Fowler Extends Championship Lead With Win at Snowshoe GNCC

Round eight of the 2019 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship, overtook Snowshoe Mountain Resort for the 13th Annual AMSOIL Snowshoe GNCC event this weekend. As riders began to grab their spot on Snowshoe Dr. for the traditional “Blackwater 100” style start, a brief rain shower began to fall.

Traditional “Blackwater 100” start on Snowshoe Drive. (Photo by Ken Hill)

However, the rain would not last long, and WFR/GBC/Fly Racing/Yamaha’s Walker Fowler would come through to meet the checkered flag first after seven laps. Fowler would jump out to grab the early lead as he came through first on the opening lap. As the race wore on, he would continue to grow a sizeable gap on the rest of pack. Ultimately Fowler would finish one minute and 11 seconds ahead of second. This is Fowler’s 3rd overall victory atop Snowshoe Mountain.

Coming through second overall was, LanMils XC/CST Tires/Houser/Yamaha’s Brycen Neal. After starting back in seventh, Neal would have his work cut out for him throughout the 2-hour long race. Around the halfway point Neal found himself in fifth and pushing to get to the front. Neal would be unable to catch Fowler, but he would earn valuable points in the National Championship standings as he sits just three points behind Borich in third.

Maxxis/Fly Racing/Ye Olde Cycle Barn’s Chris Borich would have a pretty consistent day of racing in West Virginia. Borich remained inside the top five throughout the race, battling back and forth for the third place position. On the last lap Borich would make the pass for third overall and remain there until the checkered flag.

Finishing just off the podium was JMR/Maxxis/Elka/Moose Racing’s Jarrod McClure as he came through in fourth overall. McClure was having a good race, running in second on the fourth lap. However, after receiving pressure from behind on the last couple of laps McClure would not have enough time to remount and push for the podium position.

Champagne Showers after celebrations on the podium in Snowshoe Village. (Photo by Ken Hill)

Rounding out the top five overall was OBOR/Moose Racing/Parts Unlimited/McGill Mafia Adam McGill. On the start McGill would get a great jump coming into the woods first, however he would fall back to second behind Fowler for the first three laps of the race. McGill would eventually move back to the fifth place position and stay there until coming through on the seventh and final lap.

Yamaha/AmPro/Action Offroad/GBC’s Cole Richardson found himself right outside of the top five when the checkers came out. Richardson had been running in the fifth place position throughout the first couple of laps, but would fall back to sixth for the remaining portion of the race.

Earning seventh on the day was Maxxis/Ithaca Recreation Sports/Fly Racing’s Hunter Hart. After starting in sixth, Hart would lose one position remaining in seventh throughout the entire race. GBC/Fly Racing/HMF/Yamaha’s Johnny Gallagher came around 10th overall and earned 8th in the XC1 Pro class. Gallagher currently sits ninth in the points standings as we head into the last round before summer break.

Spider Graphix/GBC Motorsports/Moose Racing/Custom Axis’ Martin Christofferson earned ninth on the day while Ryland Johnson Racing/GBC Motorsports/Ye Olde Cycle Barn’s Westley Wolfe rounded out the top 10 in the XC1 Pro class.

Taking his first XC2 Pro-Am class win was LanMills XC/CST Tires/Moose Racing’s Drew Landers. The win for Landers did not come easy as he worked his way up from a fifth place start. Landers would take over the lead on the fifth lap and not look back, taking the win by over one minute. Jordon Poplaskie battled throughout the race, earning second in the class while Pierce Performance/Maxxis/Waynesburg Yamaha’s John Glauda Jr. came through third. Glauda Jr. remains in the points lead, with Landers now 46 points behind him.

Drew Landers (center) earned his first XC2 Pro-Am class win. Jordan Poplaskie (right) and John Glauda Jr. rounded out the top three. (Photo by Ken Hill)

In the 10 a.m. race, it was 4×4 Pro rider Can-Am/OBOR Tires/Derisi Racing’s Landon Wolfe capturing his seventh overall win of the season. Wolfe leads the 4×4 Pro class points standings by 70 points as the series heads into the ninth round. Derisi Racing/Cometic Gasket/Savage Designs’ Robbie Pecorari came through second overall after a heated battled throughout the race with Can-Am/CST Tires/Tire Spine Dwight Pollard. Pollard currently sits second with Pecorari third in points.

In the WXC class it was GBC Motorsports/Yamaha/Fly Racing’s Traci Pickens got off to a great start jumping out to the early lead. Pickens would lead the each and every lap to earn her fourth win of the season. Coming back from a fifth place start to earn second in her class was Ye Olde Cycle Barn/Pierce Performance/Hammer Nutrition’s Alicia McCormick. McCormick talked about struggles she had throughout the race on the podium, and how she almost ran out of gas on the last lap. Coming through third was Stewart Boys Racing’s Megan Shepherd. On the podium Shepherd expressed her happiness in the third place finish at Snowshoe and its rugged terrain.

Parker Henderson (center), Cooper Stewart (left) and Charlie Stewart (right) made up the top three youth overall. (Photo by Ken Hill)

The 8 a.m. youth race would have a new overall winner this weekend as Parker Henderson battled his way to the front of the pack and overtook the lead on the fifth lap from fellow YXC1 Super Mini Sr. competitor Cooper Stewart. As the race wore on, Cooper Stewart would hold onto that second overall and YXC1 class finish. Working his way to third overall was Charlie Stewart in the YXC2 Super Mini Jr. class. Charlie Stewart also earned his sixth YXC2 Super Mini Jr. class win and continues to lead the points in his class. Carson Collins came through fourth overall, but earned the third place spot in the YXC1 class. Tyler Cox and Nicholas Dearing rounded out the top three in the YXC2 class. The current points leader in the YXC1 class, Damien Hawkins, was running first but after a mechanical issue in the woods he would ultimately end his race early.

Christian Husband took the Specialized Turbo eMTB GNCC National Championship round five win. (Photo by Ken Hill)

Saturday evening round five of the 2019 Specialized Turbo eMTB GNCC National Championship took place with 43 competitors entering the event at Snowshoe Mountain Resort. The hour-long race turned into a survival race for most of the competitors as the West Virginia terrain was a challenging one. Taking the win would be BULLS eBIKE-backed rider Christian Husband. After a handful of lead changes, Husband would come through to take the checkered flag with Specialized’s Jason Laxton and Scott-backed rider Leon Hanson rounding out the top three in the XC1 Pro class. Points leader Charlie Mullins came through in the fourth place position.

The 2 p.m. ATV Pro race was broadcast LIVE in its entirety on RacerTV.com and can be viewed as archived video online by visiting the GNCC LIVE page online. A highlight show featuring the event will air on NBC Sports Network on Sunday, September 8 at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Walker Fowler (center), Brycen Neal (right) and Chris Borich (left) rounded out the top three overall at Snowshoe. (Photo by Ken Hill)

For more information on the GNCC series, visit the official website at www.gnccracing.com or call (304) 284-0084.

1. Walker Fowler (YAM)
2. Brycen Neal (YAM)
3. Chris Borich (SUZ)
4. Jarrod McClure (HON)
5. Adam McGill (HON)
6. Cole Richardson (YAM)
7. Hunter Hart (YAM)
8. Johnny Gallagher
9. Martin Christofferson
10. Westley Wolfe

1. Walker Fowler (226)
2. Chris Borich (166)
3. Brycen Neal (163)
4. Cole Richardson (142)
5. Adam McGill (118)
6. Jarrod McClure (109)
7. Hunter Hart (104)
8. John Glauda Jr. (94)
9. Johnny Gallagher (88)
10. Westley Wolfe (87)