Known mostly for his AMA Supercross and Motocross presence, Jeff Canfield is a bit of a silent personality in the world of GNCC. However, as the Technical Manager for GNCC Racing, Jeff is a big player in most of the decisions related to rules and classification structures. We got the chance to catch up with J Can before he heads off to the last couple rounds of Supercross. And for once, we at GNCC Racing will be going to a warmer state than Jeff and the SX crew, yeah!
GNCCRacing: Hey Jeff, how's it going today?
Jeff: Not too bad, just getting ready for the Salt Lake City SX this weekend, I head out there in a couple of days. Also vamping up for the start of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Series at Hangtown in just a few weeks.
Photo By: Simon Cudby
It's a tough job but someone's gotta do it
Yeah, you're right, it is a very busy time of the year for us with all our series up and running right now. You know, each day is always different here at the office and I look forward to every day coming in. Between Supercross, Outdoor MX and the GNCC this weekend at Loretta Lynn's - it's really busy but I love it.
Ok, so what is your actual title because I usually just refer to you as "the rule guy" in GNCC. (laughs)
My official title is Technical Manager for GNCC Racing.
And what does that entail?
I oversee most of the rules for bike, ATV and UTV racing. What that entails is trying to make sure that we don't have any riders that are cheating or riding out of their class. A big part is making the rules for the following years, getting input from riders and teams as to what works rules wise and what doesn't work rule wise. The biggest thing that we want to do is make sure that each rider - whether they're on a 50cc, 800cc or UTV - leaves our event happy and knows that we did the best we could to make sure that their experience is a memorable one and have them back next year.
So that brings me to my next question. UTV rules. It seems like there's been a lot going on in regards to UTV rules this year, what's been happening?
UTV Racing is fairly new to us here at GNCC Racing and when a sport like that evolves, the rules - though they are relatively new - will become obsolete. The manufacturers are building different machines and with some being for true utility work and some for racing it's our goal to try to make the rules as fair as possible for everybody, but yet not compromise the integrity of the UTV series. It's definitely been a challenge; we've issues a few technical bulletins throughout the course of the year and will continue to do that as we see fit. In December we'll be able to sit down with the UTV teams and riders and find out what works and doesn't work as far as rules go.
Can we expect any big changes for that next year?
At this point I don't see anything on the horizon but that doesn't mean to say that once we get to the rider's meeting in December and we get input from riders and teams that we might have to look at changing some rules to level the playing field and make it more fair for everyone.
Photo By: Simon Cudby
Focused
Well what's really cool about GNCC Racing to me is that on any given weekend anybody can win. You know, whether you're on a full factory team or you showed up in your pick up and trailer. It's unique in that every rider out there always has a shot at winning his or her class or the overall, whether you're in the morning or afternoon class. Off-road racing appeals to a lot of different people in the country and that's what makes it so cool. You can go to your local dealership, buy a bike and race it that weekend at a GNCC with little to no modifications.
So if you've never raced a GNCC before, how would you go about the process to do so?
Well first you would need your machine of choice: a motorcycle, ATV or UTV (at specified rounds). If you're a bike or ATV rider, you just need a helmet, goggles, boots and some gear, as well as an AMA or ATVA membership and you're all set to sign up at the event. UTV racing requires a few more things that can be found in the rules section of the GNCCRacing.com website. If you're trying it for the first time, give us a call at the office and we can give you an idea as to which class you should race and hopefully you go out, have a great time and race with us again!
So what do you think about the moto guys like Mike Brown, who led a good portion of the Florida race, coming over and racing GNCCs.
I think it's really cool for the moto guys to come over and race GNCC. You mentioned Mike Brown, Travis Pastrana has done it, Larry Ward and quite a few others have done it. And there's probably going to more in the future. It's really cool because I think sometimes people on the outside think "ah it's just racing through the woods, how difficult can that be?" But when you talk to a Mike Brown or Travis, they'll usually say, "wow this is a lot harder than I thought. 3 hours is a long time to race!" It's also cool on the flipside to see the GNCC riders to head over to Outdoor Motocross and do the same thing. I know we had a couple riders last year race and qualify for the Red Bud National and it's just really cool to see that these guys can crossover like that and be competitive on both sides of it.
I know you've got the inside info at your desk. Word on the street is we may be seeing an Arenacross rider in the XC1 lineup this weekend at Loretta Lynn's.
Yeah quite possibly this weekend. I was talking with one of the GNCC teams this week and they were inquiring about a number for this rider. Hopefully they can get everything pulled together and you'll see a new XC1 rider lining up this weekend. If it's raining and muddy, I think he might surprise a lot of people.
I'm excited to see what happens with that! Thanks a lot for talking with us today, Jeff. Hopefully we'll see you on the track at the Ironman again this year!
(laughs) We'll see about that!
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