09/17/2026
It's race week. 🏁 The Wiseco John Penton (Round 10 of GNCC) kicks off tomorrow in Millfield, Ohio. But our history with this race goes back a lot further than this weekend.
Before GNCC existed (before "extreme enduro" was even a phrase) there was the Blackwater 100. Born in 1974 in the hills of Davis, West Virginia, it became known as America's toughest race: 25-mile laps through bottomless swamps, a river crossing so brutal that spectators (nicknamed "mud fleas") lined the banks just to watch riders fight up the embankment, and finish times over five hours for the winners.
In 1984, Wiseco signed on as title sponsor of what was then the Wiseco 100-Miler Series. Two years later, it was renamed the Wiseco Grand National Cross Country Series, and GNCC racing as we know it today was officially born.
Legends like Mark Hyde, Scott Summers, Fred Andrews and Barry Hawk cut their teeth in that mud. Blackwater ran its last race in 1993, but the series it launched has grown into off-road racing's premier championship, and Wiseco's still right there, as a GNCC sponsor and title partner of the Wiseco John Penton.
Swipe through for the full story. See you in Millfield. 🏁
Read the complete story here: https://www.wiseco.com/powersports/wiseco-power-blog/the-blackwater-100-americas-original-extreme-off-road-race/
Original photos courtesy of MX Sports.
