Round 5
OFF-ROAD
__
AMA Grand National Cross
Country Ser ies
MIRACLE
WORKER
Rodney Smith increases points lead
with another hard-fough t win
By J ASON W EIGANDT
PHOTOS BY RAy GUNDY
dney Smith is again pro of that getting o lder doesn't automat ically mean
one can't win anymore. In fact, Smith is demonst rating the exact opposite
and , in doing so, is giving a lot of "aging" off-road and motorcycle racers in
general - just like 35-year-old Mike laRocco did at the Indy Supercross ope that there is definitely life after turning 30, or, in this case, 40. Smith
made that quite clear at the previous GNCC race in North Carolina, wher e he captured a hard-fought win not long after ce lebrating his 40t h birthday, and he proved that
his N.C. win was by no means a fl uke after ce lebrating victory once more, this time in
South Carolina at the BigBuck GNCC. And what is truly amazing is that Smith is beating one of the deepest and most talent-laden GNCC field in a long time (if not ever ), a
field that includes many young guns, such as Jason Raines and Chuc k Woodford .
Plus, Smith's three wins of the five-round-old season have all come following laterace surges , when "old" guys are supposed to be tired , worn out and just barely hanging on. But not with Smith. Instead, the FMF Suzuki Off-Road te am rider only seems to
get faster toward the end of GNCC's three-hour format, wearing down his younger
competitors before making his move when it counts the most - at the end.
For the fourt h time this year, a GNCC race has been decided by less than six seco nds, this one boiling down to a late-race shoo tout between the veteran Smith and "the
kid" Jason Raines. Defending GNCC champ Barry Hawk Jr. also got in on the act , closing in at the end to take a close third. The three riders crossed the finish line within a
seven-second span.
"What a fantastic race today," Smith said. "I got a bad start and had to come from
R
32
APRIL 2 1,2004 • CYCLE N EWS
40th Ann iversary
