Primm, NV – Beau Baron showed the East Coast racers how it was done out west as he dominated the Pro ATV race portion of the Rocky Mountain ATV MC WORCS Series presented by Polaris RZR and Dirt Wheels championship. Braxton Grosse clinched the Pro Am championship with his sixth win of the season. The event was held at Buffalo Bill’s Resort.

Known for its high-speed sandy racing surface, WORCS officials added a special Pro Section to the Primm circuit. Dominated by vertical and horizontal K-rails, the Pro section nearly derailed Baron’s chase to his seventh with of the season.

In the Pro ATV race, GNCC racers Hunter Hart, Josh Merritt, and Johnny Gallagher made the trek out West to challenge WORCS’ best. Baron, on a Honda, and Travis Damon, on a Yamaha, battled hard into the first corner, with Baron just taking the lead. After going into the Pro Section, Baron was bogged down on K rail and nearly got stuck, but managed his way out. From there, he built a nice gap to win. Damon was second, ahead of the Yamaha of Hart.

“I got a really good start with Travis and I battling into the first corner,” said Baron. “I got into the endurocross section, and I clipped the top of a K rail and go stuck. It seemed like forever, but I got through there. From there, I just tried to keep a good pace and ended up with a nice gap at the end. This was a major bonus on top of the championship. It’s nice to finish the season on top.”

Fresh off of racing in the two-hour motorcycle race, Damon showed his excellent fitness by challenging throughout the early stages of the 1.5-hour ATV race. He was excited to race with the East Coast racers and looks forward to a future date of taking them on out east. “This ATV thing is really starting to click and I’m having a lot of fun,” explained Damon. “After riding two hours on the bike, I didn’t know I had it in me but I picked some good lines and I had a good race on the quad. I thought it was great to have the East Coast guys out there and I think it would be fun to challenge them on their home turf.”

Hart ran a consistent pace early on and put himself on the podium. The GNCC standout rider explained he may have missed the setup a little bit, relying on data from his cross country notebook. One of the top off-road racers in the country, Hart was quick to pay respect to Baron. “As the race went on, I got better and better,” said Hart. “I knew I just needed to stick it out and we would be there at the end and it worked out well. It got pretty rough at the end, but it was a good day. Beau was cheering me on in the pits on the final lap and I thought: ‘That guy is freaking awesome!’

In Pro Am, Grosse finished off his first season in the class with his sixth victory and the overall championship. Riding a Honda, he beat out the Yamaha of Jayden Jackson and the Honda of Cody Sanford.

Grosse’s race nearly ended before it started after he experienced and engine failure the day before the event. The family atmosphere of the WORCS series paid off, though, as several other teams pitched in to help him install a new engine in his ride. “It was a rough round,” explained Grosse. “We blew up an engine yesterday and had to work through the night to get a new one in the quad. It was just trying to hold on today in the race. We had so many families helping us out and that was awesome.”

Jackson is one of the junior racers in the WORCS series and elected to step up from his 250 to run a 450 in Pro Am. He ended up second, scoring a podium in his very first race in the class. “It was tough pushing through that hour-and-a-half race, but I had fun,” said Jackson. “It was brutal out there. I’m only five-foot, one inch tall and it was really hard for me.”

Sandford overcame injury to secure the final spot on the podium. He got hit with a rock the day before the Pro Am race and that split open his throttle thumb. He ran a twist throttle for the first time and came home third. “It’s been a pretty rough weekend,” said Sanford. “I got hit by a rock on the start yesterday and blew open my thumb so I had to switch to a twist throttle for today. That was the first time I’d used a twist throttle, but I made it work.”

The WORCS ATV series will kick off its 2022 season January 14-16 in Primm, NV.