Knox and Pickens found themselves in a heated battle and pushed back though the field. The duo quickly made quick work of the conditions as the rain began to fall again. With a deteriorating track, Knox gave it all she had to pass Pickens until her motor blew and she had to be towed out of the woods.

“My motor got so hot that it melted the oil cap and blew up the clutch,” said Knox. “Once I got home and opened up the motor, five of the eight friction plates were broken and the motor at the rest. Never in my racing career have I ever experienced that. It was a crazy day with a fun track, but the mud wasn’t that fun!”

Pickens tried her best to avoid getting stuck on the last lap and took her second win of the season. Knox still continued to hold onto second for the day, and defending champion and Ye Olde Cycle Barn’s Alicia McCormick recovered from a dead last start to round out the podium in third.

“It was pretty miserable, but I kept a good attitude and had fun,” said McCormick. “At the end of the day I wasn’t the fastest or the smartest racer but I finished and I finished third, which I can’t complain about after how many times I was stuck!”

The rain continued to fall overnight, and Racer Productions made the tough decision to combine the 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. races into one single two-hour race on Sunday. The WXC class lined up on row six, where Trail Jesters KTM-backed Mackenzie Tricker pulled her first ever GNCC holeshot. Tricker continued leading until RPM/KTM’s Rachel Gutish made the pass.

Gutish continued to push through, while Tricker continued to have problems. Meanwhile, defending champion and Fly Racing/Maxxis/Seat Concepts/KTM’s Becca Sheets was busy making up time after she got stuck in a mudhole. Gutish also faced problems on the last lap. Tricker capitalized on her competition’s mistake and took command of the lead, but it wasn’t long until Sheets powered through the pack. With only a few miles to go, Sheets found herself in the lead for the first time in the race where she continued to ride until she saw the checkered flag.

“I started closing the gap on Tricker during the last lap and continued to give it all I had on the last lap. After she made a wrong turn I was able to take over the lead,” said Sheets. “My last lap was my smoothest lap, and I’m pumped to take a win on such a crazy day of racing!”

This win marks Sheet’s first victory of the 2017 season. Tricker and Gutish rounded out the class podium. Rocky Mountain ATV*MC/KR4/Husqvarna Team’s Tayla Jones, chose to sit out the race due to illness. She hopes to return ready for battle at the next round.

The combined race on Sunday was broadcast LIVE in its entirety on RacerTV.com and can be viewed as an archived video now online by visiting the GNCC LIVE page online. A highlight show featuring the event will air Saturday, June 17 at noon.

The 2017 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series resumes this coming weekend, May 27 and 28, with the Wiseco John Penton GNCC in Millfield, Ohio.