had come off and several fuses, including the fuel pump relay fuse, had vibrated out of the panel. “We will have this fixed and ready for the next round,” exclaimed Swift. The number 207 U2 Renegade took third for the day despite the issues.

Don Higbee made an impressive showing at the John Penton as well despite an early crash. “While attempting a pass our Can-Am Renegade clipped a tree sending me off the machine. After being traction for a couple of other riders I remounted the machine and began to get my head back together. I stopped at the Team UXC pits for a breather and continued the fight,” says Higbee. The Casper Wyoming native is getting more and more experience and one thing he does not have in him is quit! Don would go on to finish the race with a 6^th place finish, which despite his mishap keeps him a solid second in the points race.

Tayton Swift would also race the early morning youth event getting his 8-12 year old 90 limited class Can-Am DS90X on the track in Ohio. Tayton took a spill right off the start but in determined fashion he jumped up and wrangled the machine back to its wheels and rode with a crunched throttle for the first lap. After a quick fix at the Team UXC pit Tayton was able to get going a little better. Finishing eight place for the day was good for the young rider and when asked how his race went Tayton smiled and had this to say, “My dad says some races are good races and some races are not so good but I did have fun.”

Team UXC racing had another chance to get the 108 Can-Am Maverick out to race in Millfield Ohio. Taking the hole-shot from the second split row of his class Swift quickly began to put ground between he and his competitors. From the front of the XC2 class the 108 team started out seventh and worked into second place with two laps to go. “After pulling through the scoring tower on the last lap we broke a front axle but kept moving. Unfortunately we managed to get hung in creek section in 2wd and could not hold off the car behind us. Our goal when we started this UTV racing was to improve each race and we have made good on that goal,” stated Swift. Team UXC’s Can-Am Maverick would end up third and earn a solid podium spot. Team UXC had made a set of many goals including, learning the machine, racing for a podium spot and getting a win. Two out of the three have been accomplished and now its time to get on the box in the number one spot! Having only driven the machine four times and three being race conditions this has been a pretty quick learning curve.

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