Welcome to Quick Fill. Sorry for the crazy delay, I ended up not just with a bunch of work piled on this week, but then I went under the weather for a bit. I'm feeling better now, so here is Quick Fill.
Photo By: Jason Hooper/Digitaloffroad.com
A screen shot from our TV cameras shows how crazy that hill had become.
But there wasn't much that could be done. A few of the riders had even considered meeting at the top of the hill and resuming the battle once everyone had completely made it to the top, but even that might not have been possible. So the race was called at that point. Poor Paul Whibley, though. The GNCC Champion never gives up and just kept clawing his way to the top anyway, all for naught, but still showing what kind of heart he has.
Consider it all another one in the crazy history of this race, which has had more strange weather and unpredictable elements than the other rounds combined.
Our contributors can get into the details. Here they are, starting with Mr. Shan Moore.
Photo By: Shan Moore
As always, Steele Creek drew a massive crowd.
"I just think I'm a stronger rider this year - stronger and smarter," he told me. "This is my fourth year in the series and I kind of know what's going on and I know the tracks now. I just think I've stepped my riding up this year and I feel so comfortable and confident on the bike. I've been on the RMZ450 for three years now, and it just suits me and I think I ride it well."
During the off-season, Strang goes to stay with Rodney Smith and his wife to train, and from what I'm told, the Smith's put him through a pretty rigorous two months of training.
"Well, it's not very fun going up there," said Strang. "I mean I love the Smiths and they are kind of like parents to me, but going up there in January and February is rough. They kick my ass and make me work hard. There's not a whole lot of socializing the whole time I'm up there, I put my head down and work. We get up in the morning and train and we don't stop until it's time to go to bed. It's good and I enjoy getting the hard work out of the way. Right now I'm having so much fun riding, so the hard work was worth it."
Another thing that Josh told me is that he is really enjoying life in America, although he misses a few things from Australia - like their mayonnaise. According to Josh, the mayonnaise in Australia has a different taste that what we have here and he has his parents send him the Australian version from time to time. He also told me that he has a bit of a sweet tooth and mom and dad send him "Wallys" from back down under, which is kind of a gummy bear candy.
Another person I got to spend some time talking to was Maria Forsberg. Maria had to hop a plane after the Steele Creek race so she could get back to Washington where she works as an electrician! She works 40 hours a week and she's in the union - Local 191 in Washington. According to Maria, her dad worked in the HVAC industry and she said she has always been interested in the electrical side of it. So she tested when she was 18 and got in. By the way, southeastern enduro legend Allen Gravitt is wrenching for Maria Forsberg on the RPM/KTM team this year.
Photo By: Shan Moore
GNCC newcomer Maria with veteran wrench (and racer) Gravit.
Thanks, Shan. Let's turn it over to Jason "DigitalOffRoad.com" Hooper.
There's really only one thing I can think to write about from Steele Creek, and that is the mess that became of the 8-mile hill on Sunday afternoon! After hearing all the radio chatter of "40-50 bikes stuck" I headed my Can-Am Outlander for the hill, figuring it was worth missing my next assigned shot to see if it became a race-changing situation.
What I was met with was something I've never seen in the past 5 years I've been coming to the GNCCs (aside from a muddy morning races)-the bottleneck of the century that had the top three pros stuck on the hill without a clue of what to do. It was pretty surreal seeing these guys stuck, and just all around crazy when you saw riders coming back down the hill head-on towards us. No one really knew what to do, and for some reason they were all looking at me since I had a track radio on. But I'm just a TV guy! After some deliberation between officials it was finally decided that the race would be called, and I really think that was just about the only option.
Paul Whibley did eventually make it up the hill, but that was a good 4-5 minutes after the leaders had gotten there. I talked to both Josh Strang and Kailub Russell about the situation and they pretty much concurred that there may have been 10-15 riders in the entire race that could've made it up the hill, so stopping the race was the only option. Not to mention that the only way around that particular hill would've meant sending riders out the main entrance/exit to the track, definitely not a smart idea!
Russell is definitely motivated and confident for the rest of the season. He's put his problems in the Florida race, mainly blisters, behind him and is ready. I asked him about his thoughts on the 250 two-strokes in the class and he genuinely feels that the only advantage they have on him is off the start, and if the last two races are indication he might be right. Check out the rest of interview HERE.
As was mentioned in last week's QuickFill, the Racedaypix family is definitely in need of all of our prayers. Digital Dave and Heather's daughter Cheyenne suffered an apparent stroke prior to the Steele Creek GNCC and has undergone surgery and is still in the Pediatric ICU at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. For updates on Cheyenne's status use the following login information for www.theStatus.com - The Smith's are obviously spending the majority of their time with Cheyenne and aren't able to keep up with all of the Facebook messages and emails so that's the best way to find out info.
Log on to www.theStatus.com
Login ID: winego@gci.net
Password: Cheyenne
The guys at ATVriders.com are donating all of the proceeds from their photo sales to the Smiths until Digital Dave is able to get back to work. For more info on that check out: http://www.atvriders.com/atvnews/atv-riders-2010-race-day-pix-cheyenne-smith.html
Bike photographer, Rob Beacham of www.passion4dirt.com is also donating the proceeds from the sale of photos from the two GNCC races he has shot this year. Check out his site at http://www.passion4dirt.com/ for details.
Another way you can help out is by stopping by www.racedaypix.com and purchasing photos from previous races. Digital Dave has archives dating back to at least 2006 on his site. I know that because I stopped by this week and bought some photos from then, because 2006 was the last year I was a "racer." I had always meant to buy those photos but never got around to it, I'm sure you all have a few that you wanted to buy but didn't as well.
Thanks, Hooper. Now onto Rachel "Might Have to Start Posting Quick Fill For Me" Fluharty:
Thanks, Jason!
I just got done with a 10-hour through the night drive with my Announcing mentor Rodney Tomblin and Sponsor Coordinator Dean Van Leeuwan. Well, actually, the guys let me sleep through most of the ride down to the opening round of the ATV MX season, but we did get in some quality talks over how the season is shaping up.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Crazy weather in NC.
Levi Coen has three wins in the 90 Mod (12-15) class and is always backed by his very supportive parents. Check out their awesome hoodies on the starting line! Levi is very determined, and you can tell he's happiest in that center position on the podium. He's a quiet and very nice kid from what I can tell, and definitely has the making of a GNCC Champion. He wasn't too happy with his third overall in Georgia, but was back in the winner's circle in North Carolina. What amazes me so much about these young kids is how determined they are at a young age. When I was their age, the boys I grew up with more interested in throwing spit wads and playing video games when they got home. It's very refreshing to see young men and women with so many goals and so much determination! Levi battled with Ryan Earley and Doug Howarth the last couple of years and this year his goal is the overall championship. He seems to be on the right track so far.
Layne Michael and Aaron Plessinger are in the middle of a battle royale in bike youth. It's been a lot of fun seeing those guys battling it out. After the 10 a.m. race, I had the pleasure (actually, I was pretty darn nervous) of interviewing Shane Watts and Rodney Smith on the Podium. Wattsy drove all night from New Jersey to get to the track in the early morning, compete and win. What a race he had with Smith.
For more on the amateur bike races, you can check out Charkie Huegel of OffroadJunkies.com and his fabulous amateur bike race report here.
http://www.gnccracing.com/articles/2012_charkie-huegels-fmf-steele-creek-amateur-bike-report
Photo By: Shan Moore
Taylor Kiser is getting popular.
Alright, that's it for me!
One more spot to go, with Rodney Tomblin.
Thanks Jason! As I write today I am on my way to the opening round of the ITP/Moose Racing ATV Motocross Championship in Pell City Alabama. The cool thing for me is that I will not be announcing. I will be watching and just taking it all in for a change. It has been a fun trip already. I left home last night to meet Dean and Rachel at Racer HQ around 10:00 o' clock last night. We drove about all night except for a coffee stop or two and lots of rest stops brought on by the mammoth amounts of coffee I drank to stay awake. Dean drove first and sometime around 3 or 4 I took the helm in a very energetic and alert state. Dean said that Rita told him that her baby (the green van) was not going over 65 mph. I don't know if was the coffee or needing to get to the next rest areas a.s.a.p., but let me tell you that it definitely goes faster than 65! It was also good to talk to Rachel about her new announcing duties at the GNCC. I must say for a young lady who transferred from Marshall University to WVU to finish a nursing degree, and then eventually moved into the journalism school, I was impressed at how well she has taken to the whole thing and feel she will be missed come June or so when we lose her to the MX Nationals for her other duties at Racer Productions. She and Hanna both do a great job and I feel they should both be commended.
As excited as I am to get to go and just watch a race for a change, I am still in awe of what I witnessed only a few short days ago at Steel Creek. And as you can tell from this week's Quick Fill, I am not the only one. General consensus seems to be the same, which is that to call the race was about the only safe and logical conclusion.
If you look back at the last decade or so of GNCC Racing, there probably could not have been a more fitting place for this to have all gone down. Steel Creek Park has always seemed to hold something even more special than the beauty that the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountain Foothills hold. It is a mystery that will make this GNCC even more special. I question if it is spirits that roam the mountains of Steel Creek maybe playing tricks on us just for fun. I know we have witnessed some of the most memorable moments that have ever taken place in the last 10 years or so right there.
I was not around for the first running at Steel Creek, but I rode to the race with Howard Russell, Trail Boss Jeff Russell's Dad, and he joked about the first race held in Morganton. H.R. said that a massive rainstorm greeted the inaugural race with a challenge that was not soon forgotten for crew and racers alike.
Another story that still gets mentioned is the time when Barry Hawk took a swim from the wooden bridge, and he has yet to this day to live it down. (That could be partly my fault.) It was definitely a turning point in the race that day and though I don't remember who won, I remember Barry standing knee deep in Steel Creek looking confused and cold wondering, "How did that just happen?"
Then there was the year of the BIG wind storm that literally uprooted trees and left the woods looking like a battle zone. I remember my main job as announcer was to just keep everyone informed of the situation and to constantly warn of staying out of and away from the tree lines. And I remember the wind blew steady and hard all day with the most unbelievable gusts I have ever seen. The ATVs had run in perfect conditions the day before, similar to what we saw this weekend. But the bike race was postponed and then came back and raced a few weeks later in extremely cold temperatures and snow squaws.
Photo By: Jason Hooper/Digitaloffroad.com
This is what you look like after Paul Whibley runs you over.
And one last memory of Steel Creek I will leave you with is one of our beloved GNCC Champion, Paul Whibley. Yes, Paul will have a memory from this year, as he did not know we had called the race, and he muscled his way up the mountains and through the mud to be the only pro rider to cross the finish line. But he did not get the win. But there is another memory of a more infamous "Axe Man" incident from years ago. Paul was so committed to his line coming behind the old house that he did not even see our own Jason Hooper snapping the shots of a lifetime and a hard charging Whibs and literally ran smack over him. The impact sent Hoops for a tumble and banged him up pretty bad. Thankfully, both walked away and it is another one of those, "This one time at Steel Creek......" memories that I am sure we all have.
Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs!
Thanks, gang. Finally, we leave this week's Quick Fill with the sad news that Betty Goeker, who had been working with the Racer Productions crew since the very first event we held at Loretta Lynn Ranch in 1982, has passed away. Most of you probably never met Betty, as she was more of a behind-the-scenes type every time we went to Tennessee. But she was of invaluable assistance as Rita Coombs right hand woman. Rita told me yesterday, "People like Betty deserve to be in the hall of fame, but they will never get in there. They might not be the visionary, they might not be the one in the spotlight, but you couldn't hold these races without people like her."
We will miss you in Tennessee this year, Betty Boop.
That's it. Enjoy your weekends before GNCC Racing returns at the Big Buck!
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