Welcome to Quick Fill. We're going back to back.
Just as quickly as we held one round of the tour we return with another. This back-to-back schedule between Yadkinville and St. Clairsville was the result of the 2009 ISDE changing dates at this time a year ago, it was supposed to be one weekend and then changed to another, and we had to adjust to fit. We have a few GNCCers heading to Portugal for the event, such as Nathan Kanney, Kurt Caselli, Cory Buttrick, Mandi Mastin and several riders on club teams.
So we're racing back to back. Enjoy your next two weekends off after this one.
And enjoy our GNCC banquets. We have all the official information right here. CLICK HERE.
Photo By: Matt Ware
Borich is on a 6 win streak.
So, Yadkinville. The first time we raced there, back in 2005, we expected some run off from hurricane season to soak the place and keep the dust down. It didn't happen then and it hasn't happened since...until this year, when it finally rained. It was raining all day on Saturday, making for sloppy conditions and vision problems for the ATV riders. Then it rained even harder Saturday night, so dust was seriously not an issue all weekend.
On Sunday the sun was actually shining, but the mud was certainly still there. So both days came down to going fast on one half of the track-the harder, slippery stuff-and just plain surviving the other half of the track-the soft, bottomless mud bogs.
The ATV racers went back and forth dodging the mud holes. After yet another wheel-to-wheel duel, Chris Borich emerged as winner and series' champion. That has to be the most overdue championship in GNCC racing history. Borich was so close to dethroning Bill Ballance so many times but always came up short. All the way back to my first season here in 2001, when Borich was running #14 but all of sudden started showing the speed to run up front. Then, to 2003 and 2004, when he would lead lap after lap only to have big crashes at the end of the races put him out. To '05, '06 and '07, when he was winning races, riding consistent and looked ready to become champion. Last year was a learning year on his new Suzuki, but with those lessons learned, he kept his head in it early in the year while the competition swarmed in from all angles. Chris had a quiet (of course) confidence that he had everyone covered, and from mid-season on he has been almost unbeatable.
It's unfortunate that Bill Ballance had a cancer scare at the beginning of the season, because it would have been nice to see him 100 percent and fighting for it right from the start. But let's not take anything away from Borich-he earned this one, and there's nothing to indicate that anyone could have taken it away from him, healthy or not. The guy has won six-straight in the XC1 class!
Photo By: Hooper
Donnie Ockerman put in a strong ride early into his XC1 career here last year. Can he finally get back on the podium this weekend?
You know who is not like that? GT Thunder morning race overall winner Kristin Atwell. Everyone told me she was beaming all day after winning in Yadkinville!
Borich is the same way. Now he's our champion, and I'm sure his family is very, very proud. Same for Suzuki. And somewhere, those Cardio Stack boys are pumped that their guy finally got one.
We could have another title wrapped up this weekend, with Brian Wolf closing in on the XC2 crown. Josh Kirkland won't give up, though, holding off Wolf for a win in Yadkinville. Wolf has seven wins to Kirkland's four. Look out for some spoilers there. Kevin Yoho is on a Yamaha now and can mix it up with any one, Walker Fowler is in the class now. And Parker Jones, an A class champion last year, is steadily improving.
In the Youth ATV ranks, Jay Shadron bounced back to take the overall at Yadkinville after Doug Howarth had reeled off three in a row. So much competition in those Youth ATV ranks nowadays, like Shick, Chirdon, Martin, Coen, the list goes on. But what happened to Ryan Early? Someone send me an email or let me know this weekend at Power Line. He has missed the last few races.
Also a special nod to Jon Michael Rainey, who races up front in both Youth bikes and ATVs. He's ranked second in 90 Mod points and 85 (12-13) points.
Photo By: David Scearce
Stew Baylor is already a pro!
Still, Meadows has come out on top of these battles before and he holds the upper hand with those six wins. You have to watch for the Supermini (12-13) riders coming through the ranks, too, like Grant Baylor, who finished second overall at Yadkinville. Like Meadows and Michael, Baylor has been battling Aaron Plessinger for years, and they're still going at it for the 85cc (12-13) title right now.
And can you believe last year's Youth champion, Steward Baylor, is already up racing XC2? That's nuts. He ran up front early, too, battling with Cory Buttrick for the lead before dropping back. Then Kailub Russell put on another second-half surge and took the win. KR has really got the confidence rolling now, and he's got the XC2 Championship as well. With Thad DuVall winning last year and Russell winning this one, it says a lot about the GNCC Youth ranks producing future GNCC pro champions. KR is a pretty quiet guy, and not much is known about his training program-or if he even has one. But when the flag waves, he's fast, and now he joins DuVall and Justin Williamson as GNCC XC2 Champions.
Photo By: David Scearce
Whibs is fast.
How about Paul Whibley? That guy is on a roll, and, let's just say it: he's fast. Whibs has gotten just about every positive adjective you can get over the last few years, he's tough, he's strong, he works hard, whatever. But no one ever really says he's fast. Kind of like his old mentor Scott Summers. Scott was known as a bulldog, a strong man, a training animal, but his riding style (and that old XR600) didn't make anyone think of speed.
Well, Whibs is fast. At Unadilla he turned on the speed once he had fresh goggles late in the race, and no one had an answer. At Yadkinville, he got away, and when Josh Strang stepped on the gas on the last two laps, Whibs was fast enough to hold him off.
Still, mental toughness is Whibley's biggest key. The guy never gets rattled. And does he even know what confidence is? After Strang won three in a row at mid-season, including a wheel-to-wheel duel over Whibs at Big Buck, it looked like it was over. But Whibley just does the same thing, almost robotically, every week. He works hard, he races hard. You don't see much emotion out of him...wait, wasn't that the ingredient we talked about with Senna, Loeb and Borich.
Photo By: David Scearce
That's two out of three XC2 Championships for KTM.
Unfortunately, Kurt Caselli crashed out of this one on the first lap. Too bad because he looked to be getting it together. DuVall crashed out, too.
One guy who was really hauling was Glenn Kearney, who has had some tough races lately but finally got to show some speed again this time. Remember, Glenn started this year with a broken leg, so it's been a long road back, and at Yadkinville he grabbed the holeshot on his Husky and stayed up front most of the day. Glenn, like Whibs, is one of those guys who never gives up.
Here are the special award winners from Yadkinville:
MotorcycleUSA.com XC1 Bike Holeshot Award: Glenn Kearney
Cometic Bike XC2 Holeshot Award: Kailub Russell
Coppersmith suspension Amateur Bike Holeshot Award: Justin Sode
Bike Top Amateur: Chris Bach
MotorcycleUSA.com XC1 ATV Holeshot Award: Bill Ballance
Rekluse ATV XC2 Holeshot Award: Parker Jones
GT Thunder Morning Race Overall Award: Kristen Atwell
ATV Top Amateur: Zach Strong
Photo By: David Scearce
GK had his two-stroke singing some sweet music on Sunday.
We also have the UTV classes coming back this weekend. See you Saturday afternoon.
And we already know the new Women's champion is Angel Atwell. Like Borich, that was a long, hard road to the title for her. Rachel "I was talking about tailgating at the WVU game tonight and accidentally called the parking lot the pits" Fluharty talked to Angel for Tuesday Toolbox.
Angel won that crown running a new ITP Tire, the QuadCross XC. Here's some news on that.
We've got a guy racing the series this year who is actually quite a world traveler, and quite a writer. Not bad for a young guy! Let's check in with his race report from Yadkinville.
Charkie Huegal race report
I would say that a bad race is measured by the amount of fun that I had. Well, this race was pretty good. A lot of friends new and old were there and I had a good time. My Dad also came down from PA and it was great to see him. The track itself was weird. 1/2 of the course was perfect and fun, then, the other 1/2 was muddy and not fun.
I felt like I rode great in the ''fun'' section. I think that I was faster than ever. What was not cool was that in the ''not fun'' section I felt terrible. I was falling all of the time and making mistake after mistake. Was it a bad race? No. Do I think that I can perform better? Yes.
Also, I had a gnarly crash (in addition to numerous small crashes). I hit a tree root in a turn and it launched me straight through the turn. Now, the reason for a turn is because there is something impassible so you must change direction.
So picture me, out of control, flying off of a six-foot vertical bank. Then I yell ''whooooa!," jump over the bars, and the bike and I both land under water!
There were some spectators talking with me while I was starting the bike. "You were not the first one to do that," a spectator said. "But you were the most spectacular!"
Thanks, dude, at least I made your day.
Charkie finished fifth in Open A for the day.
Here is a very nice letter from the Penland family.
Friends,
The following was published in our local newspaper. We wanted to share it with you as well because your kind email messages meant so much!
The family of Hoyt Penland would like to thank everyone for their generosity and compassion shown to us.
To know Hoyt was to be blessed! Hoyt would often give his last dollar, his last shirt, his last ounce of energy to help someone in more need than himself. He loved sharing the love of Jesus Christ with others, and he used his talent of selfless giving, and engaging storytelling, to spread the word.
Despite Hoyt's serious injuries during the Baja 1000 in 2007, Hoyt never lost faith that God would heal his leg and allow him to walk again. While none of us thought that healing would come through being in the arms of Jesus in Heaven, Hoyt now has ultimate healing.
As we continue to walk through this journey, we praise God for the almost 26 years that Hoyt blessed us. Everything about him is special to us! Please continue to pray for us today, tomorrow and years from now; prayer and faith are what allow us to move through the enormous grief and void left in our lives.
Whether you provided emotional support, prayers, cards, memorial donations, flowers, kind words, food, supplies or services, your selfless giving will never be forgotten. To feel the warmth of each of your gifts is so comforting to us during this difficult time.
May God bless each, and every, one of you!
Mike, Wanda, Chrissy and Sarah
Last week we said we would have Tom Carter's ISDE newsletter posted here, and he made it easy on me by uploading it to his site. Click here.
Also, you can get behind our Women's Champion, Mandi Mastin, and he ISDE effort. Click here.
Rodney Tomblin and Digital Dave Smith have another rousing set of Track Smack Live! shows coming your way this Friday and Saturday night.
Guests include Bill Ballance on Friday night. Will the boys get an answer on Ballance coming back to race next year? You'll have to listen. XC2 bike racer Bob Santheson will be on the Saturday show. Each show starts at 6 p.m., although you will have to be patient on Saturday. I have a feeling the UTV race might push it back a bit. Anyway, we will post a link right here on GNCCRacing.com on Friday and Saturday night, and it will lead you to the live audio of the show.
Rodney has already lined up Chris Borich for his Friday night show at the Ironman. And ISDE Team Members Kanney, Caselli, Buttrick and Mastin on Saturday night.
And don't GNCC TV this weekend on Versus: Unadilla ATVs Saturday at 4 p.m.
Wow, we're at 2500 words, and if you're still reading, your eyes probably hurt. Gotta' go. See you this weekend.
Photo By: Matt Ware
The youth bike podium from NC.
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