William Yokley UTV Report – Big Buck GNCC

William Yokley finished 1st Overall and 1st in the Open Modified Class in South Carolina. There were 60 total entries with 25 Open Modified teams. The guest passenger for this race was Rod Cooper.

William Yokley’s Race Summary

This was the first GNCC UTV race of the 2009 season, and there was a big turnout of teams. I invited my friend Rod Cooper to join me in the cockpit for a nice smooth ride through the woods! After the 2 hour ATV race, I only had about 45 minutes to cool down and get some fluids back in me before the UTV race started. The course was 4 miles long and had a little of everything – tight woods, creeks & mudholes, fast fire trails, and plenty of whoops.

New for this year was a live engine start with 5 teams per row, and each row starting in 10 second intervals.  This was done to reduce the carnage created by mass, dead engine starts last year. We were on row 1; when the flag dropped, I nailed it and the National Guard Polaris RZR pulled a wheel stand. That had never happened before! We got the hole shot and tip toed around the first few turns until we got into the woods. I felt my way around that first lap, and got a feel where the obstacles were then tried to pick up the pace.

William Yokley pilots his Polaris Ranger RZR to victory.

There were several bottlenecks after a few laps, and alternate lines were necessary to get through. We got held up a few times when there was only one way up some long, muddy hills. There were many damaged machines throughout the course as well as pieces and parts scattered along the trail. I only had to use our horn (front bumper) a few times to pass lappers, but all in all, everyone was courteous.

We finished 7 laps in a little over one hour, and had a nice gap over 2nd place. Our RZR ran flawlessly and strong the whole time. We ran a totally stock engine and clutch, which speaks well for the way Polaris builds these things. We had a great day and Rod didn’t whine or scream the entire event, although he did say he may be a couple of inches shorter after all the pounding!

The next UTV race is in Somerset, Pa on May 16. I look forward to racing again; these things are a blast to drive! See you there.

Yokley Racing Team Sponsors: The Army National Guard, Polaris Industries, Kenda Tires, Elka Suspension, Roll Design, HMF Exhaust Systems, IMS/Roll, PURE Polaris Lubricants & Fuels, Intense Fabrication & Design, Douglas Wheel Technology, Moto Pro Training, Tire Balls, Andrews Cycle, Tsubaki Chains, IMS, Four Apparel, ASV Levers, CV4 Hoses, Hygh Octane Design, PIER Graphics, Universal Handlebars, Scott Goggles, ATVRiders.com, Hetrick Motorsports, Powermadd, and Rekluse Clutches.

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