by: Rachel Gutish
Tuesday, March 3, 2020 | 9:05 AM
Big Buck Youth ATV Race Report
Cox and Davis Win Opening Round
UNION, S.C. (March 3, 2020) – The opening round of the 2020 GNCC series, and AMA National Championship, took place last weekend on February 22nd and 23rd. Big Buck has been on the series schedule since 1997, and is a classic GNCC course. It is an open and fast course, but don’t mistake that for being an easy one – it gets plenty rough! There’s a little bit of everything here: tree roots, mud, and even some elevation change. The soil is an interesting mix of silt and clay. It is not nearly as sandy as Camp Coker, the other South Carolina GNCC round, but it isn’t the full-on red Georgia clay seen at the General either.
Despite rain early in the week, conditions at Big Buck were the best I’ve seen in years! While there was a bit of standing water in the low spots, the dirt was tacky almost everywhere else. The corners bermed up perfectly and hitting the banked corners at speed was almost like being on a roller coaster. Out of the 70 riders in the youth ATV Race, Tyler Cox was the overall winner, while Khyler Davis took the overall win in the 32-rider micro ATV race.
In YXC1, Tyler Cox took an early lead through the first two laps. On lap three he experienced problems and dropped back to second behind a very consistent Nicholas Dearing. However, that consistency wasn’t enough to hold off Cox, who retook the lead one lap later, and held on to it until the checkered flag came out. Charlie Stewart was able to work his way up from a fifth place start to round out the podium, though he never got back within sight of the lead pack. When asked about his race, Cox said “I am pumped for this season and can’t wait to see how it plays out. I am really pleased with my performance at Big Buck as I pulled the holeshot and battled for the win.”
It was a runaway victory for Ty McGaughey in the YXC2 class. He led from the first lap to the last and by the end of the day had over two and a half minutes on second-place rider Harrison Lindsey. Things did not go nearly as smooth for Lindsey, who started off in eighth and spent the first three laps battling his way back up to second. Tavin Cook placed third, after spending most of the day there. McGaughey said his strategy after pulling the holeshot was to “charge for the YXC1 class to try and put distance between me and the rest of the YXC2 class” and that he is looking forward to round two here in a couple weeks.
The overall non-YXC rider in the ATV youth race was Bryce Pullen (YAM), racing in the 125 JR (8-11) class. He placed 10th overall.
It was unsurprising to see Khyler Davis on top of the MXC1 and overall podium at Big Buck – she spent a lot of last season there. At various points, Bodie Buckhannon would get close enough he could make a move, but would then fall back, twice dropping to over a minute behind. Towards the end of the race he was on an upswing and finished only five seconds behind Davis. Brayden Cox rounded out the podium in a solid but distant third. When asked about her race, Davis said “I loved the Big Buck track because I could hold it wide open in the fields. In the woods I had to pay attention to where I wanted to get around the lappers.”
Kody Buckhannon took home the win in his first MXC2 race. He slowly but steadily put time on the rest of the class and by the end of the race was a couple of minutes ahead. Meanwhile, Tyler McLaughlin and Reed Stevens spent most of the race locked in a battle for second place. It was a nail-biter of a race, with Stevens coming in only two seconds behind McLaughlin. When asked about his race, Buckhannon said “The track was perfect with lots of fun lines. I knew there would be a lot of good riders in my class and was pumped to get the win!”
The overall non-MXC rider in the Micro ATV was Ryder McCormick (HON) racing in the 90 Stock (8-9) class. He finished 4th overall.
Round two of the series will take place on March 7th and 8th in Platka, Florida with the Wild Boar GNCC. ATV and Micro racing will take place 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
VP Racing Fuels Big Buck GNCC
Union, SC
Round 1 of 13
February 22nd and 23rd
ATV YXC1 Race Results
- Tyler Cox (YAM)
- Nicholas Dearing (YAM)
- Charlie Stewart (YAM)
- Morgan Johnson (YAM)
- Heath Randolph (YAM)
ATV YXC1 National Championship Standings
- Tyler Cox (YAM) 20
- Nicholas Dearing (YAM) 19
- Charlie Stewart (YAM) 18
- Morgan Johnson (YAM) 17
- Heath Randolph (YAM) 16
ATV YXC2 Race Results
- Ty McGaughey (HON)
- Harrison Lindsey (YAM)
- Tavin Cook (YAM)
- Tripp Olexo (SUZ)
- Bryson Lee (YAM)
ATV YXC2 National Championship Standings
- Ty McGaughey (HON) 20
- Harrison Lindsey (YAM) 19
- Tavin Cook (YAM) 18
- Tripp Olexo (SUZ) 17
- Bryson Lee (YAM) 16
ATV MXC1 Race Results
- Khyler Davis (DRR)
- Bodie Buckhannon (DRR)
- Brayden Cox (DRR)
- Kaleb Shay (DRR)
- Falyn Holcomb (DRR)
ATV MXC1 Championship Standings
- Khyler Davis (DRR) 20
- Bodie Buckhannon (DRR) 19
- Brayden Cox (DRR) 18
- Kaleb Shay (DRR) 17
- Falyn Holcomb (DRR) 16
ATV MXC2 Race Results
- Kody Buckhannon (DRR)
- Tyler McLaughlin (DRR)
- Reed Stevens (DRR)
- Dawson Lane (DRR)
- Hayden Bettinger (DRR)
ATV MXC2 National Championship Standings
- Kody Buckhannon (DRR) 20
- Tyler McLaughlin (DRR) 19
- Reed Stevens (DRR) 18
- Dawson Lane (DRR) 17
- Hayden Bettinger (DRR) 16
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.