Racing is such a competitive sport that sometimes we forget why we're out here every weekend doing it. Between the training, riding and preparation - racing a GNCC can get somewhat tedious and overwhelming all at once. Sometimes it's nice to get back to the roots of racing - and no better place to find that than the 8 AM Youth races. These kids don't race for money, fame or any other reason besides that they love the sport. Most of them go to school, play other sports and hang with their friends in the off-season. Come March, though, these kids and their families hit the GNCC Racing circuit, traveling every other weekend until the season wraps up in October (or in this year's case, November). Cody Collier, points leader of the 90cc Open (12-15) class not only races the entire GNCC series, but also attends Junior High School and plays soccer, basketball and football when he isn't riding. Cody is a top contender in the Youth overall points chase so we caught up with the Ohio Native after winning in his home state just a couple weeks ago.
Cody has tons of support from his family
Cody Collier: Just hanging out with family right now, we were watching a movie. This summer I have football conditioning and that's about it right now. I also play soccer and basketball too. I'm in 7th grade so those are the teams I play on for school.
Wow! Sounds like you're busy! How do you keep all that separate?
I do a lot of my homework at school and it's a lot to handle but I'm used to it now. I don't ride a whole bunch because my neighbors aren't real fond of quads so whenever they leave I go riding. I ride with my cousin; he lives next door so he rides with me all the time. We have a little property in McArthur, near Athens; it's about an hour from Sunday Creek. At my house we don't have many woods so it's basically all motocross here. We have a little hill climb beside my house and a little bit of a wet section and then down at the property it's all woods there so it's great practice.
So how long have you been riding for?
I've been riding since I was four, been racing since I was six. So about eight years riding and six I've been racing.
What brought you into GNCCs?
We had some friends that raced them and we were racing locals so they told us we should try them out. Our first race was Ironman 2008 and I did decent - I was 11/26 in my class and after that we were riding them because it was fun and good competition. I really like the tracks and the competition, it's awesome. There are just so many kids and I love the tracks for the most part. I just wish there was a little bit more woods (laughs).
Do you plan on racing Pro when you grow up?
Yeah, I really like racing - my whole family got into it ever since I've got into it. It used to be a fun thing and after I started racing it in 2009, it started getting more serious and it's taken me where I am right now. I train whenever I can; it's just fun being out there and racing.
Ballance Racing let Cody ride a bike at the John Penton - and he WON!
That's what my dad always says: be safe and have fun. That's what he tells me before the race.
So who's your favorite Pro rider?
I've always been a big fan of Walker [Fowler] and [Taylor] Kiser. I've always been a big fan of both of them. There's another Pro Matt Pierce, he's just outside the top five in XC2, he talks to me before the races. I talk to him a lot, he's a real nice guy.
Right now you're leading the 90 Open (12-15) class in points. How has your season gone so far.
It's been a lot of bad luck! In Florida I got the lead and then there was two different lappers and the trail split - I got behind one and Hunter got behind the other and his was faster and that's how he got me. I tried to pass him and I hit a tree. Georgia, the first lap I wadded out and that cost me about like 3-4 minutes. At Steele Creek it was a good race I was having trouble. I tried getting around Josh but I had trouble getting around him, I just had trouble with lappers in general. Big buck, I was battling for the overall and I tried to pass Josh and there was a real nasty kicker and I went end-over-end and I blacked out for like 3-4 minutes. After that was Indy, there was no trouble, I don't know what happened, I just didn't have a good race. After I got the lead, it just didn't work out but I still won the race though. I got a lot of points out of it. At Rock Run, my quad didn't run right, it just didn't happen. I just did what I could and then Snowshoe - I got the lead until we got into the woods and I rolled it. There was a section we could go down or there was two big rocks and I went straight through the rocks and it caught my rear tire and flipped me. So I get back on and I catch up with Blaine and Josh, I tried to pass them and my quad is widened compared to the stock Raptors, and I wedged it in between two trees. I was there for a while. The first lap was a disaster and then the head gasket went out. And finally, Millfield was just a perfect day! (laughs).
Ready to rock
I think it's kind of obvious, Hunter and Josh (laughs). They are my main two people that are competition.
You beat Hunter this year at the John Penton, tell us a little about that.
It was a great track, I got to ride Ballance's quad, which was awesome - I loved it. It was really fast and it just handled really well. I just loved the track and everything happened at the right time for me. Like the pile up, that's what probably saved me was the last lap Hunter probably had trouble on the pileup and I had no trouble on the last lap getting through there so it probably helped me get the win. He had 30 seconds on me going into the last lap and I came out with over a minute on him.
How good did it feel to win!
I said, "Now you know how I feel when you beat me all the time!"
I heard that Ballance Racing did something to help you out at that race, can you tell us what happened?
It was awesome, I mean, I was walking the track on a ridge and it was right by the Pro Pits and I saw everyone down there looking at the quad so I went down there to see what was going on. I started talking to everyone and Bill Ballance asked me if I was interested in riding it for him, and I said "Yeah!" He said that he would let me ride it but they already had a kid that they promised that they'd let ride it but he said that he preferred riding his own quad rather than the Ballance quad. So he got his quad fixed so Ballance said I could ride it. So I went over there and we started talking and working on the quad and then he told me I could take it over to my trailer and do whatever I wanted to it so it was pretty awesome.
Did you make any big changes?
The suspension was a big thing- they had it set up for a 150-pound rider for motocross and so we got it set up for me. We adjusted the brakes and the clutch and that was about it. It had awesome power and it handled great. It took a lot of things better than a lot of bikes, I got behind Blaine for a little it and there was sections where it kicked him up real bad and I was flowing right through it, so it was really awesome.
Collier is no stranger to the podium
Yeah it was a big part, there were a lot of parts where it was real bad and I was able to come in there a lot harder than most people. That probably saved me a lot of time during the race and it was just awesome. Just everything on the bike was just about perfect.
Did you feel like a factory rider when they were setting things up for you?
Yeah! They just completely took the quad and tuned it up exactly how I liked it and they asked me all these questions and they set it up for me. After my race, I dropped it back off and I asked them if they wanted me to do anything to it and they said "No, just leave it, we'll get everything done."
That's awesome! Do you see any work with them in the future?
After the race my grandpa went up there and talked to Ballance and he said he could get me some really good deals on parts and stuff so that was cool. I really loved the suspension and everything. He said they could get me a deal on stuff. I think it's awesome, after the race I was talking to Ballance and he told me good job and everything so that was really cool.
That is great! Who else helps you out?
Scott USA and gear and definitely my parents and my friends and family. They might have something to do with me coming to the races every weekend (laughs).
What are some of your goals for the rest of the season?
A class win would be huge; I would love to get the number one plate for my class. Right now, I'm just looking for the number two overall, I think Hunter is going to win it this year; he's already got a huge point advantage. I think I'm just going to settle in for second in points this year.
Share