In XC1 Pro, the battle for the $100 All Balls racing XC1 Pro Holeshot Award was between WFR/GBC/Fly Racing/Yamaha’s Walker Fowler and The Original Formula 88/Ithaca Recreation Sports/Maxxis/Fly Racing’s Hunter Hart with Fowler just edging Hart into the first corner. Hart took the lead on the second lap, but Fowler re-took it, before losing it to Neal right before the pit stops. Fowler got out of the pits first, retaking the top spot.

On the final lap, Fowler’s Yamaha slid out in a slick spot, gripped and flipped. Neal, who was just behind Fowler in second, took the lead for good. Fowler was more than 30 seconds back when he got back going, and he limped his severely broken quad in for second. GBC/Fly Racing/Nine2/BNR Motorsports’ Devon Feehan was third, marking his first podium since round two. Richardson Getter Nissan/Kenda/Action Off-Road/Richardson Racing’s Cole Richardson and Hart rounded out the top five.

Neal thought his errant pit stop might have spelled doom for his chances of winning the race. After falling to second, he stayed with Fowler until he took the lead for good. “The race today was one of the best Mason Dixons ever; the dirt was amazing,” exclaimed Neal. “I missed neutral and stalled the bike in the pits. In that split second, it allowed Walker to get out just ahead of me. I was nervous that might be the pass for the win.”

Then, when Fowler crashed, he nearly got caught up in and just made it past to secure the eventual victory. Neal rode a 30-second gap to finish first. “When Walker crashed, I locked down the brakes and almost came to a complete stop,” said Neal. “I’m glad I did because he landed right in front of me and I’m glad he didn’t get hurt.”

After a long offseason recovering from injuries, Neal is seeing the hard work he and his team put in start to pay off. Neal has a total of six victories this season and is currently 41 points ahead of Fowler in the title chase “We couldn’t ask for a better year so far,” said Neal. “There has been a lot of work and a lot of time put into this year; just getting back from an injury last year and getting back to the be able to ride and the workload of keeping everything moving. We’re just stoked for Magna1 Motorsports and my dad, Chris, and the team. It means a lot to us.”

Fowler credited his pit crew for getting him out of the pits first and giving him a chance to win. He also admitted the crash was on him and he said his equipment kept him in the race and allowed him to finish on the podium.

“I had a good, clean pit and was able to get out in the lead; the battle was on from there,” said Fowler. “Unfortunately, I ran out of talent. I was flying through the air, and that’s not good, in the busiest part of the track. I got remounted and the bike was pretty bent up. The handlebars were about broken off, which I’m glad I run Flex Bars because they worked awesome. I tried to mount a little bit of a charge, but I wasn’t able to do that, so I limped it home for another second place.”

 Feehan used a thinking man’s approach to the race. He took what opportunities arose for him and tried to capitalize. That allowed him to earn his second podium of the season. “Hunter had a gap on us so I tried to make a charge,” said Feehan. “I rode behind him for a little bit and just tried to find an opportunity make a pass. On the last lap, I made the pass and charged from there. I just went for it, and it was clean, and just kept it going from there.”

Richardson said he spent too much time in the early stages of the race battling with Hart and Feehan and left him with little time at the end. Richardson, like many riders, enjoyed the perfection of the track. “I think we left a little too much on the table early on,” said Richardson. “By the time I caught Hunter we just ran out of time for the podium. The track ended up perfect and I don’t think we could have asked for a better weekend of racing.”

 Though the results may not show it, Hart had a breakout weekend. After nearly taking the holeshot, he led a handful laps, and got to run near the front for most of the race before finishing fifth. “I got to run up with Brycen and Walker and that’s not something a lot of people have gotten to do this year,” said Hart. “We have really dug ourselves out of a hole and we’ll come into Snowshoe swinging.”

 Adam McGill secured a sixth-place finish, followed by Josh Merritt, Austin Abney, John Glauda, Jr., and Ronnie Rusch. JMR/GBC/Elka/Moose Racing’s Jarrod McClure was involved in an incident during the race and sustained a broken clavicle.

 In XC2 Pro-Am ATV, Pirate MX Powersports/OBOR Tires/Moose Racing/Parts Unlimited’s Branden Owens shook up Action Off-Road/Pro Graphx/Pierce Performance’s Jay Shadron’s hope of a perfect season by scoring his first win of the year. Owens made his way through the field after entering the woods in eighth place at the start. He rode a consistent pace and came out ahead after contact with Shadron on the final lap. Action Off-Road/DIRTNASTY/Twizted Vision’s Wyatt Wilkin was second, ahead of Shadron. Steve Harrell and Daniel Peters rounded out the top five.

 “I got up to the top three, and once I got past Steve Harrell, I quickly got into the lead,” said Owens. “From there, I just tried to keep a consistent pace until the end. On the last lap, there was a lapper wrecked on the track and Jay and I got together and he got the short end of the stick on that one. From there, I just rode it in. It made it easier on me, though I wish we could have been able to race it until the end.”

 Wilkin defended his second-place in points with his eighth consecutive podium. After taking the holeshot, he was in the mix with a four-quad battle for most of the race. “Branden, Jay Shad, and Steve Harrell, we were all one-two-three-four all day long,” said Wilkin. “We traded positions the whole time and races like that are why we do this. We all finished with less than a minute between us.”

 Shadron was first into the woods, but a crash on the second lap sent him back to fourth. He rebounded to second by the final lap and was catching Owens when the two made contact trying to avoid a stalled quad. That spun Shadron into a tree and put him third in the final order.

 “On the second lap, I went between a couple trees,” said Shadron. “I grazed one, that threw me into the other, and ended up upside down. I just tried to catch back up from there. I got up to second, and ran down the leaders, but there was a guy in the middle of the track, and Branden and I got together and it turned me into a tree. After that we were out of time.”

Kevin Yoho took the checkered flag 19^th overall to claim the Top Amateur honors,  and win in Vet A (30+).  Jeremy J Ledonne rounded out the top twenty overall and secured the second spot in the Top Amateur lineup along with the Junior A (22+) class win.  Jeff Pickens rounded out Top Amateur podium with a second place in Vet A (30+) in 21^st overall.

 In the 4x4 Pro ATV class, OBOR/Can-Am/Action Off-Road’s Landon Wolfe snagged the $100 BNR Motorsports 4x4 Pro Holeshot Award. Kenda/Nine 2/Custom Axis’ Cody Collier was just behind him and took the lead going into the woods. From there, Collier was unchallenged as he earned his third consecutive victory. Wolfe was second, ahead of points leader Stewart Boys Racing/Action Off-Road/DeRisi/HMF’s Haedyn Mickelson. Brandon Frazier and Branson Solesbee completed the top five.

Collier not only won the race, but he gained serious ground on Mickelson in the championship. Wolfe is only running select GNCC races this season, so that puts Collier just six points behind Mickelson in the title chase. “I’ve been staying away from the bad luck,” said Collier. “I’ve had two races I didn’t even finish and at the third race I caught on fire in the pits. Landon really helped me out and he gave me an extra four points today.”

After taking the holeshot, Wolfe was slow in picking up his pace. After letting Mickelson past, he followed him and started to get into rhythm. On the final lap, Wolfe capitalized on a mistake by Mickelson and took the second spot for good. “I ended up feeling really good behind him,” said Wolfe. “We got onto the last lap, and I started pressuring him a little bit, but I couldn’t really find a place to pass. He made a minor mistake about a mile from the finish and I was able to capitalize and got second place.”

Mickelson would definitely like to have that momentary lapse in concentration back. After battling with Wolfe for three laps, a brush with a tree handed Wolfe what he needed to make the pass stick. “We battled for two whole laps,” said Mickelson. “On the last lap, he was right there and he was not budging at all. I cut in a little too early on an S-turn and I clipped a tree. It probably only cost me a second, but that was all Landon needed. I did everything I could to get second, but came across the line bumper to bumper with Landon. Third is not what I wanted, but a podium is always really good.”

In WXC ATV, OBOR Tires/Fly Racing’s Hannah Hunter won her fourth race of the season, followed by Andrea Rodgers, who scored her first podium of 2022. Morgan Solesbee was third. Traci Pickens took the holeshot, with Hunter just behind. Hunter took the lead on the first lap and ended up with her fourth win of the season. Emily Wise and Traci Pickens rounded out the top five.

“I was second going into the woods, made the pass on the first lap, and ran my own race from there,” said Hunter. “I got into a bottleneck on the last lap, got out of it, and got the win. It feels really good to be back on track and I’m ready for Snowshoe.”

Rodgers took a different approach to this race. She decided to have fun this time around. That decision paid off. She made it to third on the third lap and then passed Wise for second on the final lap. “I just decided to go out and have fun,” said Rodgers. “I had not problems at all; it was a good race.”

Solesbee was thrilled with her first podium ever. Using information she gleaned during her track walk, she used a line in one of the downhill sections to pass Wise for third. “Coming down the hill, I knew from my track walk that there was a line there, but it was a sketchy line,” said Solesbee. “I ripped it, it was super sketchy, I made the pass, and I never looked back. This WXC class is no joke and it gets faster every year. I have never even podiumed at a local race so I’m super excited.”

Cody Whitaker finished first overall and won the YXC1 his class, marking his second victory of the season. YXC2 racer Andrew Smallwood was second overall. Brody Pullen finished second in YXC1 and was third overall.

Cole Lykens was third in YXC1. Ryan Wilhelm and Bryce Pulled finished second and third, respectively in YXC2. Aidan Alumbau beat out Owen Sullivan and Camren Mulholland for the 250 Class win. Ryder McCormick won the 125 class, while Chase Rayburn topped the 90 class. Maverick Smith finished first in 90 Limited and Mikina Maynard won the Girls Sr. Class. The 70 CVT class race was won by J.P. Pickens, Jr., and Neveah Mulholland carried the day in the Girls Jr. Class. Kalla McCormick finished first in Schoolgirl Sr., while Avery Collins took the top spot in Schoolgirl Jr.

In the Micro ATV race, Bryson Dickerson finished first overall and scored his fourth victory of the season in MXC1. Jase Strouse and Kody Buckhannon were second and third overall and completed the MXC1 podium.

Torque Tong finished fourth overall and won the MXC2 class. J.P. Pickens, Jr. and Michael Stringfellow rounded out the top three in MXC2. Beau Collins won the 50 Sr. Class, and Cash Knecht won in 50 Jr. Brantley Slack topped the 90 Stock Class.

 In Micro Bike, MXC2 rider Hunter Jones scored the overall win, ahead of Karson George, who won MXC1. Levi Rains was third overall and second in MXC2, while Brody Haugh was fourth overall and second in MXC1. Fifth overall was Brody Haugh, who was third in MXC1.

 In 50 Sr. Micro Bike, Davey Fairfield won, while Ryder Baricska finished first in 50 Jr. Colton Propst won the Trail Rider Class, and Tripp Lewis scored the 50 Jr. win. Wesley Cunningham was victorious in 50 Sr., and Garrett Cox was the winner of the Micro Shaft Drive Class.

The fifth round of the Specialized Turbo eMTB GNCC National Championship took place during the Parts Unlimited Mason-Dixon. Rouleur Coaching/Ride Kanuga/Specialized’s Cypress Gorry won the XC1 class. Gear Bicycles/Specialized’s Charlie Mullins was second, followed by Gear Bicycles/Specialized’s Charlie Mullins.

In XC2, Ty Teasdale earned his fourth win of the season, ahead of Talon Hawk and Owen Klimas. Tim Zimmerman carried home the XC3 victory, while Megan Barnes finished first in the Women Class. Gavin Garlits finished first in Amateur 14+, and Ashley Hendershot was victorious in the WXC Class. Jon Agin topped the Amateur 40+ field, and the Big Bore class was taken by Mary Aloisio. Troy Zimmerman was first across the line in Masters 55+, and Cooper Kuneff took home the Youth Class win.

The next round of GNCC Racing will take place June 25-26 with the Yamaha Racing Snowshoe at Snowshoe Mountain Resort in Snowshoe, W. Va.