ITP Race Report: Limestone 100 GNCC

Lucas Cooney
by Lucas Cooney
Brian Schmid

ITP-supported racers found success at the recent Limestone 100 GNCC, earning two class victories at Round 6 of the AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series in Springhill, Ind. Brian Schmid and Kenny Rich Sr., who each won their class, and Sam Williams tallied a total of three podium finishes for Team ITP.

“We had a tougher round at the Limestone GNCC, earning two class overall wins. However two of most successful racers – Dave Simmons and Chad Jones – didn’t compete. With that said, we are still in control or in contention for the class championship in at least a half dozen classes with seven rounds remaining,” says Pat McGuire, public relations / race support. “XC1 Pro class racer Adam McGill rode with the leaders all day, but just couldn’t crack the top three this time. Our riders never give up, though, and we expect better finishes at round seven, the John Penton GNCC, in Ohio.”

Adam McGill

ITP-backed XC1 Pro racer Adam McGill (Lonestar / Precision) came out at the start within the top six, but quickly joined the top four racers in a four-lap battle for podium. After lap one, McGill was just four seconds behind third place and waiting for one of the other racers to make an error. However, the top two racers found more speed and McGill dropped off the pace by the third lap. He ended up fourth overall in the XC1 class and is currently fourth in the point standings, just four points behind third.

In XC2 Pro-Am class racing, ITP racer Nathan Wallpe (Hilltop Motorsports) was in podium contention after lap two, sitting in third place. However, one lap later the Indiana native fell to seventh. He rallied to pick up one more spot and earn his second top 10 finish of the season. Hilltop Motorsports / ITP racer Chad Jones, who is in sixth place in the XC2 point standings, did not race.

Posting his third straight class overall, Senior A/B (40+) class racer Brian Schmid expanded his class points lead to five points. The ITP-supported racer has four victories and five total podiums in six rounds this year. College B (16-21) class racers and Hilltop Motorsports teammates Justin Paul and Brigham Patterson saw mixed results at round six. Paul, who was outside the top 10 after the first lap, earned fourth place for his third top five finish of 2013 to remain in the top five in points. Patterson held the lead after the first lap, but eventually finished 15th. He’s currently third in the class point standings. William Lloyd maintained his Junior A 22+ class points lead despite finishing 11th in Indiana.

Sam Williams was the top finishing ITP-backed pilot in the morning amateur session, earning ninth in the morning overall and finishing second in the 4×4 Open class. Williams is only four points behind second place heading into round seven after posting his best finish in 2013 using ITP TerraCross R/T XD tires. Kenny Rich Sr., earned the only class win for Team ITP in the morning session in Indiana. Rich Sr., who was 29th overall in the morning, notched his second consecutive Masters (50+) overall to build a 13-point points lead over second place.

Kenny Rich

Other ITP supported racers to compete at the Limestone 100 were Kenny Rich Jr., and Jordan Digby. Rich Jr., took fifth in the 24+ C class and is the class points lead after six rounds of racing. Digby, who has two victories using ITP tires, was 11th in the 90 Limited (8-12) ranks, but sits eighth in the class points.

Round seven is scheduled for Saturday, June 1, at the John Penton in Millfield, Ohio. It will also feature round three of the GNCC UTV series, with ITP-backed pilots Kyle Chaney and Tim Farr doing battle in the XC1 Pro class.

Lucas Cooney
Lucas Cooney

I have been working exclusively in digital media since 1997. I started out with TSN.ca, spending nearly nine years creating and editing content on Canada's leading sports website. I left to join VerticalScope, Inc., one of the world's largest online publishers, to start a number of powersports publications. While at VerticalScope, I've helped create and oversee content for a wide variety of different publications, including ATV.com, Off-Road.com, ArcheryTalk.com, Tractor.com, RVGuide.com, and many more.

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