Quick Fill #9: We're Racin'!

Welcome to Quick Fill, coming to you live from the St. Augustine Outlet Mall Food Court.  The girls and I are making our way to Georgia for round two of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series, but what's a girls' trip without shopping, right?

Well, the 2011 season is underway and I couldn't be more excited.   As my first ever GNCC, this was a weekend of putting names to the faces I've emailed for so long and familiarizing myself with the way things work on the track.  I must say I had absolutely no idea what went on at a GNCC race until I got to experience it myself.  I'm pretty darn impressed with the guys and gals that put their bodies to the test week in and week out.  Mucho respect!

I wasn't able to make it down for the ATV race on Sunday because I was at the 2nd Annual Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur Supercross.  However, from what I hear things were very exciting!

Tuesday night after the race, Miss Donna prepared a wonderful dinner for the GNCC Crew as we unwound from the weekend.  I was talking with Barry Hawk and Jeff Russell about how bad I wanted to ride the Florida sand.  JR mentioned the Suzuki Demo ride that Rodney Smith was doing on Wednesday, and I was all in!  Rodney and his crew hooked me up with an amazing Weisenfels replica RM-Z250 and I tagged along through the course.  With a few local dealers, Rodney led the intimate group through the tamed down GNCC course. He stopped at places like the mud hole to give some factory insight on how they communicate with their riders during a race.  Everyone in the demo had a GoPro helmet cam, so we will have some cool footage available soon.  Before we left, Rodney gave me two pieces of advice: "Make sure you duck under the bridge, and when you're going through the palmettos, feather your clutch and do NOT switch directions."  He wasn't lying. Those things were intense, but I'm proud to say I made it through without getting a mouthful of them.  Look for more out on the Suzuki Demo rides this week.

We now make our way to Washington, Georgia for round two.  After the intensity at River Ranch, there are so many possibilities in the XC1 bikes - Will Mike Brown return to claim a victory that eluded him?  Will Chris Bach live up to the hype? Can Josh Strang redeem himself in round two? And of course, can Mullins keep the streak alive?  To top it off, we just got word that National Enduro rider Russell Bobbitt might make an appearance this weekend...should be exciting!

See you all in a few days!  Here's our reporter Shan Moore.

Thanks, Jen. Here are a few notes from River Ranch.

On the bike side of things, it was a surprise to see Michael Brown at River Ranch. The former 125cc National Motocross Champ drove down from Tennessee so he could get in a little sand riding practice before the Lake Havasu round of the WORCS series. Brownie set a pretty fast pace from the start and kept it up for a lot longer than I thought he could. This guy is 39 years old! Charlie Mullins played it smart, though, and conserved his energy over the first half of the race and then turned up the wick on the final two laps to run Brownie down. Brown is just one of those guys that likes to race dirt bikes, so it was good to see him there. He's quiet, humble and one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. And he's also pretty fast in the whoops.

Chris Bach duplicated his performance of a year ago, finishing on the podium at the River Ranch opener. Last year he did it as a rookie in the XC1 class. This year he did it on his first ride on a Beta. Both feats turned a few heads. Chris worked his way up from near last and ran in second for a big part of the race, before dropping off the pace with a severe case of blisters. It will be interesting to see how Chris and the Beta progress through the year.

I bumped into Cory Buttrick and his family at a Laundromat in Lake Wales on Wednesday. It's funny because I ran into them last year at the same place. We were all trying to get the black sand out of our clothes. Cory made the switch to the KTM 350 this year and he said he felt pretty good on the bike at River Ranch (D-Butt told me that the 350 used quite a bit more fuel than the 450s did). Cory went down in the first turn and had to come from the back, but he still finished a respectable sixth. Cory was pleased with the finish and said his hands are in good shape for Georgia. That's more than a lot of people can say. Both Bach and Brown's hands looked nasty.

It was cool seeing JT Bennett and his crew riding the Honda's. Hopefully, this will be a good venture for Honda and they'll continue the support.

Speaking of TJ Bennett and his team, Jimmy Jarrett ripped the radiator off his Honda when he clipped a tree. Paul Whibley did the same thing and Thad DuVall snapped off his water pump. All three had to return to the pits for repairs. It's kind of eerie seeing the same thing happen to all three.

Dennis Stapleton had KFC graphics on his bike at River Ranch. Sounds like he's found a sponsor no one else has sniffed out.

It sounds like a lot of guys stepped things up over the off-season when it comes to training and practicing, especially in the ATV ranks. Warnert Racing Can-Am Foremost Insurance's Adam McGill spent the winter riding and training in Florida, as did several others, like Chris Borich. Adam went down there at Thanksgiving and stayed with a family in the Sarasota area. Needless to say, he got in a lot of sand riding. He also worked really hard with his trainer over that period, which Adam feels was a big step up for his program. It showed at River Ranch where he led most of the race

Donnie Ockerman was riding a new bike at River Ranch. Switching from Yamaha to a Honda for 2011, Donnie O. is sponsored by Jet Suspension, an Indiana company. Donnie told me it was a rough winter in Indiana and he had to break out the tire studs to get in any riding. However, he and Brian Wolf went to Florida a week early to ride at Croom. The two were also going to hit the beach on the way back to the Georgia race.

Here's Robb Beams, the fitness guy behind round one winner Charlie Mullins.

Component #3: Flexibility

Flexibility is a subject matter that frequently gets overlooked by many racers but ironically has a direct influence on body positioning and resulting speed for the racer on the bike.  For example, tight hamstrings can also contribute to a tight lower back, which manifests itself by keeping the rider from standing when necessary!  Examples of muscle tightness and how it is reflected in a racers position on the bike are numerous; however, a consistent and effective program of stretching may prevent such issues from occurring and result in a faster overall race speed.  Also, flexibility can help avoid torn ligaments due to the lack of range of motion.  When a joint can not go through its complete range of motion due to tight muscles, it will shift the impact of the fall to the attachments and/or insertions of the muscles.  In addition to improving a racer's overall race speed (due to proper riding positioning) and avoiding any torn muscles, stretching following workouts also aids the recovery process by improving muscle cell's uptake of amino acids by promoting protein synthesis within muscle cells and by maintaining the integrity of muscle cells.  If you are confused about what muscles you should stretch and/or how to stretch, drop me an email and I will send you a master stretching outline specific for motocross.  For more information, please visit www.completeracingsolutions.com.

And here's Rodney "I like to stick microphones in people's faces unexpectedly" Tomblin.

Thanks Jen.  Today I am on the road and headed north to Georgia for the Maxxis General GNCC.  The track crew got things wrapped up yesterday at River Ranch and headed that way to prepare for round 2.  The weather in Florida was nothing short of near perfection with temps in the middle 70s to lower 80s for the 4-day stretch of the season opener.  As far as weather goes in Georgia, it looks like some rain made its way through the area over the last couple of days but windy conditions forecasted today could dry things up some and create the perfect conditions for a GNCC.  The weekend's forecast also looks good right now with temperatures in the lower 70s and sunny skies.  Let's keep our fingers crossed.

As far as the first round racing is concerned it looks like everyone brought their "A Game" to Florida and were ready to go.  I was nothing short of amazed at the way things kicked off in the ATV races on Sunday morning.  A number of last season's top riders have moved up in some shape or form.  The 90cc Open (12-15) Class headed up by Hunter Hart who wore his #1 plate proudly on the first row, took the win after a hard fought battle with terrain and competitor.  Cody Collier looked strong this year on the #3 machine as he took second to open the season. Collier battled Hart for most of the race anywhere from a 3 to 13 second gap separating them as Cody took the lead on lap 4. Collier and Hart battled intensely in the soft Florida sand but in the end Hart was able to take the checkers for his first win of the season.

Behind those two going at it in the 90cc Modified (12-15) Class was another highly contested battle.  Last year's 12^th ranked rider who put in some strong rides last year came out swinging this year and making a statement that he was ready for whatever the GNCC can throw at him. North Augusta South Carolina's Zachary Jones found a higher gear to kick off the season as he found himself battling with #4 of Charlie Welch who took several podiums the last couple of years.  Jones rode flawlessly and was able to capture not only the class win but also a 3^rd place over all.  Looks like the competition is going to be stiff in the youth ranks this year and it's going to be exciting watching these youngsters mature over the season.

Another rider I think to watch out for this weekend in the youth ranks is going to be #14 Westley Wolfe.  Wolfe finished 3^rd to open the season in the 90cc Modified (12-15) Class for the GNCC racing debut, but he is also a top motocrosser at the ATVMX National Championship presented by DWT.  Wolfe actually won his season MX opener two weeks ago at Aonia Pass Motocross where the GNCC heads this weekend.  It may be a good place for him and he really seems to like the Georgia type terrain.  The flip side of that though is that so does everyone else.  Race on!

The 10:00 am race was more than a surprise to start the season.  I was taken back to the '05 season when a young cocky kid in a flannel shirt walked over and asked if he could wear the helmet cam in the morning race for the Racer TV DVD series.  We were like "who's that?"   Well that was none other than Utility ATV rider Michael Swift.  Swift since that time has more than made a name for himself riding a factory sponsored Can-Am, winning championships, racing perfect seasons and even an occasional overall podium or even overall win.  But who would have ever thought that the 4x4 Open Class would take the morning podium in Florida on a dry sunny day?  I would not have counted it completely out but would not have really thought it would be.

I feel there is a lot to be accounted for this and it will probably not be the last time we see it this season.  I know Super Senior 50+ Class Champion Dave Simmons and the whole Women Class will be tough to top but let's look at one big variable this year.  The class structure change in the 4x4 classes which brought together Michael Swift, Bryan Buckhannon, Rick Cecco, Daryl Rath, Zack Zakowski and Josh Day could push this class to the top on more than one occasion this year.  Dave Simmons also looked great taking the class win and 2^nd place over all but had to battle for a little while against Glen "Jody" Pritchard who got the holeshot.  And the Women Class was probably as intense of a battle I have ever witnessed in that class.  Defending champion Kristen Atwell struck like lightening once again with the early lead but 2 time champion Aunt Angel and 7 time champ Traci Cecco were right behind her with Lexie Coulter, Kara Merrit and Cheyanne Shadron right with them.  Kristen Atwell led the entire first lap but a slight mistake took her back to fourth where she could not recover.  Angel Atwell moved into the lead then Can-Am Warnert Racing Foremost rider Lexie Coulter moved into the lead on lap three and after an intense 2 lap battled checked out to a 34 second win over the field landing her 4th place over all just missing out on the podium.

And as far as the pros where concerned both the XC1 and XC2 classes were both exciting.  Chris Borich played a classic game of cat and mouse that he has become famous for then dropped the hammer on his Rockstar Energy/Makita/ Yoshamura/Suzuki and never looked back.  I know that it really had to inspire the whole field to train even harder.  One rider that may be more inspired than most is rookie Pro Brian Wolf.  Wolf had an early lead and was ready to show the field what he had but a major clutch problem took him from lead after stalling his bike at the finish line checkpoint.

Wolf was amazingly calm during the incident and after the race.  Obviously disappointed with the outcome Wolf is extremely confident heading to Georgia for round 2 at Aonia Pass.  Taking nothing away from any of the other pro class riders but Brian Wolf may be the one to put the pressure on Borich that may open the door up for everyone else to start capitalizing.  Wolf did beat Borich 2 years running at the Snowshoe with a little different starting grid, but now they line up side by side and if Wolf gets out front you have to wonder if echoes of West Virginia may distract Borich headed down the home stretch.  Who really knows, does anything shake Chris Borich, so far it seems not but even Superman has Kryptonite.

All I know is that I am looking forward to this weekend where some of our questions may be answered.  If you are anywhere near Washington, Georgia this weekend I suggest you make plans to attend - it should be a great race.

That'll do it for now. Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.