RT Pro Racers Dust the Competition at John Penton GNCC

RT Pro John Penton GNCC SxS / ACE Race Report

RT Pro drivers take several wins and podium finishes at the John Penton GNCC this weekend in Ohio. Both Sean Bogdan, XC2 Pro Sport, and Sam Yokley, Single Seat, claimed class wins, and Mouse Pratt claimed the second spot on the SxS XC1 Pro class podium to top off great weekend of GNCC racing for RT Pro at Sunday Creek Raceway.

In the XC2 Pro Sport class, Sean Bogdan navigated through low visibility to take the win in the XC2 SxS Pro Sport class. “It was really dusty and hard to see; visibility was low,” said Bogdan, who started fourth. “I got as low as I could until we hit the woods. I saw a line, I grabbed it and I started picking off some cars here and there. I came up on (points leader) Joe (Krcelich) as he high centered in the mud. I got around him and it was smooth sailing from there.”

Bogdan credited the RT Pro gear on his UTV for the victory. “The bumpers and the nerf bars are stout,” said Bogdan of his RT Pro equipment. “With all the dust, I definitely hit some things I shouldn’t have hit, but the car held together great.”

Joe Krcelich didn’t have the best of luck this weekend, but despite finishing a season low 12th place, he still remains the point’s leader in the XC2 Pro Sports championship race. “We got hooked together with a broken car, and we tried to salvage what we could,” said Krcelich. “It seems like everyone up front had trouble here, so I still have the three-point lead (in points).”

Mouse Pratt finished a GNCC season best, second place, after battling with the winner for most of the race in the XC1 SxS Pro class. “Kyle and I were running out there, he got bottlenecked and I got around him,” said Pratt. “We battled it out for a while there. He dug through that dust and got past me. It’s nice to be back on the podium again. I haven’t seen it in a while!”

Pratt gives credit to his RT Pro components for making his podium finish possible. “The clearance my RT Pro A-arms gave me was awesome,” said Pratt. “We got into some ruts out there and it was no problem. Everything they’ve done so far is top notch. We physically abused it; it was rough out there and they took it.”

Sam Yokley won his second Polaris ACE single seat class race of the season after an intense battle for the win, which keeps him in the hunt for the class championship. “The ACE ran great today,” said Yokley. “Doug passed me there. I just took my time and ran behind him until I got the spot back. The RT Pro A-arms were great. They cleared everything no problem.”

Jesi Stracham took the holeshot in her second race after being paralyzed from the waist down in a motorcycle accident. Stracham uses RT Pro’s hand controls and custom fabricated braces to hold her legs in the car, and she was running great before getting off track, which sent her back a few spot. “It was awesome,” said Stracham on grabbing the holeshot. “I don’t have the advantage of being able to walk the track, and I blew the first turn into the woods, but I gave it everything today.”

RT Pro owner Andrew Prins praised his ACE UTV drivers and the class itself. “To see these things come together as a race class; it’s just another avenue that GNCC can use to bring in racers,” said Prins. “Polaris has a great vehicle that we can do a ton with. To get a win today was huge. Sam is a great driver, and he has huge potential in GNCC racing.”

Prins said he’s humbled working with Stracham. “Jesi was amazing today,” explained Prins. “She was on point with that car all day. For her second time running that car, it was incredible. She’s only going to get better from here. She’s a strong runner and a fighter.“

After an exciting start to the season for the RT Pro Drivers, GNCC SXS Racing enters a long summer break, and the next round of racing for SXS racers is Powerline Park in St Clairsville, Ohio for round twelve of the 2015 GNCC season, and RT Pro team will be going for the top of the podium.