by: Rachel Gutish
Saturday, July 11, 2020 | 10:45 AM
The Wiseco John Penton Youth ATV Race Report
Dearing and Buckhannon win The John Penton
Round seven of the 2020 Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship, took place June 27th and 28th in Millfield, OH, with The Wiseco John Penton GNCC. The Penton is one of the oldest rounds on the series schedule, with a ton of history as well as lots of existing trail to work with when building the track. The ground here is the classic southern Ohio red clay – slippery when wet, slippery when dry, and amazingly tacky and rutted when conditions are perfect. It also tends to be on the rocky and rooty side, especially when the ground is soft and the track gets chewed out.
The course conditions at The Penton were the best they have been in years. The ground was quite soft – it rutted up easily and formed a lot of whoops and dips. Combined with the rocks, all this made for a fairly technical and physically demanding race. Though there was some rain Saturday evening, fortunately it held off for both the youth and micro races. Out of the 82 riders in the youth ATV race, Nicholas Dearing was the overall winner, while Bodie Buckhannon was the overall winner in the 34-rider micro ATV race.
After a DNF at Camp Coker and a mechanical issue at High Point which led to an 11th place finish, Nicholas Dearing was happy to be back on top of the box in YXC1. He battled his way up from a bad start, catching up to Tyler Cox on the next-to-last lap. The two of them battled for the rest of that lap, before Dearing made a pass that stuck on the final lap, taking home the win. Morgan Johnson took third in class and third overall, her highest overall finish of the season. When asked to describe his race, Dearing told us “I got off to a bad start and had to fight my way through the pack. I caught up to first, we battled for a lap before I passed him. After that put my head down and never looked back!”
In YXC2, Tavin Cook earned his first YXC1 win of the season! Despite coming through the scoring zone in eleventh place on the first lap, he was able to steadily make his way through the field. By midway through the race he had taken the lead, and finished with nearly a minute gap on second-place Brody Pullen. Levi Burkemper had a stand-out ride as well, making it on to the YXC2 podium for the first time and beating his previous best overall finish by seven spots.
The overall non-YXC rider in the ATV youth race was Bryce Pullen (YAM), racing in the 125 JR (8-11) class. He placed 17th overall.
Bodie Buckhannon took his second MXC1 win in a row at The Penton, once again barely edging out Khyler Davis. Buckhannon got the holeshot and took an early lead, before crashing and letting a few riders by. By the end of the first lap he had passed his way back into the lead, but with Davis still right on his rear fender. Buckhannon managed to stay out front the whole race, taking the checkered flag with a six second lead. Brayden Cox rounded out the podium in third.
When asked about his race, Buckhannon told us“It felt good to get the holeshot! I hit a tree and let a couple quads get by. I kept riding hard and got them back on the motocross track. This was the best micro track so far this year!”
In MXC2, Reed Stevens took home another win, but not by much! Kody Buckhannon led right up to the last lap, and though Stevens was in second, Hayden Bettinger was right behind him in third, applying pressure. It was still anyone’s race going into the last lap. It came down to the wire, with Stevens making a last second pass on Buckhannon, who took second, finishing barely ahead of Bettinger – less than five seconds separated all three riders. When asked about his race, Stevens was very enthusiastic: “The track was a lot of fun and it was my most exciting race so far! I was able to pass Kody [Buckhannon] on the last corner of the last lap. I can’t wait to race it out with him again!"
The fastest non-MXC rider in the Micro ATV race was Ryder McCormick, racing in the 90 Stock (8-9) class. He finished 7th overall, and with this most recent win wrapped up the class championship!
Round eight of the series will take place on June 11th and 12th in Dunkard, PA, with the High Voltage 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
John Penton GNCC
Millfield, OH
Round 7 of 13
June 27th and 28th
ATV YXC1 Race Results
- Nicholas Dearing (YAM)
- Tyler Cox (YAM)
- Morgan Johnson (YAM)
- Chloe Harper (HON)
- Kaden Lambruno (OTH)
ATV YXC1 National Championship Standings
- Charlie Stewart (YAM) 114
- Tyler Cox (YAM) 110
- Morgan Johnson (YAM) 100
- Kaden Lambruno (OTH) 88
- Nicholas Dearing (YAM) 87
ATV YXC2 Race Results
- Tavin Cook (HON)
- Brody Pullen (HON)
- Levi Burkemper (YAM)
- Andrew Smallwood (YAM)
- Ty McGaughey (HON)
ATV YXC2 National Championship Standings
- Ty McGaughey (HON) 110
- Tavin Cook (YAM) 107
- Brody Pullen (HON) 105
- Bryson Lee (HON) 104
- Harrison Lindsey (YAM) 89
ATV MXC1 Race Results
- Bodie Buckhannon (DRR)
- Khyler Davis (DRR)
- Brayden Cox (DRR)
- Kaleb Shay (DRR)
- Jacob Smallwood (DRR)
ATV MXC1 Championship Standings
- Bodie Buckhannon (DRR) 136
- Khyler Davis (DRR) 134
- Brayden Cox (DRR) 119
- Falyn Holcomb (DRR) 112
- Raelynn Dickerson (DRR) 103
ATV MXC2 Race Results
- Reed Stevens (DRR)
- Kody Buckhannon (DRR)
- Hayden Bettinger (DRR)
- Bryson Dickerson (DRR)
- Klaiton Sampson (DRR)
ATV MXC2 National Championship Standings
- Kody Buckhannon (DRR) 136
- Noah Slocum (APX) 117
- Reed Stevens (DRR) 116
- Dawson Lane (DRR) 107
- Bryson Dickerson (DRR) 105
To get the latest GNCC Racing clothing and merchandise visit https://www.mototees.com.
How to Watch
Racer TV and MAVTV are the official homes for coverage of the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) events. All 13 rounds, from the season opening Big Buck GNCC in South Carolina to the finale at Ironman Raceway in Indiana, will air in taped-delayed telecasts on MAVTV, while Racer TV provides live streaming coverage of the 2 p.m. ATV and 1 p.m. motorcycle races from each event. Catch all the action at http://www.mavtv.com/ and http://www.racertv.com/.
About GNCC Racing
The Grand National Cross Country Series presented by Specialized is the World’s premier off-road racing series. 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 two and three-hour GNCC races lead as many as 2,400 riders through racetracks ranging in length from eight to 12 miles. With varied terrain, including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks, and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of both survival and speed. The series draws talent from all over the U.S., Central America, South America, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. GNCC Racing is televised live on RacerTV.com. For more information, please visit www.gnccracing.com.
About eMTB Racing
The Specialized Turbo eMTB GNCC National Championship brings off-road racing and pedal-assist or electric bicycles together for an eight-round championship produced by Racer Productions. Much like a typical cross-country racing event, these races feature varied terrain featuring hills, rocks, roots, and more but are limited to electric, or pedal assist model mountain bikes only. For more information, please 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.
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Media Contact:
Kayla Bolton
(304) 284-0084
[email protected]