The third rider to earn a victory this season is JMR/ATVRiders.com’s Jarrod McClure, who holds the third place position in the championship standings. McClure has started this second half of the season with consistent podium finishes, making it still mathematically possible for McClure to dispute the title this season. 

Team Maxxis’ Chris Borich holds the fourth place position in the championship standings, followed by Maxxis/B. Neal Motorsports’ Brycen Neal in fifth. The Ohio native has eight top-five finishes this season, and if he can keep the fifth place position in the points chase throughout the last two rounds he will finish with a career best finish in the year-end point standings. 

Following a tough couple of rounds due to mechanical issues, Bithell Racing/Maxxis/Precision’s Chris Bithell heads into round 12 with hopes of adding another victory to his previous overall win  earlier this season at the Limestone 100. The Pennsylvania native sits seventh in the points championship, and is followed by Coastal/Waynesburg Yamaha’s Jay Shadron in eighth. Fasttrax/Wolf Racing’s Brian Wolf holds the ninth place in the points championship, and GBC Yamaha HMF’s Johnny Gallagher rounds out the top ten.  

Adding to the drama up front, N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha/Maxxis/Lonestar’s Cole Richardson clinched the XC2 Pro Am championship at the previous round, and will be making his XC1 Pro class debut this Saturday. Richardson’s absence in XC2 opens the door for Dillinger's Celtic Pub/Hygear Suspension/Moose/GBC-backed Marty Christofferson to grab his first win of the season. Christofferson currently holds a steady second place in the XC2 points chase, but is followed by RYCO Racing’s Cody Collier who sits in the third place position. Both Christofferson and Collier will be charging hard this weekend to claim the top position on the box for the first time this season. 

“I feel like I can push myself to stay with the XC1 guys once I start with them and physically see them,” said Richardson. “I can keep up with them at local races, but being at a National is a whole different level of competition.”

In the 4x4 class, Can-Am rider Bryan Buckhannon has extended his championship points lead with a consistent string of finishes so far this season, never once finishing off the podium. However, Team UXC Racing/Factory Polaris’ Michael Swift sits just 14-points behind in the second place position. Swift comes into this round fresh off an overall win at Somerset and looks forward to another big victory to tighten the points race. His teammate, Kevin Trantham, holds the third place position in the championship standings. 

Side-by-Side racing returns to the GNCC lineup this Saturday at 4:30 p.m. with round five of the six-race championship. Team Can-Am/Turn-Key UTV/Fox Shocks leads the way in the XC1 Pro class with three consecutive victories behind them. Led by Kyle Chaney, the team looks to fend off other title contenders such as Larry Hendershot and Mouse Pratt, who sit second and third, respectively, in the championship standings. Both teams have each had their fair share of podium finishes this season, and will look to climb through the championship ranks at the penultimate round this Saturday. 

Local racers expected to compete Saturday on ATVs will be: Joey Ocel (Super Mini 12-15), Ayden Konkler (90 8-12), Jak Neely (90 Limited 8-12), brothers Riley and Josh Doyle (90 Limited 8-12), Sydney Cain (Girls 8-15), Sadiee Gorrell (Girls 8-15), Morgan Johnson (Girls 8-15), William Brown (4x4 C), Mark Kendig (4x4 C), Kylie Ahart (WXC), siblings Josh (XC1 Pro) and Kara Merritt (WXC), relatives Luke (4x4 Lites) and Adam Upah (4x4 Lites), Scott Batdorf (4x4 Lites), Kamren Bobb (Women Amateur), Dave Simmons (Super Senior 45+), Kenny Rich Sr. (Masters 50+), Jim Vanloocke (Masters 50+), Payton Adkins (Sport), Mason Wallace (Schoolboy Sr. 14-17), Jared Lambright (Schoolboy Jr. 13-15), Cacey Moore (16-18 C), Joey Lambright (16-18 C), Evan Timko (19+ C), Chris Bennett (24+ C), Wesley Smith (30+ C), Braden Henthorn (XC1 Pro), Levi Coen (XC2 Pro Am), Bryson Hoppes (XC2 Pro Am), Luke Shepherd (XC2 Pro Am), Noah Landis (College A 16-21), Nathan Hornacek (Junior A 22+), Matt Hanna (Vet A 28+), Matt Pierce (Vet A 28+), Payden Wallace (College B 16-21), Bryan Filicky (Junior B 22+), Jeremy Gushard (Vet B 30+) and Adam Reed (Vet B 30+).