GNCC Racing is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, racing events in West Virginia. The Grand National Cross-County Racing Tour goes from way down in Palatka, Florida to all the way up to Crawfordsville, Indiana. This cross-country race includes various off-road vehicles including ATV’s, off-road motorcycles, and UTV’s. The race also includes riders of all ages, starting as young as four years old and way past fifty.
This cross-country tour has a variety of different races along the Mideast including West Virginia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Ohio, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Indiana. These races take place on tens of thousands of acres of land. The races are many miles long with each race lasting longer than two hours. Thousands of people from all over come to see these races, and they really enjoy it.
GNCC has three races in West Virginia. Those races are Snowshoe, The Mountaineer, and The Buckwheat 100. These races have already happened this year, but don’t worry, next season will be here sooner than you think.
Sean Wishart, a GNCC veteran, has been racing since he was ten years old. Sean got into racing by his family owning a motorcycle shop, and they had some connections with the owner of the GNCC. Sean’s first race ever was the Big Bear 100 back in 1982.
“I love riding in different areas and tracks, testing myself, and showing that I can ride like the pros.” said Wishart. He highly encouraged anyone to go watch a race or even go try it. He also added that there is such an adrenaline rush when it comes to riding, and that is what makes it so exciting for him.
GNCC is just so riveting to watch, with riders catching high speeds, wrecking, jumping, and the anticipation of who gets to the top of that podium. If it’s your first time and you want to see a race, Wishart highly recommended that you go see Snowshoe, and I could see why. Snowshoe does an excellent job of mixing two races into one by having parts of their track on hard top and as well as their trails.
When riding in these races, you know it can be dangerous. Wishart said, “I saw someone dislocate their collar bone by crashing into a tree.” He also added that it’s difficult to help a racer like that mid-race because the other riders are still racing and going insanely fast down the track.
The main race we were all excited for this year was The Mountaineer held locally at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in Glen Jean, West Virginia. The reserve is one of the nation’s largest reserves having over 10,000+ acres where you can tailgate, camp, bike, zip line and so much more.
The Mountaineer was held on September 11th of this year. It was one of the best races of the series so far. Before the races began, they honored a firefighter who helped with Flight 93 and honored the frontline workers of COVID. The race was about to start and with hundreds of people in attendance. GNCC races have multiple classes for different ages and experience levels. They also have the “ten second” intervals in which the crowd loves and get excited every time it’s announced.
As soon as the race started, there was already tons of action. On the first turn, many racers were having trouble. Some of them were getting their wheels stuck, and some were even getting flipped over, and that was just the first turn of the race.
Once all the racers were released at intervals, they began the males strenuous off-road course. It is crazy to see how skilled these racers are at riding through these trails at high speeds. The race went on for two hours and there was a lot of action the whole way through. After all the great racing, Hunter Hart was the one who came out on top and took the victory at The Mountaineer.
(Photos taken by Matthew Light. Click on any picture to enlarge the gallery.)
