Welcome to Quick Fill. First, last week we said our GNCC Rules would be ready for you to look at them on Friday. We meant last Friday at the time, but we really, really mean it when we say they will be ready tomorrow. I have a copy of the rules sitting on my desk so it's ready, we just need to format them so they look nice on the site here. Once we post, we will give 10 days for public comment. You can email Jeff Canfield, jcanfield@gnccracing.com and share your thoughts.
We will then post the rules as final on Decemeber 28th. Happy Holidays.
Now onto the only GNCC story that matters right now.
This is a column we do not want to write.
Photo By: Amy McConnell XCountry Photos
The ultimate GNCC Racer.
But that was John Gallagher. He was tough. By now, some 30 or so years into his racing career, most riders would have at least taken a break at some point. Surely their knees or back would have been begging them to. And John certainly saw his share of injuries, from a crazy wrist injury early in his career, to an injury that didn't come from racing at all. A few years back John pinched a nerve and lost a whole lot of stength in one side. He didn't let it slow him down.
John raced ATVs and bikes. Sometimes one was used to help his training on another, and other times he was just so darned competitive that he wanted to win on both. His competitive drive made him forget his age at times. He competed and won in the 40-plus ATV class well after he was 50, and won the 50-plus title after his 60th birthday. That is unreal!
When John finally moved to the 50-plus class and the morning ranks, it made our crew happy, because it really helps having someone in the morning race with so much experience. The morning ATV race is the first race of the weekend and sometimes the track is chaotic. Having someone out there who understands trouble spots and can give our crew good feedback helps us make the course
Photo By: Amy McConnell XCountry Photos
John was proud of this big holesot earlier in the year.
After all of his years of dedicated service to the sport, John was rewarded with a factory ride with Polaris in 2006. He won titles for them and he helped develop their machines. He had become a certified expert on how to set up an Outlaw for this series, and most people that race a Polaris in this series benefited from his advice.
This year a "young kid" moved into the 50-plus class, 50-year-old Glenn Pritchard. John had finally met his match (albeit from a rider who was nearly 13-years younger than him) and he lost the championship. He was already making big plans for 2010, though. John had actually started racing a bike again
Photo By: Amy McConnell XCountry Photos
John chats with GNCC's Carrie Jo Coombs-Russell. He was a big help when it came to getting feedback from racers.
But none of that matters now. The racing world has lost a great friend in John Gallagher, a man who ate, slept and breathed this sport for longer than anyone. Since John started racing so long ago and raced in bikes and ATVs so often, he surely has to have entered more GNCCs than anyone ever. He also says he has raced on every single GNCC track ever offered, something no one else can claim. He was so dedicated to this, to us, to you, to it. He was the ultimate GNCC Racer.
Now we've lost him tragically and quickly. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this shocking time. As for John, surely, he's already up there doing what he loved to do, going racing again.
God Speed, John.
Here's a special tribute video put together by Jason Hooper and the RacerTV crew:
John Gallagher, Sr. Memorial from Digital Off-Road on Vimeo.
Click here for funeral arrangements and services.
Click here for a special blog put together by John's friends.
Click here for a brief video on John, put together a few years ago by HMF.
Photo By: Amy McConnell XCountry Photos
John was proud of this big holesot earlier in the year.
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