GEICO/JG Racing Penton Report

For Immediate Release




The GEICO/ JG Off Road/ Monster Energy Kawasaki Team battled the aftermath of torrential downpours this weekend at the Wiseco John Penton GNCC In Millfield, OH, to come through with some of their best finishes of the 2010 season with XC1 rider Jimmy Jarrett finishing 4th in the class and overall, XC2 Pro Lites' Scott Watkins finishing second in the class and 6th overall, and Womens rider Ashley Crouch finishing fourth.

A string of strong storms moved through the Millfield area Saturday night, battering the ground with heavy rain that continued into Sunday morning.The race was delayed and then cut down to two hours, as rivers coursed through parts of the track. But by the time the team was ready to race, the rain had stopped, and the sun was out, accompanied by some wind. Team Manager JT Bennett stood by to cheer the group on to their finishes under improved conditions.

"I hate for it to sound like a cliche, but when the skies open up, the team steps it up a level, and that happened again today," Bennett said. "The skies opened up and both Jimmy and Scotty really pulled through on the day.  It was really another day of attrition but both guys stayed consistent. For all 110 pounds of Ashley being out in the mud, it couldn't have been an easy task and she did a great job. I was very happy to see that."

In the Pro race, Jarrett came from a dead last start to pull ahead to fourth behind FMF KTM's Cory Buttrick in 1st, FMF Suzuki's Josh Strang in 2nd and Am-Pro Yamaha's Paul Whibley in 3rd.

"It was gnarly and nasty out there but made my way through pretty easily," Jarrett said. "I was 4th or 5th after the first lap and I saw some guys up ahead. I was by myself most of the day but saw Whibley for awhile. I just rode all day by myself, and just picked riders off one by one for a couple of laps and then settled in for fourth."

Watkins also mounted a come-from-behind charge, moving from 5th all the way to 1st by the third lap until Privateer Jesse Robinson was able to make his way around when Watkins buried his bike in a nasty puddle. Watkins got his bike out of the mud, and chased after Robinson. Watkins finished second with Monster Energy/FAR/Andrews Cycles Jason Thomas in third.

"Everything turned out well," Watkins said. "I had a good start into the woods in the top five. Since it was just a two hour race, there was really no time for catch-up. I just tried to get to the front and hope for the best. I made it up all the tough hills and through the major puddles and got into the lead on the last lap. The Racer Productions team gave us some new challenges this year, and I was able to make some good decisions. I'm happy to make it out of there."

In the AM race, Crouch  was able to move ahead of typical challengers Leeann Bange and Shelbi Rolen to come in 4th behind KTM's Maria Forsberg in 1st, Samantha Steiner in second, and Defending Champion Mandi Mastin in 3rd.

"My race was alright but super muddy," Crouch said. "I was last off the start once agan and after that I just tried to catch everybody. I crashed quite a few times, which made me pretty tired put I got two laps in and ended up finishing fourth. I did better than the last race so I can't complain."

"Hopefully we'll take this with us to the next round, with the guys finishing in the top 10 and Ashley beating girls she's having a points battle with," Bennett said. "Snowshoe will be another tough race, and I expect some good things out of those three riders again."

Jarrett and Watkins would like to thank their sponsors GEICO, JG Off Road, Pirelli, Silkolene, EBC, Tsubaki, Ride PG, Moose, Pro Moto Billet, CV4, Monster Energy Kawasaki, Smith G2, IMS, FMF, Sidi, Renthal and No-Toil.

Watkins would like to thank his additional sponsors Shoei, Smith Optics, G2, Enduro Engineering, BRP and Sidi Boots.

Jarrett would also like to thank individual sponsors Arai, Cytosport and OGIO.

Crouch would like to thank sponsors JG OFF Road, GEICO, Silkolene, Fasstway, Rekluse, Spruill Honda, Kawasaki, Scott Goggles, Vee Rubber, Ohlins, PMP Sprockets, Tucker Rocky, One Industries and OGIO.

Watkins and Jarrett travel next to Clay City, Kentucky for the FMF Whiskey Run on June 12-13. The John Penton GNCC airs on VERSUS on August 29, 2010 at 3:00 p.m.

For more information, log on to www.jgoffroad.com.

About JG Off Road
JG Off-Road Racing is owned by JT and Gretchen Bennett. JT started out as a privateer rider, working hard to build his racing career and is a former multi-time AWRCS Champion, GNCC Amateur Class Champion and ISDE competitor. After 17 years of racing, the Bennett's decided to start their own team as a chance to stay involved in racing and give back to the sport.  JG Off Road started in 2009 and strives to provide strong results in all aspects of racing. Bennett has built a solid partnership with GEICO Powersports to give the team a winning outlook and a hard to beat attitude.