Action Off-Road/GBC/BNR Motorsports’ Josh Merritt had a great start to the day as he was in contention for that holeshot award, however that would not deter him from battling at the front of the pack to start the season. Merritt would find himself second for the duration of the race, crossing the finish line behind Neal. WFR/GBC/Fly Racing/BNR Motorsports/Yamaha’s Walker Fowler worked his way back from a sixth place start to the day to round out the top three overall and XC1 Pro finishers at the VP Racing Fuels Big Buck GNCC. 

Starting the year off strong with a top five finish was McGill Mafia/OBOR Tires/Moose Racing’s Adam McGill who came through to finish fourth overall on the day and in the XC1 class, and rounding out the top five overall finishers on the day was Hunter Hart Racing/Fly Racing/Ithaca Recreation Sport’s Hunter Hart who had to work his way back from an eighth place start on the opening lap of the race. 

Action Off-Road/GBC/Houser’s Wyatt Wilkin found himself running ninth on the first lap so he would put his head down and push forward. Wilkin would end up making the necessary passes to finish sixth overall on the day. After earning the holeshot, McClure would be unable to hold onto the lead for long as Neal was hungry for that number one spot. McClure would continue to battle for the duration of the race, ultimately crossing the line seventh overall. 

XC1 Pro rookie, BNR Motorsports/Fearless/Kenda Tires’ Steven Harrell would battle back and forth for the entire race, as he tried to work his way up from a mid-pack start to the day. Harrell would be unable to make up time and would eventually cross the line eighth on the day. Action Off-Road/AMSOIL/CB Racing’s Chris Borich and Action Off-Road/Maxxis/Fly Racing/Lonestar’s Austin Abney continued to race for the entire two-hours as they worked themselves into the top 10 overall finishing positions. On the final lap, Borich would make the pass for ninth overall while Abney would follow and make the pass to hold tenth overall on the day. 

As the XC2 Pro-Am class took off it would be BNR Motorsports/Pierce Performance/GBC Tire’s Alex Thieman earning the $100 BNR Motorsports XC2 Holeshot Award to start his day. Thieman would have some competition from Phoenix Racing Yamaha’s Grayson Eller as Eller made the pass for the lead on the opening lap. Thieman would put his head down and push, making the move once again around Eller. Thieman would continue to hold the number one spot for the rest of the day, crossing the finish line with a 30 second lead. Eller would continue to battle, but would be unable to make another push for the lead as he came through second to start the season. Action Off-Road/Pierce Performance/Guts Racing’s James Glauda battled back and forth from the third to fourth place position for the duration of the race. Glauda would make a last lap pass for the final podium spot, crossing the line with just a little over 6 seconds separating the him and fourth. 

Earning the Top Amateur honors in the afternoon race was Brody Lee who finished 21st overall and first in the College A (16-18) class. Kevin Yoho would come through 25th overall to grab second on the Top Amateur podium, as he also earned the win in Vet A (28+). Ty McGaughey would round out the Top Amateur podium as he finished 26th overall and second in College A (16-18).

As the 4x4 Pro line took off it would be Braden Reed capturing the BNR Motorsports 4x4 Pro Holeshot Award, but it wouldn’t take long for the defending champion to make his way around Reed and into the lead. Kenda/KMK/Ryco Electric’s Cody Collier would continue to hold the number one spot for the duration of the race, crossing the line to earn the first win in 4x4 Pro for the 2024 season. Pro Row 784/TMS/Edgewood/DeRisi Racing’s Brandon Frazier would continue to push for the entire race, but would be unable to make a pass stick on Collier. Frazier would finish second in the class and overall. SBR/Action Off-Road/DeRisi/HMF’s Haedyn Mickelson would also have a consistent race as he came through third on the opening lap, and would hold that position until he crossed the finish line at the end of the race. 

Cole Lykins would come through to finish fourth overall on the day from the 250 All-Star (14-17) class, as he also earned his class win to kick off the 2024 season.

As the WXC racers took off it was Elioff Racing/BNR Motorsports/GBC Tire’s Jessica Elioff getting a jump off the line and earning herself the BNR Motorsports WXC Holeshot Award. However, she would have to battle JMR/Action Off-Road/GBC/Moose Racing’s Katelyn Osburn for the first couple of laps. Elioff would be able to make the move back into the lead on lap three and hold that position until she reached the finish line and saw the checkered flag, earning the first WXC win of the 2024 season.

Osburn Off-Road/Pierce Performance/Moose Racing’s Chloe Harper would find herself back in third for the majority of the race, but would make a pass for second as the two-lap board was out. Harper would be able to push until the finish line, coming through to earn second at the opening round in South Carolina. Kenda/Moose/Telxeira Tech’s Hannah Hunter did not get the start to the day she hoped for as she came around sixth on the opening lap. Hunter would put her head down and continue to battle for the duration of the race. As the checkered flag flew, Hunter would come through to finish in the final podium position with a third in WXC.

In the ATV Youth race, it would be Garret Cox battling throughout the course of the race to make his way into the lead and earn the overall and YXC1 Super Mini Sr. (13-15) class win. Grant Hunter would hold the lead for the first couple of laps, but would be unable to hold off Cox. Hunter would come through second overall and in the YXC1 class. Noah Lykins would come back from a bad start that put him in the back of the pack to battling for a podium position. Lykins would round out the top three YXC1 ATV Youth finishers. Jacob Smallwood would hold the lead from lap one, until the checkered flag flew in the YXC2 Super Mini Jr. (12-13) class. Jackson Hancock and Landon Glauda would both run second and third for the duration of the race, and finish in those same positions.

Coming through to earn the 250 (13-15) class win was Levi Ringer, while Ryder Mauney earned the 250 (13-15) Limited class win. Brantley Slack would come through to take home the 125 (8-12) class win, and in the 125 (8-12) Limited class it would be Brady Collins earning the win. The 90 (8-12) class would see Bryson Dickerson coming through to earn the win at round one, while in the Schoolgirl (12-15) class it would be Paisley Stout taking the win. In the Girls Sr. (12-15) class it was Raelynn Dickerson battling through to earn the win, with Lydia Arnold earning the Girls Jr. (8-11) class win. In the 70 CVT (6-11) class it would be Casen Jennings earning the win in South Carolina. 

Taking the Micro ATV Overall and MXC1 (8-9) win was Chad McCormick after he held the lead from start to finish. Cason Knecht would make the move up to second overall after he started the race back in the fourth place position. Joshua Swantek would battle back and forth to bring home third overall and in his class on the day. In the MXC2 (6-8) class it was Kolston Wilson taking the class win, while Johnny Martin Jr. and Casen Jennings rounded out the top three in the class at round one. 

Also taking the win in the 50 Sr. (6-7) class was Cash Knecht, while in the 50 Jr. (4-5) class it was Ryder Lewis coming away with the win. In the 90 Stock (8-9) class it would be Tanner Gilliam earning the class win in South Carolina, and Angel Magana would bring home the 110 CVT Stock (8-9) class win.

Coming through to earn the Bike Micro Overall and MXC1 (8-9) class win was Tripp Lewis, but not until after a battle with fellow MXC1 racer Davey Fairfield. Fairfield would hold on to finish second in the class and overall, meanwhile Ellis Austin would move into the final podium spot and earn third overall and in the MXC1 class. In the MXC2 (6-8) class it was Kane Morrison leading from the opening lap until the checkered flag flew, grabbing the first win of the season. Wake Davis and Nick Knighton would battle through and make the necessary moves into the final two podium positions in the MXC2 class at the conclusion of the Bike Micro race.

Continuing to earn class wins in the Bike Micro race was Ryder Baricksa in the 50 Sr. 1 (7) class, while in the 50 Sr. 2 (6) it was Carson Zink. Then in the 50 Jr. 1 (6-7) class it was Paxton Allen taking the win home, and Jacobi Duvall would battle through to take home the 50 Jr. 2 (4-5) class win. In the Micro-E (4-7) class it was Deegan Deel coming through first to earn the round one win, while in the Micro (4-6) Shaft Drive class it would be Carson Propst earning the win. Patrick Dunahm would take part in the Trail Rider (7-9) class and earn the win in South Carolina.

With the modified scheduled at Big Buck, the Bike Youth race took place at 4 p.m. on Saturday, and saw the defending Youth Overall Champion, Caleb Wood earn the overall and YXC1 Super Mini Sr. (14-15) class win. Brayden Baisley would contest for the win also, as he and Wood battled back and forth for a couple of the laps. However, Baisley would hold on and cross the finish line second overall and in the YXC1 class. Brody Amos had a consistent race at Big Buck as he held third for the majority of the race, crossing the line with the final overall and YXC1 podium position.

After making the switch late last year to the YXC2 Super Mini Jr. (12-13), Travis Lentz would battle through to earn the class win with an over a 30 second lead. Hayden Dupuis would battle with Lentz at one point in the race, but would be unable to hold him off. Dupuis would finish second in the class, followed by Colby Goodman rounding out the YXC2 podium. 

Colton McQuarrie would come through to take home the 85 Big Wheel (11-15) class win, while Ace Tokar earned the 85 (12-13) class win. In the 85 (11) class it would be Deegan Caplinger capturing the class win, as Gage Lane earned the 85 (7-10) class win. Hunter Jones would come through to take the 65 (10-11) class win, Brinn Buly would earn the 65 (9) class win and in the 65 (7-8) class it would be Kane Morrison earning the win. The Girls Super Mini (12-16) class saw Madison Kazmir come through to take the class win at round one, and in the Girls 85 (7-13) it was Sahara Robinson taking home the win. Vaida Lavergne earned the Girls 65 (7-11) class win and Riley Bauer would take part in the Trail Rider (7-15) class, earning the win. 

The second round of the 2024 Progressive GNCC Racing Series will take place on March 2 and 3, 2024 in Palatka Florida with the Moose Racing Wild Boar GNCC at Hog Waller Mud Bog and ATV Park. ATVs and Micros race on Saturday and Motorcycles take to the course on Sunday. For more information on the Moose Racing Wild Boar GNCC, click HERE. To purchase online admission tickets for the event, visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/gnccracing.

Catch GNCC Pro ATV and Motorcycle Racing free via RacerTV.com all season long. Pro ATV Racing starts Saturday’s at 2pm ET, with the exception of Big Buck, Snowshoe and Ironman events where they will start at 1pm ET. GNCC Pro Motorcycle Racing will begin at 1pm ET on Sunday’s. Later in the year GNCC Racing will premiere on MAVTV with event highlight episodes.

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.

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