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ATV Scene: Did any of you imagine finishing
this well?
Adam: I never would have imagined we would
have done so well against such tough competition.
William: I had no clue. We just wanted to
ride and have fun.
Stephanie: I
thought we had a good chance winning the "A" class. I never thought
about the overall until we were doing so well going into the intermission.
ATV Scene: Adam and William, straight up,
-- were you concerned about having a girl on your team?
Adam: Not at all, we just wanted to have
fun and ride. We know Steph personally and she is a great racer.
William: We were not concerned at all, we
have raced with Stephanie and we know how tough she is on the track.
ATV Scene: Steph, did you feel that there
was more pressure for to do well than last year when you teamed up with Angela
Moore and Traci Cecco?
Stephanie: Yes, because I had something more
to prove this year.
ATV Scene: Stephanie,
were you hurt that you were not asked to ride with the all girl team again this
year? And since you were replaced by Heather Byrd on that team, we're guessing
you wanted to beat them pretty bad. Is this true?
Stephanie: Angela and I were both disappointed
that Traci did not’t ask me. I told Angela to go ahead without me. I wanted
us, Troy Racing, to stomp them - and we did. What goes around comes around.
 |
| Who ever said racer girls aren't cute isn't in the ATV scene! This one's cute and fast! |
ATV Scene: Your entry was the last we received.
Can we assume this was a complete last minute effort. How did it come about?
Could you each comment on your individual preparations?
Adam: This was a last minute effort for
the most part. A the second to last GNCC I kind of joked around with Steph saying
that we should team up. The next thing I knew we had a full list of sponsors
and we were on our way to Iowa.
William: We did not really have much preparation
coming into this event.
Stephanie: We joked about it at St. Clairsville
(two weeks before the 12 hour race). I didn’t want to miss a good time
like I had last year. I told the boys I’d take care of everything- just
bring your gear or even come blue jeans for that matter. Getting the light from
Baja Designs was the first thing to do, (we had major light by the way!). My
husband took care of all the preventative maintenance. Us being there last year
was a big bonus.
ATV Scene: Tell us about your ATV of choice.
How did each of you like it?
Adam: It was a LRD/Custom Axis/Maxxis Suzuki/Kawasaki
based 440- I simply could not believe how nice the quad felt and handled. Of
coarse that is the first time I had ever in my life got to race a quad that
wasn’t completely stock!
William: I really liked the power and handling
characteristics too.
Stephanie: To be blunt,
we couldn’t have been on anything better!
ATV Scene: What was each of your strategies?
Adam: I just went out and rode smart and
kept in mind that we were racing for 12 hours not two! I think several teams
let that slip their minds.
William: Consistency
Stephanie: My strategies
are riding hard, staying warm and NOT CRASHING!
 |
| The Troy Racing Suzuki -- first at this year's Maxxis 12 Hours of ATV America. |
ATV Scene: Who started each session and
why?
Adam: I started both sessions.
William: (laughing) The only reason I can
think of is that Steph and I didn’t want to start.
Stephanie: I wanted
Adam to start since he is the youngest at 20 years old. He has a lot of energy.
I wanted William to go last in case we needed to make up time.
ATV Scene: Tell us a little about how your
first session went.
Adam: Our first session went pretty well,
no serious troubles.
William: It allowed us to get the feel of
the quad and the track.
Stephanie: Awesome!
We didn’t have a single problem. It was amazing just to watch these boys
on my bike hauling butt. I'm warning you guys, get them off a stock bike and
look out!
ATV Scene: What did each of you do during
the intermission?
Adam: I just sat in the trailer and chatted
with our mechanic Dave Parton and my brother.
William: Just sat around and talked with
some friends.
Stephanie: I went
to my hotel, took a shower, called my mom in Ohio to brag on my team, and ate
some lunch.
ATV Scene: Tell us about the second session.
Adam: Not everything went as well in the
second session. We had troubles with our lighting system. We had to come in
a few times for lengthy stops. I also had troubles keeping the seat on the quad.
All in all, nothing that cost us the win obviously.
William: We ran into some problems throughout
the whole second session but were able to stay a lap ahead to secure the win.
Stephanie: We had
a couple set backs, but our bright light kept us going strong when night fell.
Having good lights help more than you would realize.
 |
| This shot was taken just a few seconds after Adam finished up the race. |
ATV Scene: What broke? Was there any setbacks
in either session?
Adam: Lighting, and misc. little problems
William: Our lighting system had some troubles
while my brother was riding. We had to continuously tighten our battery up.
Stephanie: In the
second session our battery came loose and tore a wire that was necessary for
the light to work. They pulled me in twice to fix it. Then, Adam had to ride
about two miles in the dark because the battery came loose again.
ATV Scene: This is something you three
can share for the rest of your lives. It's a huge accomplishment that you achieved
together. What did each of you say or do as soon as the win was official?
Adam: We just all congratulated each other
and went to the podium. We were all proud of each other and couldn’t have
asked for better teammates.
Stephanie: I think
a lot of jumping and yells of joy. I gave the boys a big hug on the job well
done.
ATV Scene: Did you like the track?
Adam: The track was amazing! It was rough
but I really think it held up better than you would think with 68 quads pounding
it for the entire 12 hours. The promoters did an excellent job making sure the
track was in good shape and also preventing bottlenecks.
William: Yeah I felt like the track was
a good mixture of XC,MX and TT.
Stephanie: I thought
it was a better track than last year. I really enjoyed it.
ATV Scene: What was your favorite thing
about the event?
Adam: The way the race was promoted, there
were no political issues or anything that I was aware of. It was also nice to
be able to team up with my brother and Steph and just have a fun time riding!
William: Just to be able to go out for 12
hours and race.
Stephanie: Being able
to team up with two great guys.
ATV Scene: What was the worst thing about
the event?
Adam: 12 Hours of riding fast! I might want
to get myself ready next year.
William: The temperature
Stephanie: Definitely,
the cold wind.
 |
 |
| National GNCC Champ, Adam Howell. |
ATV Scene: How did you guys do this year
at the GNCCs?
Adam: I'm the 4 Stroke Stock National Champion.
I won it on a Kawasaki Team Green supported V-Force.
William: I did not race much this year in
the GNCC.
Stephanie: I got several
morning overalls, but lost the woman’s class in the last race due to a
thirty minute bottleneck.
ATV Scene: How does your '03 Maxxis 12
Hours Championship compare to each of your past career highlights?
Adam: I would have to say that the Maxxis
12 Hour championship is just as sweet as my GNCC title.
William: It definitely compares to my ’02
Class championship.
Stephanie: It is right
up there at the top with my Woman’s championship.
ATV Scene: What is each of your "winning
ingredient suggestions" for a first-year Maxxis 12 Hour team?
Adam: Ride smart and fast at the same time
if possible. If you want to win any class you enter you must be able to keep
the pace for the whole race.
William: Make sure you stay on the lead
lap in the first session, it does not matter what your position is as long as
your team is on that lead lap.
Stephanie: First be
sure you are on Maxxis tires. Then make sure the bike is bulletproof and bring.
Also bring a whole extra quad for back up parts.
ATV Scene: What are each of your plans
for 2004? Are you going to team up again to defend your Maxxis 12 Hours title?
Adam: I'm not even sure if I will be racing
nationally next season. As of right now I don’t have any major sponsors
to help me out for the year. I would imagine if Steph wants us back on her team
next year it would be hard to say no.
William: I will probably race our local
series and not make it to many nationals. I would like to race the 12 hours
again next year if Steph will have me on her team again.
Stephanie: I plan
on racing GNCC woman’s class, the BUCCS and some District 11. If we can
get the sponsorship help we need, we’ll be back next year at the 12 Hours.
 |
| Attention future Maxxis 12 Hours of ATV America A class (and possibly pro class) contenders - be prepared - Team Troy Racing's already getting ready to defend their title! |
ATV Scene: Who do you guys want to thank
for helping the cause?
Adam: Dave Parton our mechanic, Troy Racing,
LRD, Custom Axis, Maxxis Tires, Moose Racing, Klotz, Pro Armor. I would also
like to thank Steph for allowing us to ride her quad. I personally want to thank
Kawasaki again for all their support they have given me over this past year.
If it were not for them I would not have even raced nationals, thanks Kawasaki!
William: Troy Racing, LRD, Custom Axis,
Maxxis, and our mechanic Dave Parton.
Stephanie: Our pit
crew- David Parton, Kevin Wall, and Andrea Buck. Big thanks to Troy Racing!
Also LRD, Maxxis, Custom Axis/Ars Fx, Douglas Wheels, DP Brakes, Klotz, Fullbore
plastics, Baja Designs, Pro Armor and Pro Parts Racing.
ATV Scene: ATV Scene: Any parting words?
Adam: I hope to everyone next year at the
Maxxis 12 Hours of ATV America.
Stephanie: We had
a great time and hope to be back next year to defend our title or go after the
pros.
