Raines Dominates the Wiseco John Penton GNCC

The 2004 AMA Grand National Cross Country Series has hosted close battles and fights to the finish at just about every stop, but the fighting ended at the Wiseco John Penton GNCC. Am Pro Yamaha's Jason Raines rode in the zone all day, pulling a lead the likes of which have not been seen in years, and holding it to his fourth win of the season. "I can't even figure it out," said Raines. "I come into every race with the same mental outlook, and today I felt like I was just riding like I normally do. But each lap the lead would get bigger and bigger. I think some people were pacing themselves for the heat, but I know I train hard and I wasn't worried, so I just went for it. It got really hot the last two laps, but the fans out there kept us going." Raines came to Ohio a few points back of FMF Suzuki's Rodney Smith in the series standings, and it appeared he would get some help as KTM's Juha Salminen played the spoilers role. The World Enduro Champion was making his GNCC debut a good one by grabbing the early lead and sticking with Raines for the first two laps. By then, he had a huge lead over third and basically cruised home to the finish. "This was a very big surprise for me," said Salminen, who hails from Finland. "I didn't care about Jason, I just tried to ride my own speed. I did get tired, this was the first time I rode three hours. I'm very happy." Unfortunately, Salminen missed a few jumps on the Sunday Creek motocross track that hosted the event, and he was later docked a position. This bumped Smith into a hard-earned second. "Jason rode great today," said Smith. "I just didn't have it today, I was fighting the bike all day. Freddy (Andrews) went past me and helped pull me along. I had fun racing, I just wish I had a better start and was able to get going." Smith was followed by his teammate Andrews, who barely edged Parts Unlimited Honda rider Scott Summers at the line. Local product Robbie Jenks grabbed the holeshot on his SCR Yamaha, but he overshot a turn and let Raines and Salminen by. Salminen, like most riders schooled in the special tests of WEC competition, was ready to set a blistering pace early, but so was Raines. They built a huge lead early and just kept stretching it. Meanwhile competitors battled behind them, including Jenks, Andrews and Smith, Doug Blackwell, Mike Kiedrowski, Steve Hatch, Chuck Woodford, and KTM's returning Enduro Champion Mike Lafferty. The pace and the heat sapped most of the field. Woodford dropped back due to dehydration after running third. Lafferty and his KTM teammate Brian Garrahan ran out of water in their drink systems and had to pull out. Shane Watts tweaked his ankle and also dropped out. Raines never let up while Salminen slowed just a bit. The only riders really on the charge were Andrews and Summers, but they couldn't quite break into the lead pack before the checkers came out. Over 1200 riders raced The Wiseco John Penton GNCC, and most of them enjoyed miles of fresh trail, as well as a track that could have been dusty but was instead damped by rain on Saturday. The GNCC series now goes into a summer break and will return in September on Sep 11 & 12 for the The Spartan at Sparta, KY.