by: Rachel Gutish
Friday, July 19, 2019 | 11:55 AM
High Voltage Youth Bike Race Report
Cunningham and Wood Top High Voltage
Dunkard, PA. (July 19, 2019) – The High Voltage GNCC, round nine of the 2019 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series, an AMA National Championship, took place July 6th and 7th in Dunkard, PA. While this marked the first-ever High Voltage event, the venue is located close to the Mason-Dixon GNCC, which the series will visit in the fall. Naturally, it has very similar terrain with rolling hills, soil with plenty of clay and tree roots, which gives GNCC racers a familiar feeling while out on the racecourse.
The Youth Bike racers would be faced with a fun but challenging 3.9-mile racecourse while the Micro Bike racers saw some of the same trails on an abbreviated 1.5-mile racecourse. Conditions were fantastic for the micro race, but rain on Saturday evening left some slippery areas for the youth race on Sunday. Of the 90 youth riders competing at High Voltage, JoJo Cunningham would emerge as the overall winner, while Caleb Wood came out on top in the 41-rider micro race.
The racing in the YXC1 class was initially very tight, with Cunningham out front, but Brayden Nolette and Parker Todd glued to his fender. Nolette and Todd would swap the second place position back and forth during the first couple of laps. By lap four, there was at least thirty seconds between all of the riders in podium positions, and that gap only grew as the race wore on. In the end, like every other race so far this season, Cunnningham took the win at High Voltage. This marks two big accomplishments; breaking Stu Baylor’s consecutive youth overall record and wrapping up the YXC1 class championship with a prefect nine-win score. When asked about his race, Cunningham said “High Voltage was my favorite race so far this year. I got a good start and ran with the lead pack for the first part of the race. Once I got comfortable with the track I started to check out. It was nice to get another win before we head into the break!”
With Grant Davis out with an injury it was anyone’s race in the YXC2 class. Jack Joy and Cooper Jones were battling back and forth until the pit stop, when Jones was able to get around Joy and make the pass stick. This was the first YXC2 win of the season for Jones, and ties his highest overall finish of fourth place. It was also enough to move Jones into the points lead, although once drops are factored in, things may start to shake out a little differently. Case Burton rounded out the podium at High Voltage and was the last YXC2 rider to get in the full eight laps.
The overall non-YXC rider in the bike youth race was Gavin Garlits racing in the 85 (12-13) class. He finished 9th overall.
In MXC1, Caleb Wood came out on top, although Mason Tsakanikas and Colby Goodman definitely made him work for it. Wood never had a large enough gap over the others to ease up, so to take the win he had to charge the whole race. The win here at High Voltage bolsters him in the points as he now sits only four points down from Goodman, who is the current points leader.
Nash Peerson is still riding his hot streak, bringing home his fourth win in a row in MXC2. He and eventual second-place finisher Maddox Moretz were locked in a hard-fought battle. Moretz actually led a majority of the race, but was passed by Peerson on the next-to-last lap and was six seconds down by the time the checkered flag came out. They were the only riders in their class to make the full eight laps. Tanner Emmons finished third, his first GNCC podium this season.
The overall non-MXC rider in the micro race was Linwood Patton racing in the 50 SR (6-7) class.
The next round of the 2019 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series will take place on September 14 and 15 in Harpursville, NY, with the Black Sky GNCC. ATV and Micro racing will take place on Saturday while Bike racing will take place on Sunday.
For more information on the GNCC series, visit the official website at www.gnccracing.com or call (304) 284-0084. Join the conversation on the series Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and be sure to always hashtag #GNCC.
- Facebook: @gnccracing
- Instagram: @gncc_racing
- Twitter: @gnccracing
- YouTube: @racertv
High Voltage GNCC
Dunkard, PA
Round 9 of 13
July 6th and 7th
Bike YXC1 Race Results
- JoJo Cunningham (KTM)
- Brayden Nolette (KTM)
- Parker Todd (KTM)
- Payton Gwynn (KAW)
- Lane Witmer (YAM)
Bike YXC1 National Championship Standings
- JoJo Cunningham (KTM) 180
- Brayden Nolette (KTM) 164
- Lane Witmer (YAM) 122
- Canon Kuneff (SPE) 121
- Lucas Hol (HQV) 116
Bike YXC2 Race Results
- Cooper Jones (YAM)
- Jack Joy (KAW)
- Case Burton (YAM)
- Caden Simms (YAM)
- Chase Landers (HQV)
Bike YXC2 National Championship Standings
- Cooper Jones (YAM) 169
- Grant Davis (KAW) 152
- Jack Joy (KAW) 136
- Nicholas Defeo (HON) 128
- Case Burton (YAM) 119
Bike MXC1 Race Results
- Caleb Wood (KTM)
- Mason Tsakanikas (KTM)
- Colby Goodman (KTM)
- Hunter Porco (COB)
- Brennan Knack (COB)
Bike MXC1 National Championship Standings
- Colby Goodman (KTM) 151
- Caleb Wood (KTM) 147
- Ashton Pellegrini (HQV) 122
- Hunter Porco (COB) 116
- Brian Poindexter (KTM) 91
Bike MXC2 Race Results
- Nash Peerson (KTM)
- Maddox Moretz (KTM)
- Tanner Emmons (KTM)
- Logan Schafer (KTM)
- Bently Saxon (KTM)
Bike MXC2 National Championship Standings
- Nash Peerson (KTM) 157
- Maddox Moretz (COB) 135
- Logan Shafer (KTM) 122
- Bentley Saxon (KTM) 118
- EJ Lingenfield 101
About GNCC Racing:
The AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series (“GNCC”) is America's premier off-road racing series, featuring motorcycles, ATVs and Side-by-Sides, for men, women and children of all ages. Founded in 1975, the 13-round championship is produced exclusively by Racer Productions. Cross-country racing is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. The grueling three-hour GNCC races lead as many as 2,400 riders through trails ranging in length from 8 to 12 miles. With varied terrain, including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of both survival and speed, drawing talent from all over the United States, Central America, South America, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. GNCC Racing is televised on NBC Sports and RacerTV.com. For more information, visit www.gnccracing.com.
About the American Motorcyclist Association:
Founded in 1924, the AMA is a not-for-profit member-based association whose mission is to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling. As the world's largest motorcycling rights and event sanctioning organization, the AMA advocates for riders' interests at all levels of government and sanctions thousands of competition and recreational events every year. The AMA also provides money-saving discounts on products and services for its members. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, the AMA honors the heroes and heritage of motorcycling. For more information, visit www.americanmotorcyclist.com. Not a member? Join the AMA today: www.americanmotorcyclist.com/membership/join.