Photo By: Shan Moore
Great day for racing.
There's a bit of controversy to those ATV results, but not as much as you would think. Some spectators took it on themselves to route the course to the ATV pro pits on the first lap, even though the riders weren't supposed to hit that until lap two. Didn't really make a huge difference except that it added a little more distance to the lap time. Anyway, all of the riders went that way together. Later, heading to the pits, they hit a hillclimb, and when some of the XC1 riders started to get stuck, the XC2 pack found another line up the hill and made up a bunch of ground. However, they didn't cut the course or anything-it was a perfectly legit alternate line up the hill, just like the big Ironman Hill in Indiana.
And this all happened in the first mile of the race! From there, Wolf had to hold his own to win the overall, and he did.
On Sunday, Nate Kanney finally got back up where he belongs, on the podium and amongst the elite in this series. I don't know where the heck Nate has been in the results this year, but Shan Moore explains it in an interview further below. I'm happy for Nate, I think he needed a mental boost like this. Not just for confidence, but simply to enjoy this racing thing a little more. These guys all work so hard and when the results don't come, you start forgetting how fun it is to ride a dirt bike.
For a great, all-encompassing review of the weekend at Snowshoe, let's turn this over to GNCC announcer Rodney Tomblin:
Photo By: Shan Moore
Lightning strikes twice!
The GNCC Racing Nation welcomed several new and old faces this past weekend for what is becoming a new era Blackwater. I talked with several folks throughout the weekend that have not been to an off-road race since The Blackwater. And after hearing that Snowshoe was becoming the new "America's Toughest Race", they could not miss such an event. It was obvious the news is spreading because the crowds started rolling in steadily on Wednesday and kept rolling till the last race started on Sunday.
I saw old school event shirts that were tattered and torn, but worn with extreme pride. It reminded me just how many memories a shirt can hold in its threads and print. It was also cool to see the old Blackwater Spirit still lives in the hearts of many of the race fans.
On Sunday I saw an old boss of mine from when I was in a senior in high school and I don't know who was more surprised to see the other. He was like "This is what you do for a living?" and I was like "Yes!" He stated it was good that I could find a job where my talents were being used to there maximum. (I think it was compliment...lol) Anyway, he told me he owned five condos on the mountain and that he heard about the event and he and his wife wanted to check it out. They wanted to see what all the hype was about and they said they were having a great time and never dreamed that it would be that big of an event. I also got an invite to come back to the mountain to stay in one of his condos whenever I want. Now that is cool.
I also saw a cousin this weekend and he said he could not miss this race. He said, "I'm really excited! I used to plan all my vacations around Blackwater." He had brought his son to race and was telling him about some of the things he saw and did when he was a young man at "Blackwater". "It was some of the best times of my life!" he said. I can say after this "Snowshoe" that I am sure they will have these shared memories to talk about for a long time.
I have mentioned a lot lately in QF about bench racing memories being made that will be raced for years to come, and after interviewing some of the folks as they would crossed the finish, I know it will be.
Two questions I asked were:
1- Does it live up to the claims as America's New Toughest Race?
2- What did you think of it?
The answers I got were:
Yes it does! That's the hardest thing I have ever done! I loved it! I have had all I want! I can't wait till next year!
Photo By: Shan Moore
Jimmy Jarrett shows fine form on the rocks.
I asked a few weeks ago for you to share your memories with me following the John Penton GNCC and I will share some of those stories with you during the break. I would like to remind you of this opportunity again. If you would like to share yours with us, email me at Rodney@gnccracing.com and we may put them here in Quick Fill.
Now down to some grit:
On Saturday morning the Youth ATV riders took to the street and Over All and 90 Mod 12-15 class points leader Levi Cohen looked to be in line to seal the deal on the Youth Over All Championship. After speaking with him and his family, I realized that basically Levi had to do is finish and snag a point or two to claim the National Championship. His bike sponso,r Pitser Pro, was on hand to watch and were treated to another Pitser sweep of the podium. Unfortunately Levi had problems he could not completely overcome to take a race win, but I think may have just had enough to make it happen in the points race.
The 10:00 a.m. race was another classic Snowshoe battle and the Utility boys once again made it happen. I want to say a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Clifton Beasley. Not only does Cliff continue his unbeaten streak for the season he actually took his first over all win in history. Cliff told me before the race that the best he had ever finished was 4th and that win will rank as one of the best memories he will ever have from racing GNCC. I jokingly said to him that this one would be a cool one to get your first win. Cliff had his hands full, leading a good portion of the race then slipping back a couple of spots. It all broke loose on the final lap though and Cliff was the man on top of ole "Snowshoe" when the checkers came out.
Another highlight of the morning race was Cheyenne Shadron moving up from Women Novice to the Women's class racing. Shadron had secured her championship with eight straight class wins. Instead of trying to race for perfect 13 for 13 class wins, Cheyenne decided on Friday evening before the race she was going to make the step up. At that point, I think the top 5 Women class riders swallowed hard for they know what is on the horizon with the addition of Shadron to the class. I spoke with Cheyenne and she said she was really nervous and excited about the move up in classes. I told her to not to think she had to go out and win or even make any kind of a statement her fist time out. I told her to go ride like she rides every other race and to ride her own race and see where she was when it all settled.
Guess what? Cheyenne may have set a high bar for herself by finishing a whopping 2nd place in the class behind 7-Time Women's Class Champ Traci Cecco. Over all she finish 17th on one of the toughest, roughest courses of the season. What an amazing debut.
The afternoon ATV Race was not one without its mystery and excitement. I had no idea that day that there were any questions being posed about the outcome. All I know is it took a couple of hours to make a call and I was amazed how much of a crowd stuck around to see the podium celebrations. Everyone wanted to know I guess. You can't blame them, a lot of points and money were on the line that day.
The good thing about it is that there was no malicious intent by any of the riders. It appears to be just either a misread of the arrows and/or following some misinformation from a spectator. No matter it is unfortunate, but sometimes "it is what it is" as I like to say. Honestly, as great of a rider that Chris Borich is, Brian Wolfe just seems to "Super Excel" in the Snowshoe environment and was going to be hard to beat for anyone that day. Borich was bummed that he could not pull the distance necessary to capture the over all after battling back and forth with Wolfe since early in lap 1, but was satisfied once again this year that he got the win and points in the XC1 Championship, which is the title he is seeking. Plus, an extra $5,000.00 bonus prize for 2nd over all was certainly a nice consolation prize.
Before I go, I just wanted to pass this message along from one of the families from the GNCC University:
My son Zach Jones is one of your graduates from the Snowshoe GNCC University this past weekend. Zach races in the Youth ATV 90cc modified class. He had a great time and learned a lot from the Pros. It was money well spent and we look forward to doing it again next year. We would like to thank GNCC, Snowshoe, Yamaha and all the Pros who participated in the University. Zach ended up having his best overall finish in the race Saturday, finishing 6th overall. I have to believe the information and practice he had with the pros from the University had a lot to do with his best finish. Not only did Zach find the information that Johnny Gallagher, Taylor Kiser, Brandon Sommers, Walker Fowler, and Traci Cecco shared very informative, he also thought it was cool to just hang around, eat lunch and chat with the best cross country ATV riders in the world. I enjoyed the opportunity to follow them around and get some lasting memories on film. I can't say enough about the pros that volunteered their time and how great they were with the kids. They are true ambassadors to the sport. Way to go everybody!!
That will do it for me this week. Next week we will reflect a little on the two wheel side of things.
Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs!!
Thanks, Rodney, that is an excellent report. By the way, it's hard to describe just how hard our track guys, like Rodney, work every weekend. Rodney only emerged off the mountain on Tuesday night, so he spent a good week at Snowshoe altogether. And Rodney's a family man with a wife and two kids at home. These boys really make sacrifices for this series.
Let's move on to Shan Moore.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Jesse Robinson almost made it two XC2 overall winners.
I called Nate on Wednesday to get some thoughts on his big win and here's how the conversation went down:
Shan: Congratulations on the win. You must have been pretty excited to get that first win of the season, especially at THAT race!
Nate: Yeah, to be honest I've had a rough season. I've had one race after another where I've had bad luck. At some of the rounds I didn't make it far enough into the race to show the speed I had. So when it got down to Pennsylvania and Ohio, where I had a chance of winning, not just getting on the podium, and to have it fall apart on me was enough to send me home steaming.
Shan: Does this win make up for your bad start to the season?
Nate: No, it definitely doesn't make up for it. In Pennsylvania and Ohio, in my mind it was going to happen. And that's not to take away from Charlie [Mullins] or Cory [Buttrick]. But in my mind I was riding good enough to win and I was in position to get a win if I was able to keep riding the way I was. I'm not saying I was better than those guys, but I was in position to race for the win at both of those races, and to have those fall apart like that - on top of everything else I've gone through this season - was just enough to put me over the edge.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Nate Kanney is back up front where he blongs.
Nate: Yes. I've ridden rocks my whole life, racing. When I was growing up I just thought there were rocks everywhere and everyone rode rocks. It wasn't until I was 16 or 17 and kind of left the New England area that I realized a lot of other parts of the country don't have rocks like we do. So I always rode rocks well, but for this race I just buckled down and concentrated on being confident and absolutely comfortable in the rocks and finding my limit in them. That was important for me to do to be really prepared for this race.
Shan: I know you spent the winter in California, testing and riding. Do you think that hurt you as far as practice in tight woods situations?
Nate: No, absolutely not. What I did this winter, I've actually felt healthier than I ever have and I attribute that to all I did in the off-season. Even in the first race, I wasn't able to show any performance because I had a mechanical failure. On top of that, I got myself stuck in the mud twice where I had to lift my bike out, so before the bike broke I really wasn't doing well anyway. Then in Georgia, I recovered and was fighting for a podium when I got stuck with about a half-a-lap to go. I don't think I lost anything in California. I think what I did out there really contributed to how I've felt and ridden this year, unfortunately, I haven't been able to catch a break in order to show it.
Shan: Tell us about the incident where the guy told you to take a line through the mud and then you changed your mind - which allowed Jesse Robinson to take the lead on the final lap.
Nate: That was the section that on the starting line Buren was dramatizing. He said, "you can go through it if you want but you're not going to make it so you might as well go around." In my mind, I was thinking if it was really that bad I'm sure they wouldn't have put it in the track. So the first lap me and Bach actually went through it. I crashed in it but we both made it though. It wasn't easy, so after that I decided I wasn't going through it any more. On the second lap, sure enough the boys pointed me around it. But on the last lap, when Jesse and I were heading for the finish, someone pointed me into it. Naturally, I was thinking that maybe they had built a line, but that wasn't the case so I turned around.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Kailub Russell is bumping up to a 450...for AMA Pro Motocross this weekend. Read on for more.
Nate: Yeah, absolutely. I've never lacked the confidence that I was fast enough to win the races. But I think certainly after Florida, when I knew I was behind the eight ball, I don't think I performed well under the pressure. I was riding harder to make up for what I had lost in Florida and then what I lost in Georgia, and I think it just kind of built up into a negative asset for me. Now, to finally be able to close the deal and to do it in such a fashion where I was able to be smart about it was great. And coming up we have four tracks that I like at the end of the season. And I would like to go win all four of those, but the truth is all the guys are riding good and now Charlie and Josh [Strang] have a battle for the championship. So it could be interesting.
Yep, it will indeed be interesting. Guess we will have to wait until Unadilla to see what happens.
Thanks, Shan.Well we won't get a report from Jason Hooper this week because he's getting ready to pull super-double video duty (and don't forget to check out his awesome Snowshoe Bike Video right here). This Saturday, GNCC XC1 and XC2 points leaders Josh Strang and Kailub Russell will make their professional motocross debuts in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. They're both headed to Red Bud with their 450s and looking to represent, and Hooper will be there to shoot the action. Right after the race, Hoops packs up and heads to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, about 9 hours away, to shoot our ATVision coverage of the ITP Tires/Moose Racing AMA Pro ATV MX Championship on Sunday.
Very intriguing to have Strang and KR give Red Bud a shot. Strang's been living in California this year and I've heard great things about his speed when he visits the Cali MX tracks. But racing is different. The riders in the AMA MX tour have been pushing, sprinting and charging for five races already, and it's hard to understand that intensity until you're actually in the actual race. Starts will be a factor, too. KR and Strang have gone over plenty of gates, but the rest of the pack in the MX series are the absolute best starters in the world.
I'd say the goal for both riders is to qualify (gotta' be among the 40 fastest in practice, which is pretty tough) and then focus on maybe getting a top-20 moto finish and scoring a national point. That would be an amazing accomplishment. I can't wait to see those boys this weekend, it's been far too long since I've been able to hang with the GNCC family.
Did you check out our Tuesday Toolbox interview with Josh Strang's bike? It's bound to be the most entertaining TTB we've ever done-and wow, Josh's Suzuki is so intelligent! Check it out here
That's it. Look for more scoops and info next week, and thanks for enjoying your weekend on the mountain!
Photo By: Shan Moore
Joe Geyer and family pose with Josh Strang's bike.
Share