There were firsts in so many directions at the ITP Power Line Park GNCC, from three XC Championships (XC1 Bike Title to Josh Strang, XC1 ATV Title to Chris Borich, XC2 Bike Title to Kailub Russell) to big race wins by Borich and Paul Whibley, and a whole bunch of crazy new stats. For example, Borich and Strang both run Suzuki 450s, making this the first time a manufacturer has claimed both GNCC Titles with similar equipment. Yes, back in the 1990s, Scott Summers was winning GNCC Bike crowns on a Honda XR600, and all of the ATV riders, including GNCC Champions like Chuck DeLullo, Bob Sloan and Barry Hawk, ran some form of a Honda TRX250R. But the ATV guys were far from Honda-sponsored, as Honda didn't even make the 250R anymore. And Summers' 600 four-stroke had nothing to do with the 250 two-stroke ATV. So, this is as close to a sweep as you're going to get.
Photo By: Bair's Polaris
Chris Borich pulls the winning ticket for the Kirkland auction.
Big thanks to Josh's sister Lee Ann who put the raffle together, as well as Brad at Bair's Polaris. They got the RZR at cost, which means there will be plenty left out of the $25,000 to go to Josh. Here's a note from Lee Ann Kirkand.
"I told Josh since I was the one who put in the work to get the RZR S and get the tickets made, if he won, I would be his first passenger. I am eagerly awaiting the day he comes home and I expect the first ride. My dad wants to be the first, but Josh already said, "I can't, I made a deal with Lee Ann.
Anyone who would like to keep up with Josh's progress can do so by visiting the following link:
Thank you for this chance to tell everyone thank you from all the Kirkland family. We sure do appreciate all the generous people who have helped my brother and family during this time. I have said this so many times we sure do have a WONDERFUL race family.
Thank you again,
Lee Ann Kirkland
Photo By: Heather Moebus
Check out the podium backdrop for next weekend.
We're also building a special pink GNCC podium backdrop. We'll have all the podium finishers throughout the weekend autograph it and then auction it on eBay, with funds going to the Komen foundation. Plenty of ways to get involved here. Pass your ideas onto me if you have them: jasonw@racerxonline.com
If you want to really know how the bike race turned out on Sunday, check out the Digitaloffroad.com post-race show with Rodney Tomblin and Jason Hooper. CLICK HERE.
And let me turn it over to Rodney right now for more.
Thanks Jason. The ITP Power Line Park GNCC turned out to be the one of the best weekends of GNCC racing we have seen in recent history. I do not want to take away from what let up to this dramatic weekend, but this past weekend of racing will be one of lore for many generations of GNCC. Championships were sealed in 3 out of 4 top pro classes and one huge turn of events that will live in the minds of two XC2 Pro Am championship contenders for a long time.
It all started with the youth racing on Saturday morning. Marshall Goings was able to pull out another strong finish and another over all win. Goings has been on fire as of late winning 3 of the last 4 overall youth races. Goings could be one to watch next year and it is a good thing for Levi Cohen he was able to wrap up the Youth Over All early enough that Goings strong finishes were not as much of a threat.
A look behind Goings win on Saturday saw more great battles unfold. I spoke with #419 Emily Wise in the 90 Mod class and she told me she hoped to do well as this would be her last youth race as she would not make the Ironman. She said she was moving up next year to race in the 10:00 a.m. race. It has been fun watching Emily race the boys this season and I look forward to watching her progress over the next few seasons. Emily finished 4th in class and over all starting strong and was 2nd on the first lap. She then dropped to 8th moving up to 5th and finally passing on the last lap into 4th finishing a little more than 9 seconds behind 3rd.
As we headed into the 10:00 a.m. race the excitement was beginning to build because though a number of the class championships had been wrapped up, the Women Class was still up in the air. Basically what it boiled down to was if Kristen Atwell was to win, she would win the championship. As we have seen storm rolling through all season long nearly, "Lightening" struck again and Kristen Atwell became the first ever GNCC champion to take a championship away from her aunt. Congrats on a spectacular season Kristen and it has been a lot of fun watching this battle unfold. Now add Cheyenne Shadron into the mix next year and the Women Class just got even better. I cannot wait to see what next year holds for this class.
Congratulations are also in order for the first ever crowned Utility Senior (45+) class champion, Forrest Whorton. Forrest clinched the deal in Ohio besting the legend of Mike Penland Racing's, Mike Penland. I feel this is another class we will see the battles in next year and I also expect to see more of the 45+ Utility racers going for the top honors in this class.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Josh Strang is #1!
Now we still had some unpredictable action that makes GNCC racing so great. Brian Wolf was basically set to capture his number one plate in his home state of Ohio. Remember last year Brian came up 1 point short of the XC2 Pro Am Championship to Josh Kirkland. This year his biggest competition had been Walker Fowler. Fowler had some inconsistencies that seemed to have put the championship out of reach. Then talk about having something handed to you. Reports came in early of the top XC2 riders checking in at various points n the course. Soon the questions began to circulate as the whereabouts of Wolf and Fowler. Then we heard that the #341 of Brian Wolf was on his way back to the pits on foot. His quad had broken down about mid way through the first lap. He made it in to the pits and grabbed some oil in hopes that it may be enough to get the machine back running for some sort of finish. Unfortunately to no avail. Brian Wolf would end the day with a DNF and score no points in his bid for the championship.
On the flip side of things, there was some hope. As the race got under way, both Wolf and Walker Fowler were struggling trying to pass through the pack. Fowler ended up crashing and was running 19th at the end of the first lap. As Walker made his way by the pits he was given the "go give it all you've got" sign. The attack was on as Fowler had the chance to put himself right back in the championship hunt. He would work his way into the 10th spot at the end of the second lap. By the end of the third lap, Fowler was in 7th and lap times looked like he should easily challenge for third by the end of the last lap. However, things worked out a little differently than that. When the 2nd place ride of Parker Jones appeared in sight of the finish, there was a large fast moving object that lurked in the dust plume that billowed from behind the #16 quad. It was Walker Fowler poised to make a strike in the final turn. Jones was hot on the throttle as they approached the final turn and the drive to the checkers and drifted a little wide in the turn. Dust flew and the crowd roared as Fowler was able to dive to the inside and as they crossed the finish line together, Fowler only edging Jones by only a few inches. Official Starter and Finish Line Flagman, Ricky Towery said it was one of the closest race finishes he has ever seen in his days as a GNCC finish line flagman. As we left the Buckeye state, Walker Fowler sits only five points out of 1st and this one will go down to the wire at the Ironman.
That was only the beginning of our ITP Power Line Park GNCC. I will touch on UTVs and Bikes next week in Quick Fill.
A couple of things worth mentioning before I go though are: I will let you know that Barry Hawk has been cleared to race both the ATV and the Bike at the Ironman. He approached me with the question earlier in the week and it has been cleared via a grandfather rule, as Barry raced both bikes and quads for many years back in the 90s. However, I have heard nothing back from Barry as to whether it will happen for sure or not. If it happens, it will be huge and if it don't, we are left another year to wonder if Barry will ever do it. I for one am hoping he does it.
Photo By: Renthal
Check out this bar pad that Renthal's riders will be running at the Ironman.
Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs!
Thanks, Rodney. Now I'll pass this onto our GNCC Race Report and photo guy Shan Moore.
Thanks, Jason. The ITP Power Line GNCC was quite a busy weekend with all the titles that were wrapped up. Among the Pro classes, Chris Borich, Josh Strang and Kailub Russell each wrapped up their respective championships. The one that stuck out in my mind was Strang's, simply because of the emotion surrounding the podium celebration. Josh could barely hold back the tears and it was obvious that a season's worth of passion, frustration, anticipation, and expectations had been welling up for some time. Josh called the Power Line event the "toughest race of his life." He went on to say that there have been some other tough ones, "Like the first race in Florida, when I came over here in 2007," he added. "That race was a wakeup call. I didn't know if I had made the right decision coming over here. And from there to now, it's just so good and this was an unbelievable day. I'm really stoked my dad is here, too."
Josh also talked about his battle with Charlie Mullins at the Power Line race and his start, which left him last heading into the first turn. "It was horrible," he said. "I can practice starts and get 'em, no worries. But when it comes to the race I just suck. That made it difficult, and the last four races there have been more pros, which is really good for GNCC, but it makes it harder to come from the back. But I just kept working away. I wasn't going great but I think I must have been going all right. I got stuck on a hill and then I caught back up and then I got up behind Charlie. I was about 10 seconds behind him and then I caught him with a couple of miles to go. I tried to pass him and I hit a log and crashed, and then I caught back up and we hit coming out of the woods and I just got by him. So it was a really close race and I was stoked to get it over with a race early."
If you remember, Josh started off the season like a madman, winning the first four rounds and pulling out to a big lead in the series standings. But then a mid-season crash - not to mention, switching to the 2010 bike - slowed his tempo a little. So the last few rounds had to be a bit stressful for Josh. Sometimes it's easier to be fighting a close battle than to be protecting a lead.
Unfortunately, Rockstar Makita Suzuki team manager Mike Webb wasn't able to make the race since he was getting ready for the upcoming Supercross season, but I spoke with him on Wednesday, and he told me how proud he was of Josh and that he knew Shane Nalley, Chris Wolf and Rodney Smith had everything under control. He'll also be at the Ironman.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Whibs sure was happy to get a win.
My apologies to Levi Coen, Hannah Reid pointed out to me that I said in the race report that Marshall Goings had won the Youth ATV Championship. And while Marshall has had a great season, it was Levi who won the championship. Congratulations to Levi and all of the other amateur riders who won championships. And congrats to Marshall for a great season.
And now a note from Shane Watts' camp. Shane was helping two Aussies race their first-ever GNCCs:
A rough initiation for Toby and Jarrod at their first ever GNCC. After working heaps this week on bike setup we are looking forward to these guys tearing it up at the last round in Indiana. If you are looking for a good laugh, check out what these fun loving Aussies are up to while in America by following the link below to Toby's Facebook page and adding him as a friend to watch some hilarious video footage! CLICK HERE
And that's it for Quick Fill this week. Get your pink on for next weekend and we'll see you at the races!
Photo By: Shan Moore
As always, there were some mud holes in Ohio.
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