Team Driver John Yokley fired his Polaris RZR S 900 up off the start and entered the woods in a favorable position. John and his passenger Jarrod McClure immediately focused on navigating their way through the tough obstacles, which included everything from deep ruts, to slick mud and limited passing opportunities.

“It was real slick out there today and the ruts were rough but the car handled great out there,” Yokley said. “Everyone was catching us quick at the beginning, so I settled into a good pace early on. I made a couple mistakes toward the end of the race and we almost got stuck, but luckily the RZR S 900 powered right through every lap.”

The biggest challenge of the afternoon came with the adjusted time clock. Yokley and his Big Country Powersports team started on the front row but the rough and muddy course conditions lent an opportunity for the latter rows to catch up and lead the way after time adjustment.

“It was brutal towards the end of the race,” Yokley added. “We used reverse quite a bit out there to stay on track but there was so much [mud] weight on the car that it started beating us up by the end.” 

In a test of survival, John Yokley was able to maintain his composure to finish second overall at the opening round of the six-race championship. Team Big Country Powersports now sits five points back in second place in the championship standings.

The GNCC Side-by-Side Championship returns to action April 11 and 12 in Union, South Carolina for the Big Buck GNCC. For more information on the team, please visit www.yokleyracing.com.

To watch RacerTV’s live online coverage of Side-by-Side racing in Georgia, visit www.racertv.com/category/gncc-utv-live.