Kanney Wins at the GNCC Finale

Crawfordsville, IN – Shock Doctor/KTM rider Nate Kanney took a hard earned win at the final round of the GNCC Series in a close battle with Charles Mullins.

Kanney got off to a decent start at the Ironman GNCC, rounding the first turn within the top five. “I was able to quickly move up through the pack and soon found myself in the lead,” commented Kanney. Unfortunately, Kanney’s early lead was cut short when he crashed hard in a rut. “I just entered the rut wrong and crashed pretty bad in a turn. When I finally recovered, I had dropped about seven positions.” Kanney got back into the race in 7th position and charged forward to move into the top five. A lap later Kanney had moved into 3rd position. “I spent the majority of the race in 3rd place and didn’t realize I was very close to the leaders.”

On the final lap, the first and second place runners got stuck in a mud section and Kanney was able to move around them for the lead. “I didn’t even realize I inherited the lead. The track was so wide in certain sections and everyone was so muddy I didn’t even realize who I passed!” Kanney continued to charge forward out front until he also got stuck in the mud near the end of the last lap. “I was stuck for about one minute and when I got going Mullins had really closed in on me. That was about the point where I realized I was in the lead and needed to kick it up a gear to get the win.” Kanney finished a strong race and managed to take the win over Mullins by a few inches. “It feels really good to end the season with a win – I guess I am trying to start some sort of end of the season trend by wining this race,” said Kanney, who has won three of the last four Ironman GNCC races.

Shock Doctor/KTM XC2 rider Cory Buttrick earned his second win of the season over his teammate and 2009 XC2 GNCC Champion Kailub Russell. Although Russell pulled the early holeshot and led the first part of the race, Buttrick was able to move around his teammate and never looked back. At one point Buttrick, Russell and 3rd place rider Jason Thomas passed the XC1 riders and were leading the overall. “This course was challenging but it was a lot of fun,” remarked Buttrick. “I am pumped to get a win at the final round. I can’t thank my team enough for all of their hard work this season.”

Overall Results XC1 Class:

1. Nate Kanney – KTM
2. Charles Mullins
3. Joshua Strang
4. Paul Whibley
5. Jimmy Jarrett
6. Jesse Robinson
7. Barry Hawk
8. Kurt Caselli – KTM
9. Corey Arbogast
10. Glenn Kearney

Overall Points XC1 Class:

1. Paul Whibley – 313
2. Joshua Strang – 293
3. Charles Mullins – 286
4. Jimmy Jarrett – 220
5. Nate Kanney – 215

Overall Results XC2 Class:

1. Cory Buttrick – KTM
2. Kailub Russell – KTM
3. Jason Thomas
4. Scott Watkins
5. Dustin Gibson
6. David Synder
7. Brian Lawson
8. Nathan Alering
9. Morgan Moss
10. Eric Bailey – KTM

Overall Points XC2 Class:

1. Kailub Russell – 332 – Champion
2. Cory Buttrick – 298
3. Jason Thomas – 279
4. Scott Watkins – 253
5. Jake Korn – 177