Quick Fill #15: Happy Easter!

Normally when I write Quick Fill, it's coming from a somewhat unusual location like a random Outlet Mall in Florida or the back of Rita's RV at Mach 3 - but this week I may have topped them all.  Although I am sitting at my normal desk in my normal office in West Virginia, there's a bodyguard at the front door and a cop circling my desk...I feel like I've had this in a bad dream before.  It's actually pretty cool though, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin (no relation to Rodney) stopped by the office as he was making rounds in Morgantown.  The Governor got the rundown on GNCC Racing and the rest of what we do at Racer Productions and I think he was pretty intrigued.  I had to break the news to Barry Hawk that he's no longer the most impressive guy hanging around the Racer office anymore, ha.

I don't know what your plans are for Easter this Sunday but they better involve tuning-in to VERSUS at 3 p.m. to catch Racer TV's coverage of the Moose Racing Westgate River Ranch GNCC.  I can't think of a better way to spend the holiday with your family than watching your favorite riders (or yourself) battle through the sandy whooped-out Florida course.  ATV coverage will begin at 3 p.m. and bike racing will follow at 3:30 p.m.  The guys over at ATV 24/7 created this cool sneak peek of what's to come this season on Racer TV so check it out!  These first four rounds have made for some exciting racing; I can only imagine what kind of crazy footage Hoop and the crew captured for TV.  Also, if you want to extend your motorsports fix even longer on Sunday, you can catch the Amsoil Championship Snocross Series at 2 p.m. at the same place.

Okay so it's been brought to my attention that some of the riders are convinced that the GNCC checkpoint system doesn't really exist.  Well folks, I'm here to tell you that the checkpoints are 100% real and we do monitor them as needed.  I mean come on, why would the guys waste their time putting extra things in the woods if they didn't serve a purpose?  I can assure you that if you're skipping out on a check or riding in the wrong timeslot that Molly...err..JR WILL catch you.

We've got a full schedule of events at Loretta's this year that we're really excited about: the first 50cc race of the year, Can-Am Demos, the Parts Unlimited Dinner on Saturday and Suzuki's Dealer Demo on Monday.  The 50's are going to run in the 4:30 p.m. timeslot on Saturday, following the ATV PM race, just as we've been doing with the UTV races.

I just got word from Hannah that little Jackson Parks is in the Florida Hospital for Children after having surgery yesterday for an infection in his leg.  Frequenting the races with his family often, Jackson raced GNCC for the first time this year - participating in both Florida and Georgia in the 70 CVT (6-11) class.  What a tough little guy, the GNCC family is wishing you a speedy recovery buddy!

I got the chance to catch up with Maria Forsberg this week as she plans for her wedding this weekend.  Between riding, training, working 40 hours a week and planning a wedding, it sounds like Maria has a lot going on these days.  Check out more in this week's edition of Tuesday Toolbox.

If you've been wondering what's going on with AmPro Yamaha's Thad Duvall here's a little status update.  It sounds like Thad has been working really hard to get his body back to where it was before his crash in NC.  He's been hitting the gym like crazy and putting in riding sessions as much as the West Virginian rain will allow.  Who knows, maybe we'll see Bad Thad back in action by Loretta's.

I'll pass it along to Shan Moore.  Have a great Easter weekend and spend some time with your family if you can.  I'm making the 10-hour haul back to the Midwest this afternoon to see mine, so I'm pretty pumped!

Thanks, Jen. Charlie Mullins is riding his Wednesday night mountain bike league again this year, which started yesterday. Is this the secret to his success? It certainly can't hurt. Charlie says it's just a hobby but at this past weekend's national enduro in Tennessee he showed me his new $7,000 bike. Sounds pretty serious to me. In fact, Charlie won his class in last night's race. He also has a big six-hour race this weekend, so we'll check in on him next week to see how he does. He and Russell Bobbitt went at it again this past weekend at the enduro, with Bobbitt getting the win this time. That's a close series just like the GNCC Series is and Charlie and Russ are certainly getting race-hardened by all the close competition.

Kailub Russell had a good race at the Big Buck, even leading a bit at the midway point. Kailub has had his share of problems so far this year, so it was good to see him up front for a change, even though he was suffering a bit from a sinus infection. Cory Buttrick is another rider that has been under the weather at a few of the race, and it will be good to see how he does at a race when he is feeling well. At the Tennessee enduro Cory came down with a case of food poisoning on Thursday and couldn't keep anything down even on race day. Still, he rode a strong race to finish third.

Here's Rodney "Not related to the Govna" Tomblin.

Thanks Jen.  As the celebration of "The Resurrection" is upon us, I'm sure that there are more than a few hoping for a resurrection of sorts in their results when we return to racing in a little more than a week.  Strange to think that nearly a third of the season is complete and it seems like the serious players for the championship are starting to emerge.  Or are they?

As it seems now, both XC1 and XC2cClasses in ATV and bike divisions are establishing dominant and consistent riders.  However, I feel that things have not settled down yet in the overall grand scheme of things.  I will try to explore this further next week as we prepare for the historic running of one of the most celebrated races on the series.  Like some other stops on the tour, Loretta Lynn's GNCC holds lore that sets it apart from being just another GNCC racing weekend.  Next week I'll try to break down the season to where we are and look at what the future could hold as we continue to race for one of the most coveted racing championships in all of off-road.

This week, though, my mind is still buzzing from the racing nearly two weeks ago at the 15^th annual running of Big Buck GNCC.  Last week I spoke of the amateur ATV racing and this week I want to look at the amateur bikes, specifically the youth.  These are races we as race fans need to pay attention to as the morning races are the breeding grounds for some of the up and coming GNCC stars.

As the morning got rolling on in the Youth division, I could tell it was going to a good day.  I first want to thank the all the riders for being so on cue.  It literally had me wondering what was going on.  Normally there are people racing up and down the start or just sitting on the line warming up during the riders meeting. This practice has always aggravated myself, the crew and other riders when other riders were trying to listen to the riders meeting.  Not this week though.  I must say it had me a little off pace, I had to look up and make sure I wasn't at the ATV Youth start.  Thanks again Youth riders and parents for the respect that was shown during the riders meeting.

The 2011 youth racing has been about as simple as 1-2-3.  Other than the Steele Creek GNCC - where nothing is ever simple - the only race that Super Mini 12-13 Class rider #123 Austin Lee did not come out on top.  Lee has been a standout since he began racing the 65cc classes a few years ago.  It's no surprise that he's a rider that is winning, but who really expected him to be so dominate in the overall this soon?  I would say that I am not totally surprised how Lee has run up front and been a factor after chasing the likes of Layne Michael, Grant Baylor and those boys for the top overall honors in years past.  However, there are more like Austin Lee that have spent their youth career chasing the same riders and feel that they're next in line for the Youth Championship and feel he may be line jumping.  But this is not the cafeteria and if you want it you have to go get it.  Austin Lee is doing just that.

The Super Mini 14-15 class has seen some strong battles and inconsistency that may be lending a hand to a 12 -13 class rider to take the overall win in this division.  The #5 Anthony Stone, #32 Levi Keller and #215 Ryan Slopko were some of the riders that have shown promise in the year's leading up to the 2011 season as being top contenders but have shown signs of struggle through the first few rounds of racing.  It does appear though, that things are starting to sort out and the racing for these championships is only heating up.  Keller seemed to find a groove in rounds 2 and 3, taking class wins at both events.  Class point's leader Anthony Stone has not only taken two wins on the season he has been consistently strong at each round and only a few seconds from the overall win.  Stone and Keller have battled within seconds of one another at nearly every round so far this year and have landed on the overall podium with 2^nd and 3^rd finishes.  Keller took the overall at Steele Creek and both are looking to keep each other on top in the future.

As mentioned in the Super Mini 12-13 Class Austin Lee is emerging as top dog in that class but the battles behind him have been amazing to watch themselves.  #52 Mack Jones who has taken one win in the class this season is going to be searching for more wins in the future.  Dylan Rash is another rider showing promise this season and has scored two 2^nd place finishes as well.  Austin and Boston Evans are going to be ones to watch in this class as we have yet to see their best so far this season.

85cc 14-15 Class rider #44 "JJ" Jonathon Johnson scored not only the win at the Big Buck in his class but also scored a season best 9^th overall.  Johnson currently sits 2^nd in points behind #301 Christopher Williams who has been an ironman to say the least.  Williams has actually raced the Youth ATV races in the 90 Open 12-15 class and has finished top 10 overall at every round except for the season opener in Florida and sits 5^th in points in his class.  Add to that the Youth bike and the 200C Schoolboy 12-15 class where he sits 5^th in points.  Pretty amazing to think he races 3 times in one weekend.   Go get'em Chris!

I realize this is only the tip of the iceberg in the Youth races and there is more to explore which is what will be doing in the future.  As we all know I can talk forever and could probably write about it forever as well and they do try to limit my ramblings for this reason.

So that will do it for this week.  Good luck to Maria Forsberg on her marriage this weekend and I sure hope you enjoy the weekend off and take the time to rest and put everything in your life into perspective.  Spend time with the family and make special memories.

Till next time, Happy Easter and God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.