GNCC Banquet a Success
Cranberry, PA –The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series drew more racers and spectators this year than ever before, so the big blowouts that marked the end of the 2007 season—the annual GNCC Banquets—were also bigger than ever. Over 1200 riders, friends, families and fans attended the shows at the Four Points Sheraton in Cranberry, Pennsylvania. The banquets—held on Friday night for ATVs and Saturday night for motorcycles—recognize the top-ten riders in every GNCC class and also present a variety of specialty awards to riders as voted on by their fellow racers.
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On ATVs, XC2 Pro Am Champion Brandon Sommers won the Most Improved Award, with funny man Adam McGill winning the Sportsman Award for his fun-loving attitude—and of course McGill cracked everyone up with his acceptance speech. Vet A Champion Jeff Miller won the Good Samaritan Award for raising money to help an injured racer in his own class, and the Sport Ambassador of the Year Award went to QuadZone.com, a site made of GNCC members. The Hard Luck Award went to youth racer Jesi Stracham. The Award of Media Excellence went to ATVInsider.com, a newspaper which provides first-rate coverage of GNCC ATV racing. The Rough ‘N Ready Pit Crew Award went to the team of Ronald Wright and Larry Kirkland.
A highlight of the evening came from the annual “Best Bod” contest, in which racers in the GNCC Women’s classes nominate six GNCC males to compete for the trophy. McGill’s strip tease won the award on Friday for ATVs, and XC2 Lites contender Thad DuVall won on bikes—his dancing skills certainly aiding him there.
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Yamaha’s good news continued when they claimed the Manufacturer’s Cup on bikes, based on the top-two overall finishes for each brand at each race. American Honda won the Manufacturer’s Cup on ATVs.
Sponsor of the Year on both nights went to series title sponsor Can-Am, which provided the funding for the GNCC TV Series to air on Versus. Can-Am’s Bernard Guy was on hand to accept the award, and he also handed out $2,500 checks to each of Can-Am’s ATV class champions: Michael Swift, Cliff Beasley and Rick Cecco.
Racer Productions also memorialized members of the GNCC racing family who had been lost throughout the year; Chris Earlywine, Lee Hammond, Gus Larson and Robert Patterson.
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All that winning added to the fun, but the banquet really presented one more chance for each member of the GNCC racing family to hang out around the holidays. Once the banquet closed, DJ Jeff Horton (the Maxxis Man) spun songs as riders, friends, fans and families danced late into the night. GNCC racers stay up late celebrating at the banquet, but they’ll surely be in bed early getting ready to race when the 2008 season begins in March in Vero Beach, Florida.
About GNCC Racing
The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country series is America’s premier off-road racing series. Founded in 1973, 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 three-hour GNCC races lead as many as 1,800 riders through tracks ranging in length from eight to 12 miles, competing for more than $3 million in prizes. With varied terrain, including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of both survival and speed. GNCC featured sponsors include: BRP Can-Am, Parts Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis, Pirelli, Wiseco, Acerbis, Elka, GEICO, Klotz, FMF, ITP and Weekend Warrior. Associate sponsors include Alpinestars, Cometic, HiPer Technology, Laegers, Moose Utility Division, The National Guard, Powersport Grafx, REM, Scott, Thor, Tire Balls, Twin Air, and MotoTee’s. Media Sponsors include Racer X Illustrated, ATV Rider, ATV Sport, ATVRiders.com, Quadzone.com, Dirt Rider and ATV Insider. For more information, please visit www.gnccracing.com.
About Racer Productions
A West Virginia-based motorcycle and ATV event production company, Racer Productions has been a leader in the off-road racing industry for more than 30 years. It’s repertoire of events includes the 13-round Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series, since 1973; The Kawasaki/Monster Energy High Point National in Mount Morris, Pa., since 1977; The ATV Dirt Days at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., since 1985; The U.S. World Motocross Gran Prix at Steel City Raceway in Delmont, Pa. in 1987; The Monster Energy/Kawasaki Steel City National, since 1988; The ATV Stampede National Motocross at High Point Raceway, since 1994; The Wrangler ATV National Motocross at Oak Hill Raceway in Decatur, Texas, since 2006; The AMA Pro ATV Open at Steel City in 2007; as well as numerous other amateur motocross events. In addition, Racer Productions staffs the prestigious Air Nautiques/AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, since 1982. For more information, please visit www.racerproductions.com.