Yokley Racing ATV and UTV Report: Maxxis General GNCC

National Guard Polaris Coastal DragonFire Yokley Racing Team driver William Yokley finished 1st Overall and 1st in the Side by Side Open Modified Class, and National Guard Polaris Coastal Yokley Racing Team driver Scott Kiger finished 12th in the same class after experiencing mechanical problems. Meanwhile, National Guard Coastal Yokley Racing ATV Team rider Jarrod McClure finished fifth overall and fifth in the XC1 Pro Division.

Yokley Racing Summary

The National Guard Polaris Coastal DragonFire Yokley Side by Side Team traveled to Georgia anxious to see how the new Polaris RZR XP900 would perform in GNCC style racing. They had a couple of WORCS races under their belts, but the eastern woods courses are much tighter and more technical. The GNCCs have more varied terrain with creeks, mud holes, steep hills, deep ruts and lots of tree roots. The machines run a narrower width in these conditions, than in the wide open WORCS desert races out west.

Team drivers William Yokley, with guest passenger Miles Hallock, and Scott Kiger, with his mechanic, Joe Waligora, both started on the front row. When the flag dropped, Scott settled into fourth and William right behind in fifth. The game plan was to see how the RZRs worked in these conditions, and get a good feel, then try to pick up the pace as the race progressed. Neither driver had much practice time with the GNCC setup, so they were being cautious early on. Yokley moved up to third on lap 3 with Kiger right behind. On lap 4, William took over second, but Scott caught a tree root in one of the deep ruts, and damaged the A-Arm, causing the right front wheel to be kicked way out of alignment, making steering in these conditions almost impossible.

Kiger dropped back to 14th, and tried to limp around to finish the event. He eventually finished in 12th position, which is as good as can be expected under the circumstances. There were many other competitors taken out by the ruts, rocks and roots today. On lap 5, William took over the lead, and felt comfortable while picking up his race pace. Yokley brought it home for the overall win with almost four minutes over second place after the 8 lap, one-hour race.

The team was very pleased with the performance of the new XP900s, and learned some things which will make them even more competitive. Yokley is presently leading the points in both the WORCS and GNCC series. Scott Kiger will compete in the next WORCS race in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. on March 19, and both he and William will be back for the next GNCC Side by Side race in Union, South Carolina on April 9.

Jarrod McClure made it through Round 1 in Florida just six days ago, and was ready for Round 2 in Georgia. He has had a very busy season so far, competing in both the WORCS and GNCC Series. This track consists of red Georgia clay with lots of deep ruts and tight, technical trails. Being consistent and staying out of trouble is important to finish well here.

Jarrod got a great start and was fifth going into the woods. He found a good line early and got up to third, and was able to hold that position until near the end of lap 1. Borich passed him just before the scoring tent to put him back to fourth place. Jarrod was stoked to be running with the top guys, but was already experiencing some arm pump, and he knew he needed to relax a bit and maintain a good, steady pace.

He was running in sixth place going into the last lap, and was feeling good. He passed up to fifth place, and had a great battle with Kiser the entire lap. He finished the race in fifth position, and was very happy with the result. This course gets very rough with lots of sharp edged bumps and exposed tree roots in the deep ruts, so to finish in the top five is a great achievement.

The National Guard Coastal Yokley ATV ran strong the entire race. Jarrod sits in fifth place in the season GNCC points after two rounds. He now travels out west for next weekend’s WORCS race in Lake Havasu, and then back east for the next GNCC in Morganton, NC on March 26. This is a tough schedule, but he is doing very well in both series so far. See you at the races!

Yokley Racing Team Sponsors: The Army National Guard, Polaris Industries, Coastal Racing, DragonFire Racing, Kenda Tires, Monavie, EXIT Suspension, Roll Design, XC Bobs.com, Douglas Wheel Technology, HMF Exhaust Systems, Moto Pro Training, SHIFT Riding Gear, Tsubaki Chains, IMS/Roll, CV4 Hoses, ATVRiders.com, Tireballs, Precision Racing Products, G-4 Graphics, SCOTT USA Goggles, IMS, Hygh Octane Designs, Bowers Motorsports, TanTerra Wines, Tusk Off-Road, Baldwin Motorsports, K&N Filters, RPM Axles, KG Clutches and PowerMadd.