GNCC Racing

GNCC Racing Heads to Ohio For 32nd Annual John Penton in Ohio

GNCC Racing Heads to Ohio For 32nd Annual John Penton in Ohio

Thursday, May 20, 2021 | 2:30 PM
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Thursday, May 20, 2021 | 2:30 PM

GNCC Racing Heads to Ohio For 32nd Annual John Penton in Ohio
Neal and Baylor Aiming to Keep Their Momentum Rolling

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (May 20, 2021) – This weekend the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship, will head to Millfield, Ohio to race on the iconic grounds of Sunday Creek Raceway for the 32nd Annual John Penton GNCC. This weekend’s Wiseco John Penton GNCC will host the world’s fastest off-road racers, along with round four of the Specialized Turbo eMTB GNCC National Championship.

Coming into this weekend Bneal Motorsports/CST/Houser Racing’s Brycen Neal has earned two-straight wins. Neal, who earned both wins in Ohio last year, is looking to keep his success going on Saturday afternoon. Neal currently sits third in the points standings but is just one point behind second and 46 out of the lead.

Brycen Neal will aim to keep his win-streak alive in Ohio this Saturday. Photo: Mack Faint
Brycen Neal will aim to keep his win-streak alive in Ohio this Saturday. Photo: Mack Faint

WFR/GBC Tires/Fly Racing/Yamaha’s Walker Fowler continues to lead the way in the championship standings after six rounds of racing. After finishing third and second at the past two events, Fowler is looking to land back in the center of the podium in his home state.

Finishing third in Indiana was Hunter Hart Racing/Maxxis/Fly Racing’s Hunter Hart. This weekend Hart will look to battle at the front of the pack for what could be his first win of the season. Hart remains second in the points standings, but he only has a one point lead over third place’s Neal.

Action Off-Road/Kenda/Tely Energy’s Cole Richardson finished just off the podium at the previous round of racing. This weekend Richardson will look to run at the front, and battle for a podium finishing position. Richardson will also be hoping to improve his standings from fourth in the championship hunt.

Rounding out the top five at round six of the GNCC Series was Pierce Performance/GBC Tires/Fly Racing’s John Glauda Jr. This weekend Glauda will be looking to earn another top five finish. This season Glauda has been battling inside the top 10, and this weekend he will look to keep that consistency going as the series nears its summer break at the end of June.

Wyatt Wilkin is hopeful he can earn another win in the XC2 Pro-Am class. Photo: Mack Faint
Wyatt Wilkin is hopeful he can earn another win in the XC2 Pro-Am class. Photo: Mack Faint

In the XC2 Pro-Am class it was DIRTNASTY/GBC Tires/FocusX’s Wyatt Wilkin earning his second win of the season. Wilkin is hoping to keep some luck on his side once again and battle at the front for another win this weekend. BNR Motorsports/Senge Graphics/Houser Racing’s Ronnie Rusch continues to lead the way after finishing second at the past two events. On Saturday afternoon Rusch will be aiming to take away that number one spot once again. Nine2 Goggles/GBC Tires/BNR Motorsports’ Tanner Walker finished third and continues to hold third in the points standings. This weekend Walker will be battling for what he hopes could be his first win of the season.

In the 11 a.m. race on Saturday OBOR/Can-Am/DeRisi Racing’s Landon Wolfe is ready to battle for another win and extend his points lead in the class over fellow competitors Kenda/BNR/Nine2/Custom Axis’ Cody Collier and Can-Am/Tennessee Towing/BNR Motorsports’ Robbie Pecorari. In the WXC class Action Off-Road/Moose Racing/GBC Motorsports’ Katelyn Osburn will be aiming to earn her third win of the season to maintain her points lead over defending champions, Hannah Hurricane Hunter/OBOR Tires/Fly Racing’s Hannah Hunter and Fly Racing/GBC Motorsports/Yamaha Racing’s Traci Pickens.

Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. the Specialized Turbo eMTB GNCC National Championship will host round four of their eight championship rounds. Nick Mackie will be looking to earn his second-straight win, while Charlie Mullins will be aiming to take back the number one spot after the two raced down to the checkered flag in Indiana.

Charlie Mullins (#1) and Nick Mackie (#121) are looking to go head-to-head once again this weekend. Photo: Mack Faint
Charlie Mullins (#1) and Nick Mackie (#121) are looking to go head-to-head once again this weekend. Photo: Mack Faint

Then on Sunday, AmPro Yamaha’s Steward Baylor Jr. will look to earn his fifth consecutive win of the season, while earning valuable points towards the 2021 National Championship. After six rounds of racing, Baylor has moved himself into the second place position in points with just a 5 point gap between himself and FMF/KTM Factory Racing’s Benjamin Kelley.

Kelley will be aiming to earn his second win of the season and help his chances of holding onto the points lead in the series. Kelley has finished on the podium at the past two events, but he is aiming for that center spot this weekend in Ohio.

AmPro Yamaha’s Layne Michael battled throughout the three hour race at the previous round to earn third overall on the day. Michael has had a rollercoaster season thus far in the year, but he will aim to keep his momentum rolling into this weekend to battle at the front for an overall win.

On Sunday, Steward Baylor will be lining up to battle for his fifth win of the season. Photo: Shan Moore
On Sunday, Steward Baylor will be lining up to battle for his fifth win of the season. Photo: Shan Moore

Rounding out the top five finishers at round six were Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Thad Duvall and Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvarna’s Jordan Ashburn. Duvall, who returned from injury this year, is looking to put an overall win at the Penton in the books this weekend, but Ashburn is also aiming to battle at the front to potentially take the overall win from what some people think to be the top contenders.

In the XC2 250 Pro class all eyes have been on Coastal GASGAS Factory Racing’s Johnny Girroir as he has won the past five events. Girroir is focused on earning that number one plate this year, and he will be ready to go to battle this weekend in Ohio for his sixth-straight win. Runner-up at the previous round, AmPro Yamaha’s Mike Witkowski is eager to earn his second win of the season and battled down to the last turn with Girroir in Indiana. After earning his first podium finish of the season at the last round, Phoenix Racing’s Cody Barnes will once again be looking to put his machine on the box this weekend.

The FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class has seen Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvarna’s Jonathan Johnson comes into round seven undefeated. Lojak Cycle Sales/Yamaha’s Chase Colville sits second in the points and is aiming to earn his first win of the season while putting a stop to Johnson’s success. Coastal GASGAS Factory Racing’s Ben Parsons said he is tired of rounding out the podium and is focused on bettering his performances. This weekend make sure to keep an eye on this class as they go head-to-head for the class win.

Johnny Girroir is aiming to keep his win streak alive this weekend at The John Penton GNCC. Photo: Mack Faint
Johnny Girroir is aiming to keep his win streak alive this weekend at The John Penton GNCC. Photo: Mack Faint

In the 10 a.m. race BABS Racing Yamaha/Fly/Maxxis/Pro Circuit’s Becca Sheets is ready to go to battle to earn her fifth win of the season. Sheets had been going back-and-forth with AmPro Yamaha’s Rachael Archer, but at the past three events Sheets has come out victorious. Archer continues to sit second in the points but is hungry for her third win of the season. Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvarna/Rockstar Energy’s Tayla Jones sits third in the points, and this weekend she will be looking to battle with the Sheets and Archer for that top spot in the class.

The GNCC event will begin Saturday, May 22 with ATV racing starting at 8 a.m. featuring Micro (50cc) ATV racers aged 4 to 6 years old, followed by Micro (50cc) bike racers at 8:45 and Youth racers taking to the woods at 9:30 a.m., then the amateurs, 4x4 Pro and Women at 11 a.m., and the top amateurs and pros race at 2 p.m. Specialized Turbo eMTB Racing will kick off at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Then on Sunday, May 23, the motorcycles will take to the woods of Ohio starting with the youth racing action at 8 a.m., women and amateur riders’ race at 10 a.m. and the pros and top amateurs will start at 1 p.m.

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.

Previous Round Results & Points Standings
Hoosier GNCC
Crawfordsville, Indiana
Round 6 of 13
May 1-2, 2021

XC1 Pro Event Results:

  1. Brycen Neal (YAM)
  2. Walker Fowler (YAM)
  3. Hunter Hart (YAM)
  4. Cole Richardson (YAM)
  5. John Glauda Jr. (YAM)
  6. Jarrod McClure (HON)
  7. Chris Borich (SUZ)
  8. Adam McGill (HON)
  9. Devon Feehan (YAM)
  10. Westley Wolfe (SUZ)

*Overall National Championship Standings:

  1. Walker Fowler (161)
  2. Hunter Hart (116)
  3. Brycen Neal (115)
  4. Cole Richardson (104)
  5. Jarrod McClure (97)
  6. Chris Borich (79)
  7. Adam McGill (76)
  8. Josh Merritt (74)
  9. John Glauda Jr. (74)
  10. Westley Wolfe (67)

XC1 Pro Event Results:

  1. Steward Baylor (YAM)
  2. Benjamin Kelley (KTM)
  3. Layne Michael (YAM)
  4. Thad Duvall (HQV)
  5. Jordan Ashburn (HQV)
  6. Grant Baylor (GAS)
  7. Trevor Bollinger (HQV)
  8. Ricky Russell (GAS)
  9. Joshua Toth (KTM)
  10. Josh Strang (KAW)

*Overall National Championship Standings:

  1. Benjamin Kelley (132)
  2. Steward Baylor (127)
  3. Grant Baylor (113)
  4. Jordan Ashburn (101)
  5. Josh Strang (92)
  6. Ricky Russell (88)
  7. Jonathan Girroir (82)
  8. Joshua Toth (78)
  9. Craig DeLong (65)
  10. Layne Michael (62)

*Indicates that the Overall National Championship Standings will determine the 2021 National Champion.

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 opener in South Carolina to the finale, 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 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]