Quick Fill #12: Steele Creek

Welcome to Quick Fill.  There's no doubt that things heated up this weekend at the FMF Steele Creek GNCC and I surely don't mean the weather.  Seeing as how I'm new to the GNCC circuit, I've never experienced the so-called crazy happenings that this event has been known to bring.  What I do know, though, is that last weekend's racing was some of the most exciting racing I've seen in a while.

In the Pro XC1 classes we saw two new winners emerge in Adam McGill and Josh Strang - slating now five different winners out of the six combined ATV and Bike XC1 races.  The best part here is that there's still potential in both classes for even more winners to step up.  On the ATV side, Foremost Insurance Warnert Racing Can-Am's Chris Bithell has been spending a lot of time out front and it's only a matter of time before he makes his move to the top of the podium. Ballance Racing's Taylor Kiser is another rider that we could see take a win this year.  Kiser unfortunately took a bad line in NC, causing him to be docked one position and finish fourth for the day.  It sounds like Kiser is going to keep fresh this weekend by racing the third round of the AMA ATV Motocross Championship Series presented by DWT at Ballance MX, home track of 9-Time Champion Bill Ballance, so good luck to Taylor this weekend!

So far we've seen Mullins, Whibley and Strang each grab a win in the XC1 bike class this year, giving them all a touch of confidence as the series gets underway.  Unfortunately for Mullins, his almost-second win of the season was kaput as he washed out in the last turn, allowing Strang to push past for his first win of this year.  But as the FMF KTM rider put it "It's just one race and I think if it would have been my first race win ever it probably would have a little different story."  There's no doubt that all these guys can win races, it's just going to come down to who can be the most consistent every weekend from now until October.

Speaking of riders who have potential to win races, FMF KTM riders Kailub Russell and Cory Buttrick have been progressively finishing better as the season goes on, previewing the insane depth that we're going to see in the XC1 class this year.  I think these two will definitely come into their own as the season goes on and put up a good fight against the seasoned veterans.

I gave Thad DuVall a call last night to check up on him and see how things were going after last weekend's frightening scare.  If you were there, you know what I mean.  Helicopters are never a pretty sight, but thankfully Thad got away with minor injuries and good spirits.  As he was running in the front of the pack, Thad hit a kicker and went over the bars.  His legs got caught in the bars and he went down awkwardly attached to his bike.  He said, "my arm was gouged and bleeding a lot and they were worried about my femur and the vein that's down there," DuVall said referring to the reason for the airlift.

The official diagnosis is a broken hand/wrist and a "bad hip".  He said the dislocated hip was some of the worst pain he's gone through and it seems like the doctor is still a little worried about it so he goes in for a CT scan at the end of the week.  "Bad Thad" says that he should be good in a few weeks when his wrist is healed and he's walking again.  In the meantime, you can catch him cruising around Wal-Mart in his motorized scooter, the closest thing he can get to his dirtbike right now.

If you haven't checked out the GNCC Racing Online Video Reports from Steele Creek, then I'm not sure why you're reading this column because you obviously live in a cave.  There's epic footage of the Mullins/Strang finish line battle and of course Adam McGill's first win of the season so check it out!

Also, check out this Dirt Rider interview with Jason Raines.  He talks about his riding and training school program.  It sounds like they do some pretty gnarly stuff over there!

That's all I have for now, good luck to all the GNCCers who are heading to the National Enduro this weekend or any other races for that matter!

Here's Shan.

Thanks, Jen. First of all I want to comment on Thad DuVall. Thad took a hard fall at Steele Creek and those of us who were there saw him airlifted out.  It's great to hear Thad is doing well, considering how the situation looked at the race. Get well soon, Thad!

Last week I mentioned the Georgia story in the new digital version of Cycle News. Well, this week there is a cool 2-page photo of Cory Buttrick crossing one of the muddy bridges at Steele Creek. check the link here. Plus there is a full story on the race in the same issue.

Dirt Rider has been giving us some love as well, so be sure to check out those publications that cover us on a regular basis.

It was cool seeing a couple of newcomers to the podium in the XC2 class. I know Andrew DeLong and Brad Bakken from the enduro series and they are both great kids and both talented riders. Bakken was second overall at the opening round of the National Enduro series event in South Carolina back in February, and DeLong was a top finisher in the Club Team division at last year's Six Days in Mexico. Look for both riders to have more podium finishes this year.

Another rider turning in an impressive ride this past weekend was Aaron Plessinger, who finished 16^th overall and won the 250A division. Aaron and Grant Baylor are definitely future stars of the series and it's fun to see these up-and-comers getting better and better each week.

You have to feel sorry for Charlie Mullins, who rode a great race at Steele Creek and then fell in the last turn and handed Josh Strang the win. Charlie was so upset with himself that he had to go back to the KTM trailer to compose himself before the podium celebration. The good thing for Charlie is that he knows he has the speed and he knows he can do it, and he still has 10 races to do it in.

For Strang, he has to feel good about getting back in the groove after the first two races, which I know he wasn't totally happy about. Strang is a total professional and does everything he has to do to get the job done, and I anticipate an all out battle for the title between Strang, Mullins, Whibley and Buttrick before the year is done.

It seems that FAR Husky riders Jason Thomas and Simo Kirssi have got the bugs worked out of the suspension problems they were having at the first two rounds of the series. Thomas was impressive in his XC2 win, while Kirssi ran with the leaders after getting a good start and then settled into a steady pace that carried him to sixth.

Wow, what a great race on Saturday at Steele Creek. Chris Borich, Adam McGill and Chris Bithell going head-to-head on the rugged Morganton course was exciting to watch. Too bad Borich had problems; I think it would have been an interesting finish. Borich pretty much had his way with the series last year, but I'm thinking this year might see a few other riders on the top step of the podium.

Here's @HotRodney22 with a weekend breakdown, if that's possible.

Thanks Jen.  Uhhhh....where to begin?  Wow! Whoa! Man! That was as unpredictable of a race that the FMF Steele Creek GNCC has ever brought.  First on Saturday with the let go of Chris Borich's machine to the last 20 feet for Charlie Mullins laying his bike down in the last turn.  Last week there was a lot of speculation as to what would happen this year?  And once again it has left us with a number of stories to share.  As crazy as things may have seemed when it was all said and done the racing was as good as gets. But like I said last week, there is something different about Steele Creek than any on the schedule; is it haunted? Who knows, but there sure are a number whacky coincidences that have occurred there more than others, or so it seems.

Good racing is what we have come to expect no matter what the conditions, facility or terrain.  The ATV Youth race again offered up some excitement to kick the racing off.  Each one of these classes has a unique battle or two that shapes up and it is amazing how many different classes are in contention for top overall spots throughout the race as well.

Breaking it down there were four different classes in the top 10 overall.  Hunter Hart once again showed his will to win as he was able to muster a near 5 second win over Josh Simmons.  Hart races the 90 Open 8-11 Class, Simmons is from the 90 Open 12-15 Class and this looks like it is going to shape up to be a battle for the kids all season long.  I cannot wait to see how it plays out.  I am also excited to the top 2 girls in the Girls 9-15 Class. Kira Campbell finished 7^th overall and Alyssa Oplinger finished 10^th overall.  I look to see this Girls Class to contend for podiums before the season is over. The fourth class to score a top 10 overall was the 90 Modified 12-15 Class. Charlie Welch finished 4^th overall from that class and told me that he was racing with the guys, as he put it "trying to pull a Borich" and let the other guys get away.  He said as cool as it was he needs to run and gun next time.  That should surely make things interesting right down to the wire.

In the 10:00 morning Amateur ATV race things were just as exciting as they have been all season.  The 4x4 Open, 4x4 Lites, U2, Masters A 50+, Women and 20+C classes all saw a spot in the top 10 overall.  Other notables to watch were Joey "Bam" Margueria on the old Yamaha Blaster from the Sport 15+ Class.  Joey rode a solid race in an attempt to try and break the top 10 finishing 14^th when it was all said and done.  Jay Shadron from the Schoolboy (13-15) A/B Class finished 15^th overall and is one I say to keep an eye on to be breaking a top 5 or better before the season is over.

Masters A 50+ rider Dave Simmons took the overall in the end with 7-time Women's GNCC Champ Traci Cecco taking second and 4X4 Open rider Michael Swift took 3^rd.  That does not tell the complete tale of the battles that went on in these classes.

The Women ATV class is now tied with the two former champs of Angel Atwell and Cecco are tied in points and Warnert/Can Am/Foremost Ins. Group's Lexie Coulter sits only 1 point behind in the early bid for that championship.  Can-Am's Jimmy Odell told me he has challenged each team rider in GNCC and ATV MX to go out and do there absolute best they could dig up this year and so far they are performing across the board in both disciplines.

I got a note from Gage Rickman who I met at the medic's tent on Saturday during the 10:00 race.  Gage had bad get off while running 2^nd place in the Schoolboy Novice 13-15 Class.  He was only about 5 seconds behind when said while coming down one of the mountains that he had gotten kicked a bit and then hit another kicker, which pitched him off the quad.  His helmet was broken and he was a little shaken but he says everything is looking good all things considered.  He said they went to the doctor and "They found I have a broken finger and cracked vertebrae.  I won't be racing for a while but i will be there supporting my two brothers. I got to get a MRI tomorrow to figure more out.  We are for sure hoping you a speeding recovery Gage!

The afternoon offered up some excitement with the great battles between Jarrod McClure who got the hole shot, Taylor Kiser, Adam McGill, Chris Bithell and of course Chris Borich.  Borich was going for the "The Borich" on the last lap when something went south in the motor.  Joe B. who was waiting at the finish line when we started getting the reports said that the motor had blown.  Good thing is that it was not a complete blown motor as Chris was able to finish 5^th place which could be huge if any more problems pop up this year.

Taylor Kiser was obviously docked a position after an infraction on the course during the final lap.  I ask Taylor what happened and he said, "I cut a turn and in ended up being way more the 25ft."  Kiser was being as honest as possible.  To his credit though once he noticed he had made the mistake, he waited on the pack to pass and fell in the position he was supposed to be in, but the rules do state you must return to the track where you left it and that is the technicality that got Kiser in the end.  So congrats to Jarrod McClure on the Yokely Racing/National Guard/Dragon Fuels backed machine who rode a great race and is showing glimpse of the McClure we saw before he made a switch to the Polaris a couple of years ago.  I would almost have to say expect to see him up there more this year.

Speaking of Taylor Kiser, he will be racing in the 3^rd round of the AMA ATV Motocross National Championship presented by DWT this weekend at Ballance Motocross.  Kiser was granted a license earlier this week and is slated to begin qualifiers on Saturday morning at 8:00am.  I hear that the track also has a new design and layout and should produce some spectacular racing. Bill redesigned it I am sure Taylor has been riding it, but does Taylor expect to win?  Heck yes if it rains a whole lot.  And looking at the forecast, who knows?  Come out check it out.  All AMA Pro racing takes place on Saturdays so check www.atvmotocross.com for more details.

I headed there now, so till next time; God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.