Black Rock, AR (June 12, 2021) The American Cross Country Championship (AXCC) series made its way to Arkansas this weekend for round 2 simultaneously co-sanctioning with the Arkansas Cross Country (AXC) series for the single event. AXCC is a 4 race national series that covers the east coast from Iowa down to Arkansas making stops in Indiana as well. AXC is a Southwestern series that focuses its racing in Arkansas and Missouri.

The race featured a live engine start for the Pro Turbo class. Much like the Red Bull Mountain Scramble series, one site lap was given to the competitors. Also, comparatively, it was a 1 ½ hour competition. Race time started at 4:30PM CST. It was very hot and muggy with temperatures in the mid 90’s with significant humidity.

Polaris RZR/Yokley Racing driver, John Barnes and his Pro XP was 3rd off the green flag start. He would battle swapping positions several times in the first lap as the race lines became established. By lap two, he made his way into the lead only to experience limp mode from engine temperatures reaching 235 degrees. Barnes commented, “I pulled off the track and let the field pass me. I cut the car off and back on. Then, it hit me that we’ve had so much trouble with fans this year that we put a back up fan on the radiator. I turned it on and took back off.” The team’s recent install of the 2nd radiator fan was the ticket. The average temperature still stayed high at 225 degrees, but just enough to stay out of limp mode and allowing Barnes to put in a charge back to the lead by mid race.

It looked as if Barnes would have the victory until less than a mile to the finish as the Yokley Racing RZR started spitting and sputtering. Barnes added, “The fuel gauge was blinking out of fuel. I backed off the throttle and sloshed just enough VP Racing gas around in the tank to keep it moving. As I saw the finish line, I was out of fuel. The RZR coasted into the finish line to take the win.”

Talk about cutting it close!

The team is excited that all the hard work put into the year is paying off. The race marks podium three for the season putting the team back on track to where they want to be.

The team appreciates the 2021 Sponsors: Polaris RZR, Yokley Racing, Super ATV, Big Country Powersports, STI Tire & Wheel, Elka Suspension, Dynojet Research, Millennium Technologies, VP Racing Fuels, Double E Racing, Trinity Racing Exhaust, SSI Decals, CP Carrillo, Epowersteering.com, IMS, MTNTK Performance, PPEI Custom Tuning, RT Pro, Coffman Custom Machine, Longhorn Fab Shop, PRP Seats, Hot Cams, Razorback Technology, Mid TN Off-Road, STM, RZR Extreme, Alba Racing, Hess Motorsports, Tire Balls East, Monster Energy, Zollinger Racing Products, Barnes Off-Road Marketing, LLC