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1st Annual GBC
Heartland Challenge Was a Success
Dave Porzi
Jason Guddle
Johnny Gallagher
Michael Swift
Pro ATV Winners
Pro Utility Winners |
Carlisle, IA – The first ever GBC Heartland
Challenge, presented by PIAA, was filled with
plenty of racing action and was hailed as a
success with last minute Pro ATV entry, the
GT-Thunder/Powermadd team, rode away with the
Pro ATV win and the PIAA/Can-Am team claimed the
Pro Utility win, with both teams taking home
their share of the $15,000 GBC sponsored 1st
place purse, that would be split equally between
the Pro and Pro Utility class.
Even the wind and snow could not keep racers
and spectators alike from having a good time at
the first ever GBC Heartland Challenge as there
was plenty of action on the track and the side
lines. Racers were looking forward to competing
for the huge first place prizes of $7500 for the
Pro and Pro Utility classes and the $3000 prize
for the Pro-am winners as well as many class
contingencies.
The Pro class GT Thunder/Powermadd team,
consisting of Brandon Sommers, Johnny Gallagher
and Taylor Kiser, got off to an early lead after
the Lemans style start and held strong for five
laps before swapping positions several times
with the Dirtworks team. However, GT Thunder/Powermadd
prevailed to regain their lead even though
Taylor Kiser literally ran into trouble late in
the race when he hit a tree and cracked his
chest protector in half. Relatively unhurt, and
with minor damage to his quad, Kiser never
missed a beat and kept his lead, which allowed
teammate Johnny Gallagher to take checkered for
the Pro ATV class win and overall win along with
the GBC sponsored $7,500 1st place prize money.
“This was a really fun race and was well
organized for a first time event. I’m looking
forward to doing it again next year,” said
Brandon Sommers.
The two-man team of Jeff Pickens and Jarrod
McClure, representing GBC/ATVriders.com claimed
the second spot in the Pro ATV class even after
getting off to a rocky start that put them
almost dead last. The GBC/ATVRiders.com team
rode fast and consistent, quickly working their
way up, but it wasn’t until the final laps of
the race that they were able to take over second
place from local favorites, C&D Racing. Jarrod
McClure of the GBC/ATVriders.com team confirmed
what seemed to be the sentiment of most of the
teams who participated. “I had a great time,”
said Jarrod McClure. “The track was fun and
things were well organized,” he concluded.
The C&D Racing team of Jason Gudde, Zac Johnson
and Josh Eaton, who race in the local IATVHSS
series ran into some issues in the last couple
of laps, which put them back to third, but they
were still excited to be a part of the event.
“It was definitely challenging, but we had a
good time out here,” said Gudde.
While the Pro ATV teams put on a great effort,
the Pro Utility ATV teams were certainly a force
to be reckoned with as they were all competing
for the record setting $7,500 first place payout
for Utility ATVs.
The PIAA/Can-Am team, consisting of GNCC utility
pros Michael Swift, Cliff Beasley, and Rick
Cecco took and early lead as starting racer,
Michael Swift was the first ATV off the line
overall. They held their lead for almost the
entire race. “Just after dark we lost a belt on
one of the bikes which set us back a little,”
said Swift. The set back allowed Polaris/Rath
Racing to catch up and take over the lead
briefly, but the PIAA/Can-Am team had their
sites set on the $7500 Pro Utility GBC 1st place
payout and was not about to give up without a
fight as they retook the lead after only two
laps and held on to take the Pro Utility win and
9th place overall, with Rath Racing finishing in
a distant second.
The Polaris/Rath Racing team, consisting of
Daryl Rath, Jason Dunkelberger, and Frank
Batista, was making their debut on the ‘09
Polaris Sportsman XP 850 EFI. “I think this race
was a good test for us and the new bike,” said
Rath, whose team was eager to get some seat time
on the new quad and see what it was capable of.
The Polaris/Rath team rode in second place for
most of the race but briefly too the lead when
the PIAA/Can-Am team ran into some mechanical
issues late in the race. The Polaris/Rath lead
was short lived when they also encountered
issues and fell back into second place.
FD Racing team of Jason Mickelson, Kevin Whede,
and Jarrod Sheets, was the hometown favorite in
the Pro utility class and they did not
disappoint as they rode a strong race, taking
smart lines and finishing third above team
Yamaha of Stillwater and West Racing, who
rounded out the 4th and fifth spots in the GBC
Motorsports sponsored Pro Utility class.
Shrum Racing’s DJ Shrum, Devon Jarrett and
Ronnie Bloodworth dominated the Pro-am class and
took home $3,000 sponsored by PIAA, while the
Kwik Powermadd Chix team of Traci Cecco, Kristin
Atwell and Jesi Stracham made an impressive
showing in the PowerMadd sponsored Women’s
class, completing
31 laps, which earned them the win in their
class and 7th overall.
Set up to mimic the adult classes, the GBC
Heartland Challenge 3-hour Youth endurance race
was the first youth team race of its kind. The
Youth classes were treated to a Lemans start
just like the main event. The vitality of youth
was definitely an advantage for the young
racers, as the cold didn’t really seem to phase
them much. “Yeah, it was kind of cold, but it
was really fun!” said 50cc team Wild Child
member Brock Kyner. “I really liked the track
and I can’t wait to do it again next year,”
added teammate Kendrick Uehlin. The Wild Child
team was nothing but smiles as they took the
50cc class win. The Banned Young Guns team of
Chance Kellison and Dakota Stevenson who
competed in the 90cc Production class ran strong
and consistent, laying down the fastest lap
times to take the win in their class and the
overall.
On Friday evening, before the main 10-hour
event, the UTV’s took to the track in a 3-hour
endurance race that proved to be one of the most
exciting and challenging races of the weekend.
With five classes there was plenty of bumping
and grinding. Lube-Muncur Racing, who was
piloting the Polaris RZR S and Karst Racing both
made the trek all the way from Wyoming to
compete in the Holz Racing 850 Limited class and
took top honors as first and second in their
class and overall. The GBC Motorsports team
looked as though they would be the leaders in
the Yoshimura RD Open UTV class, but mechanical
issues put them back, allowing Atwell-Pickens
Racing, who came out from Pennsylvania, to take
the class win.
Saturday night’s awards ceremonies went off
without a hitch. Racers were happily hamming it
up for the cameras as announcements were made
and awards were given out. In addition to
trophies and prizes, two ATV’s were given away
in the Polaris Outlaw 525 IRS drawing
where one key per hour was given out over the
course of the 10 hour ATV race, and TPC Racing’s
Dave Porzi held the lucky key to the Outlaw.
Also, Blue Ridge Runners’ Gabe McGaughey was the
lucky winner of a KYMCO Mongoose 90 ATV with
every youth
ATV racer entered into the drawing.
Overall the GBC Heartland Challenge was a big
success and despite the cold, most racers had a
great time and vowed to return to race in next
year’s event, which is already in the planning
stages. The GBC Heartland Challenge would also
like to thank all of our sponsors and everyone
who helped make this event the success that it
was.
Special Thanks to the Heartland Challenge
Sponsors: GBC Motorsports, PIAA, Can-Am,
Precision Racing Products, All Balls Bearing,
T&T Racing, C&D Racing, Rekluse, PowerMadd,
Tucker Rocky, Burgard Cycle, Moto Pro Training,
Shrum Racing, Holz Racing, Zbros Racing,
Yoshimura RD, HMF, Tireballs, DP Brakes, KLIM,
EVS, Hinson Racing, IMS Products, Shift, WPS,
Pro Armor, Wiseco, Custom Axis
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