Parton, Howell and Howell 12 Hrs of America A Class Winners

Last year, Great River Powersports (Dustin Wimmer, Nick Easton, Cory Ellerbroek) won the A class and finished 8th overall, a remarkable accomplishment for an amateur team. This year, Team Troy Racing (Stephanie Parton, William Howell and Adam Howell) won the A class and finished even higher on the overall list, with an extremely respectable 5th! With this extraordinary victory behind them, we found it necessary to asks them a few questions.

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: Who ever said racer girls aren’t cute isn’t in the ATV scene! This one’s cute and fast!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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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