We’ll start off on a high note in the morning race with Silver Masters 55+ rider Donnie Pruett taking home a 1st place finish for the day.  Even though Donnie was a little speechless when trying to describe the track conditions to our afternoon riders, I think he had a smile on his face.  Going down an age bracket, we find 35+C rider Jason Gautier sitting under an umbrella at the start line.  After a difficult start, Jason managed to slosh his way into the 6th position.  Suzuki rider Daniel Gwinn continues to climb the ladder in the 16-18C class by taking home a 7th place trophy.  Keep a close eye on Daniel as he continues to work hard and improve his riding with every race.  Wrapping things up in the morning we have Sport 15+ rider Colton White.  Unfortunately, a starter issue left Colton at the holeshot and unable to complete a lap.  Disappointing to say the least, but if you take a look at the points standings in his class you’ll notice that the top 4 riders have a DNF on their record!  Things have a funny way of working themselves out.

Moving forward to the afternoon race we have 4 SBR riders sitting on pins and needles awaiting word from track officials about the delayed start time.  Finally things get moving and we end up in the College B class with Andrew Donahue.  Mechanical issues coupled with the thick mud left Andrew back in the 18th position for the day.  Vet B riders Dan Webb and Cliff Vowell found themselves experiencing a bit of déjà vu dating back to their very first GNCC race here at Steele Creek in 2008.  Weather conditions were almost identical and the results weren’t much better.  Dan ended his race in 12th place while I ended my day in 13th place.  Last but not least is Senior A/B rider Rusty Repass.  After spending a good part of evening on Friday dialing in his suspension, Rusty managed to complete 4 grueling laps and earning a 4th place trophy. 

That does it from the Steele Creek Campground.  I think we were all pretty happy just to walk away from that one with quads and bodies intact.  We’ll get everything cleaned up and start prepping for round 4 of the Grand National Cross Country series.  The VP Racing Fuels Big Buck is located just a little further south and has been a series stop since 1997.  Let’s hope the weather cooperates this time.  You can keep up with the team and find links to our sponsors by visiting www.slightlybentracing.com. Stay dry and we’ll see you in 2 weeks!