GNCC Racing debuts at Mine Made Adventure Park near Hazard

GNCC Racing’s new Dukes event put Mine Made Adventure Park just outside Hazard on the national off-road map, and it did so with a spectacle built for attention: Steward Baylor rolled in on a Dukes of Hazzard-themed Kawasaki and raced in front of a crowd drawn to a brand-new stop on the 2026 schedule.

The April 18-19 race was Round 5 of a 13-round GNCC season and the series’ first visit to the Kentucky property in Knott County, a site GNCC described as holding thousands of acres of terrain with rocky sections and serious elevation changes. That kind of course matters in Appalachia, where access roads, parking, fuel stops and hotel rooms can turn a weekend race into a local traffic test as much as a sporting event.

Baylor’s day showed how quickly the new stop became a headline attraction. GNCC results listed the Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki Team Green rider third overall in XC1 Open Pro, behind winner Jonathan Girroir and second-place Jordan Ashburn. The Kawasaki team’s own race report said Baylor got off to a strong start and reached the rear tire of the overall leader before a mechanical issue in pit row ended his day.

That split between the results sheet and the team’s account tells the story of an event that was both competitive and unpredictable, with a mechanical problem changing the shape of the final order. Even so, Baylor’s podium finish gave the inaugural Kentucky round instant credibility, and it put the new venue into the same conversation as the series’ established stops.

For Hazard and Perry County, the bigger story may be what the weekend said about repeat visitation. GNCC said the Dukes was an all-new event for 2026 and part of the series’ effort to expand its geographic footprint, with Kentucky added as a fresh destination. The race was not confined to the park itself, either, with off-road motorcycle and ATV activity showcased downtown and at the venue, a sign that the event was meant to pull attention well beyond the track.

Commercial support followed the race as well. 1st Trust Bank backed the XC1 Open Pro and XC2 250 Pro holeshot awards, tying a local business name to the series’ first Kentucky stop. If Mine Made Adventure Park can keep landing events at that scale, Hazard’s latest motorsports weekend could become more than a one-off debut.