Opening Week
Fastway Riders Dominate Down South!!
In only 3 Races FASTWAY Riders managed to pick up 35 podium positions, including an outstanding 23 First Place finishes.
GNCC ROUND 1 March 3rd 2009
Fastway Riders started out the morning strong with Grant Baylor controlling the Super Mini Class in the morning youth race. As the dust settled from the minis, the morning class would hit the field. Fred Hoes would go out and win the sportsman class while Todd Palmer would sweep the Vet B Class with ease. Last years women’s class champion Mandi Mastin struggled in the deep sand and palmettos but managed to hold down the second place spot behind WMA Pro Tarah Gieger. Fastway newbie Ashley Crouch would round off the podium settling in for a hard fought 3rd place finish. Randy Mastin had a little trouble at first but adapted fast and finished 3rd in the Masters +50 class.
The afternoon race was expected to be a dusty mess and our FASTWAY riders were well prepared. Fastway Pilot Paul Whibley had a ruff start but pulled it together for a strong 2nd place finish in the XC1 Class. Jake Fiddler (4-stroke A) and Jordan Ashburn (Open A) would battle throughout the race but in the end Fiddler flat put it down and ended up the top Amateur rider finishing an impressive 1st in his class and 17th overall, while Ashburn would finish 3 minutes behind Fidd and still finish 1st in Open A. Morgan Moss also had an incredible race, after running out of gas he ended up having to push his bike ¾ of a mile back to the pits and still caught back up to finish on top of the box in the 250B Class. Perhaps one of the most impressive finishes of the day and the winner of the Fastway Rider of the week award goes to Steward Baylor, finishing 22nd overall and 1st place in the 200A Class, leading his class from start to finish and being one of only 4 Amateurs in the top 25. Over all it was a great day of racing and The Fastway Family came out on top!
National Enduro Round 3 “The Alligator Enduro” March 5th 2009
Have you ever heard the term “He’s on Fire” well; in this case it wasn’t just a saying. Several of our riders ended up with some nice scorch marks on their bikes and gear due to a large brush fire in section 4 that went directly through the course. Steward Baylor described the race conditions as “Absolutely brutal.” But our Riders put their heads down and kept their times in check. Wally Palmer would pull an impressive 3rd place finish in the pro class and Steward Baylor (200A), Trey Wellborn (Open A), Fred Hoess (Senior A), Morgan Moss (250 B), Todd Palmer (Vet B), and Mandi Mastin (Women) all finished 1st in their individual classes making it an outstanding day for Team Fastway!
GNCC ROUND 2 March 8th 2009
A beautiful morning in Georgia started the day off right and conditions were near perfect! Everybody was a little sleepy still from the time change but the pre-race adrenaline would have the Fastway Riders up and ready to ride. The wind would start to pick up as the youth riders headed to the line. Grant Baylor would start the morning out with the first win of the day in the (Super Mini 12-13 Class) Winning by almost 4 minutes, Grant showed that he isn’t the only Baylor on the track looking to make a statement! After the kids finished up it was time to get the morning race going. Seth Miller and Wes Keller went into the first corner almost completely even but Wes snuck through to get the holeshot. Seth put his head down and ended up throwing down the fastest lap times of the morning for the second and third lap until a gnarly crash took him out of the race. Fastway Ladies Amanda Mastin Road and Ashley Crouch had a great morning of riding. Amanda had a case of the flu going and held onto the lead as long as she could but Ashley would eventually pass her and take the win in the Women’s Class and Amanda was happy to finish the race in second place.
The Fastway Race Team was in full swing coming into the afternoon race. The boys were focused and looking into that first corner. When the flag dropped Paul Whibbley pinned it and left a cloud of dust behind him, along with the entire field. Fastway Riders Whibbley and Jimmy Jarrett would battle back and forth for the lead along with their old teammate Charlie Mullins. Whibbley would ultimately end up victorious with teammate Jarrett by his side. Fastway’s Andrew Matusek pulled the holeshot in the XC2 Class and road an excellent race with torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Towards the end of the race Andrew would battle for the last podium position with fellow Fastway Rider Scotty Watkins, where Scotty would ultimately prevail with a 2 minute lead over Andrew. About 6 minutes behind the top XC2 riders Fastway Riders Jordan Ashburn (Open A) and Jake Fiddler (4 Stroke A Lites) would continue the battle that was started in Florida earlier in the week. Both Riders went back and forth with Ashburn finally taking the lead and beating Fiddler by only a minute. Ashburn would end up taking the top Amateur seat while both riders took 1st place in their individual classes for a second week in a row! Only 3 Minutes behind Fiddler, Fastway’s Steward Baylor would dominate the 200A Class by over a lap! The rest of our boys would keep riding strong. Morgan Moss (250B), Austin Shroyer (Open B), Duane Conner (Vet A +30) and Rudy Austin (Vet B +30) would all go on to win their classes topping off an amazing day of racing for the Fastway Family!
GNCC Round 1 River Ranch Florida
1st Place Jake Fiddler (4 Stroke A Lites)
1st Place Jordan Ashburn (Open A)
1st Place Steward Baylor (200A)
1st Place Morgan Moss (250B)
1st Place Todd Palmer (Vet B 30+)
1st Place Grant Baylor (Super Mini)
1st Place Fred Hoes (Sportsman 36+)
2nd Place Paul Whibley (XC1)
2nd Place Mandi Mastin (Women)
2nd Place Cooper Bailey (Open A)
3rd Place Hayden O’Kelly (250A)
3rd Place Ashley Crouch (Women)
3rd Place Randy Mastin (Masters +50)
GNCC Round 2 Washington Georgia
1st Place Paul Whibley (XC1)
1st Place Jordan Ashburn (Open A)
1st Place Steward Baylor (200A)
1st Place Jake Fiddler (4-stroke A Lites)
1st Place Duane Conner (Vet A)
1st Place Austin Shroyer (Open B)
1st Place Morgan Moss (250B)
1st Place Rudy Austin (Vet B 35+)
1st Place Ashley Crouch (Women)
2nd Place Jimmy Jarrett (XC1)
2nd Place Amanda Mastin (Women)
3rd Place Scotty Watkins (XC2)
3rd Place Cooper Bailey (Open A)
3rd Place Tyler Hampton (Open B)
National Enduro Round 3 (Alligator Enduro)
1st Place Steward Baylor (200A)
1st Place Trey Wellborn (Open A)
1st Place Fred Hoess (Senior A)
1st Place Morgan Moss (250B)
1st Place Todd Palmer (Vet B)
1st Place Mandi Mastin (Women)
2nd Place Emily Raines (Women)
3rd Place Wally Palmer (Pro)