By: Chad Ford

The 2007 edition of the Power Line Park GNCC gave the racing families a perfect fall weekend at the scenic venue. Cool temperatures met the youth riders for their 8 A.M. start. Many riders continued their quest for top ten season points on this day with a total of 109 taking to the East Ohio woods.

Seth Murray put the 150F atop the Big Wheel 14-15 class again as well as taking the top overall youth spot. Seth hails from Bostic NC. Second place class and second overall went to Glenville PA rider Cody Mummert. Scott Marling from nearby Cameron WV took third, Ryan Lojak from Tarentum PA was fourth and Dylan Johnson from Thomas WV was fifth.

The Big Wheel 12-13 class was won on this day by Mr. Steward Baylor from Belton SC with his effort taking him to third overall. Zach Nolan from Arthurdale WV was second, A. J. Stewart took third back to Lake Lynn PA, Derrick Shaw from Buckhannon WV was fourth and Justin “Soda Pop” Sode from nearby Zanesville OH was fifth.

A great battle was waged in the 85cc 14-15 class between winner Toby Brown from Millfield OH with only 3 seconds over second place rider Bryce Martin from Newnan GA at the finish. Clint Hale from Stollings WV was third, Cody Carr from New Marshfield OH was fourth and Tommy Henderson from Waynesburg PA finished fifth.

The 85cc 12-13 class battle for the championship continued at the Power Line with Chris Meadows from Athens OH continuing his win streak and Layne Michael from Fairmont WV finishing second. Tyler Braniff from Terra Alta WV was third, Cody Dice from Smithfield PA was fourth and Corey Armstrong of Kitzmiller MD was fifth.

The winner of the 85cc 7-11 class on the day was 2007 65cc 7-9 Champ Grant Baylor from Belton SC. Jarrett Dudley from Whitmer WV rode hard (or is that Hardcore?) for second, Dieter Willenbrock from Downington PA finished third, Sammy Evans from St. Albans WV was fourth and Tegan Temple from West Chester PA fought through the dust for fifth.

The 65cc 10-11 class winner was again Mr. Jake Froman from Lynnville IN, Tyler Crawford from Rockbridge OH took second in a hard fought battle with third place finisher Luke Chilman of Commiskey IN, Gary Myers from Clinton PA was fourth and Ryan Slopko of Londonberry OH finished fifth.

The 65cc 7-9 class winner was Jonathan Johnson from Landrum SC with Kaleb Ward from Burgettstown PA in second and Mack Jones from Boomer NC in third. Anthony Stone from Reedsville WV was fourth and Joshua Beitzel from McHenry MD was fifth.

Heading into the final round of the 2007 GNCC Youth Bike Series there are a number of close points races that continue. The best 8 races count toward the series awards which will go to the top ten riders in each class who run at least that many races. When calculating what can happen at the final round one must keep in mind the score that may be thrown away based on the Ironman finish. There could be a number of “shake ups” in the standings due to close points totals between a number of riders.

In the Big Wheel 14-15 class the points total for second through fourth place are 150,147, and 145 with these riders potentially throwing away a 3 rd,4 th, and 6 th place respectively which should make for some close racing action at the Iron Man.

An even closer battle exists in the 85cc 14-15 class with second to fourth place being separated by only 3 points.

The most intense points race of all continues in the 85cc 12-13 class with Chris Meadows continuing his march to achieve his goal of “winning out” and in turn securing the class championship. Layne Michael has been patient and still needs to only finish ahead of Meadows to maintain his points lead in this final battle of the season.

The 65cc 10-11 class has another race for places second to fourth with only 5 points separating the riders.

The 65cc 7-9 class race between the third and fourth place riders is a mere one point spread.

The fact that close points races exist in this series is one of the reasons GNCC racing is a draw for riders from across the country. The commitment required for a GNCC racing family to follow the series and compete at this level is not realized by many outside of the GNCC community. The level of competition is intense as was realized at the Power Line GNCC when our family invited a local hare scramble youth class champion to compete in his first GNCC. We have been a part of the GNCC racing community for many years and our young friend helped us realize how much the series has grown and how strong the competition has become. In the end the young rider had a good first GNCC experience and left with a taste of a much higher level of competition than he had ever imagined. The moral of this story is if a rider wants to test his limits against the best off road youth riders the GNCC series is the place to be.

A final note in recognition of the continued success of our 2007 GNCC Youth Bike Overall Champion Mr. Walker Fowler who won the 200B class at the Power Line. Walker will be one to watch on the big bikes in 2008 along with the 2006 GNCC Youth Bike Overall Champ Corey Buttrick who has had another championship season in 250A this year.