Twin Creeks Raceway TT, Greenbrier, AR 2004
- Updated: September 25, 2004
GNC TT Round 6
Twin Creeks Raceway
Greenbrier, AR
Sept 25, 2004
By: Sean Berkey
Photos by Julie Farr
Little was flying in Greenbrier! With one round remaining, he has the best shot of all to win his first GNC national championship in two weeks.
At last year’s inaugural Greenbrier GNC the main events were canceled due to rainy conditions. Promoter Terry Reynolds and his Twin Creeks Promotional crew had to be a little nervous a their stop on the TT tour drew nearer. A hurricane was winding its way through the Atlantic earlier in the week. Rain fell pretty hard on Thursday but in the end it actually helped the track, since the area had gone over three weeks without any precipitation. The forecast called for more rain, but fortunately they never came. Heats and even main events would not be delayed this year.
The track was considerable rougher this year. The Twin Creeks Raceway slightly resembles the historical Pine Lake track in Ashtabula, Ohio, but a smaller version with an exciting option lane. This year, Terry Reynolds decided to make the option lane a little more challenging by starting the lane at the end of the first corner, making half of the entire track an option lane.
Daryl Rath looked quick on his mighty Polaris but could only manage a twelfth place finish this time out.
In the pro heats Shane Hitt and Tim Farr won their heats. In the pro main Alabama’s Keith Little pulled the holeshot in front of Yamaha/Spark’s rider Shane Hitt, JB/American Dream’s Jathan Seale, and Sparks Racing’s Harold Goodman. By the end of lap one Hitt, Honda’s Tim Farr, and Harold Goodman were all in hot pursuit of Little’s lead. It appeared as if Hitt wasn’t quite ready for the pace that Little dished out. He seemed as if he was holding up Farr and Goodman as well. Remember folks, he can barely walk on his badly injured ankle. The rough track definitely took it’s toll on Shane.
As laps continued, Little’s pulled out to a sizeable lead over Hitt, while Farr tried feverishly to slip past Hitt in every corner. Finally Farr shot into the inside option lane, which was not the favorable lane to most riders. Farr took the chance and came out side by side with Hitt. Farr got the slight edge and slipped past. Meanwhile Little was almost a straight away ahead! Ohio rider Darin Ogden (Fischer Cycle) was in sixth place when he stalled the motor and spun out in front of a tire, setting back into the last place position. Ogden was forced to have to play catch up all night.
Darin Ogden has had a disappointing last few rounds. This time out he spun and stalled his Fischer 450R.
A little past half way Farr suddenly slowed coming into the hairpin turn. He looked down at his machine, as if it appeared that he was out of gas. In an instant, Farr’s quest for the Championship appeared to be over. Upon examination, Farr found that the coil connecting to the spark plug had broken off the frame. With some quick improvising, Farr somehow managed to get his quad to fire again and finish out the race. His mechanical skills saved him a few valuable points, as he was able to salvage tenth place overall rather than last. Farr lost a whopping 19 points to Little, nonetheless. This incident will more than likely play a factor in whether Farr or Little is crowned champion in two weeks.
It was all Keith Little as he impressively took his Lonestar/Ronnies Yamaha to victory lane. With the win and Farr’s misfortune he overtook the points lead by six healthy points with one round remaining. Shane “Dog” Hitt held on to second followed by Harold Goodman in third, Brad Covington in fourth and Brandon Watts in fifth, making it an all out Yamaha 1-5 finish.
Shane Hitt has told us more than once that he does not want to ruin Little or Farr’s chance to win the GNC championship. He proved this by sort of “letting” Farr past in late laps as not to cause him any points. It should be interesting how this plays out at the final round in Texas.
After the race Shane Hitt said, “I knew Timmy and Keith were in a tight point’s battle and I didn’t want to get in the middle of that. When I saw Tim on the inside of me I just let him have the spot. It looked like Tim had some bad luck tonight and could have hurt him in the championship. It’s going to come down to the last round.”
“I am devastated,” said a disappointed Farr following the race. “All I can say is that I am not going to give up. It is not over. I will give it all I have in the final round and see what happens.”
