Quick Fill #27: Summer Break

Welcome to Quick Fill. "Those who want to succeed will find a way, those who don't will find an excuse." I found an old cutoff t shirt yesterday from a basketball camp I attended in 1998 and that quote was mounted on the back. It caught my eye so I thought I would start off this week's QF with a little inspiration...so be inspired.

After the MX national at Millville last weekend, I flew home to hang out with my family for a bit. My younger brother is home from Afghanistan for a couple weeks (Army) so I've had a great time hanging out with him and my other family members that I don't get to see much living out in West Virginia. Similar to the rest of the US right now, it has been incredibly hot here in the Midwest; I think the corn is even withering away. A lot of the local moto tracks have cancelled open practice because of the heat so if you're out riding this week be sure to stay hydrated with that H20!

Last week I put a shout out to get some women press going and I received an email from Shannon Parks, so here it goes:

The 70 class hasn't been won by a boy yet this season!  I think our racer girls will go 1, 2 and 3 in that class this year, sorry boys! Bryanne Parks is leading the 70 class and estimated 10th overall in Youth points, Sadie Welch is giving Bryanne a run for her money and it may come down to those two in the end.  Sadiee Gorrell is right there racing for third and I predict she'll make it.  Their finishes last year were: Bryanne 3rd, Sadiee G. 4th and Sadie W 5th overall in the 70 class.  I'm not sure a girl has ever won that class but I think it's going to happen this year!

We also got a note from Tracy Ahart on the AM Women racers:

Kelly Deloach has been a tough contender all year and is currently sitting 2nd in points going into the summer break.  Emily Wise is making a great comeback from missing rounds 6 and 7 by placing second at rounds 8 and 9. Emily is only 15 and still races a 300cc machine and which obviously isn't holding her back at all. Kristin Power, 3rd in points standings, has finished in the top 4 in every round but one. She is proving that consistency is key. Ashley Barbee with two wins on the season has run into a little bad luck, but is still 5th in points going into the break. The points gap isn't to great there are only 11 points separating her, and Kristin Power who currently sits in 3rd position. Kristen Deloach missed one round of racing and still sits in 4th place in points. She has finished consistent all year. Ciera Bobb suffered an injury with only two races on the season. She is planning on returning at Somerset, PA. Her sister Kamren Bobb has raced 4 rounds with two top 5 finishes. She is always a tough competitor. Kylie Ahart is currently sitting 1st in points with 5 wins on the season with her worst finish being a 4th. This is her first full year racing GNCC and she intends on moving up next year. These girls are all great riders and are all contenders for the championship. Some of these girls are 15, 16 years old riding with competitors twice their age. They deserve some recognition. They are like a big family and love each other. Like they say, "Girls just wanna have fun!"

Thanks for the awesome info, Shannon and Tracy. We will definitely keep our eyes out to see where our racer girls finish in the second half of the season. It seems like the ATV girls have been dominating all the age groups - from Youth to AM. We've been steadily seeing Traci Cecco and the Atwell girls finishing on the overall podium as well. I think that says a lot about how much the sport is growing and even how much the women's class has evolved over the years. So watch out guys, don't be surprised the next time you get passed out there and the helmet has a ponytail hanging out!

On Saturday, August 13, 2011, Coach Marc Spataro of Moto Pro Training will be hosting a special fitness event for women ATV racers and riders only. This event will be fun, educational, and challenging. Anyone participating in this event will leave with a better understanding as to how they should train and condition themselves for all aspects of ATV/Motorcycle racing/riding. Anyone at any level of fitness can participate. Please spread the word about this event by sharing with friends, family, and fellow racers. All you need is work out gear and a good pair of training shoes. We will be training both inside and out! for more information, please visit the Facebook Event Page HERE.

If you haven't already, check out this week's Tuesday Toolbox with Cody Collier, ATV Youth class rider. We caught up with the 90 Open (12-15) class leader after winning his first overall of the season at the Penton. I'm continuously amazed by how well spoken some of these youth riders are. I mean, when I was 12 years old I could barely speak in front of my class but these kids crank out interviews like the pros!

Since we don't have any GNCC Racing to report on during the summer break, drop us an email with race results and updates- we would love to hear how everyone is doing!

That's it for me, stay cool out there! Take it away, Shan.

Thanks, Jen. I just returned from a trip to northern Michigan, on one of the Great Lakes, to cover the Jack Pine Enduro, and wouldn't you know it, it was hot up there too. Stinkin' hot. Back here in Oklahoma, it was 104 today, and we've had 17 straight days over 100. But I guess the entire country is feeling this kind of stuff. Just makes me glad GNCC takes a break during the summer.

Speaking of the Jack Pine, Nick Fahringer got his first-ever national win up there, after switching to the two-stroke Husaberg (the same one he rode at the John Penton). BTW, I know who John Penton is, I just can't figure out who Jack Pine is.... Anyway, Fahringer was haulin' on the two-stroke, keeping the revs low in the sand and being super smooth.  I'm not sure how much lighter the two-stroke Husaberg is compared to the four-stroke (50 lbs.?) but I'm sure it was a game changer for Nick.

Russell Bobbitt finished second on his 2011 KTM 250 XC, while Charlie Mullins was third, riding a 2012 250 XC. Buttrick was third on the 2012 XC and Michael Lafferty even made the switch to a two-stoke and was fifth on the 2012 Husaberg TE300, the same bike Fahringer was riding. It's kind of weird that all of these guys decided to change at the same race (maybe they called each other before hand), but it made for an interesting race.

Mullins looked pretty fast on the two-stroke and he won the opening test, but unfortunately he was a little under the weather after coming down with strep throat just after the John Penton. These guys all go at it again at the end of the month in Pennsylvania (hopefully it will be cooler) and we can see how things shake out after everyone has some time to adjust to new bikes.

I've been keeping up with Josh Strang and he tells me he's been getting in a lot of moto out in California. I know he's been trying to work a deal with Mike Webb to race one of the national motocross rounds, like he did last year. Most of Josh's workouts come on a motocross track and he's been riding a lot with Brett Metcalfe and Tye Simmonds, which is where some of his speed comes from. The Strangler raced RedBud last year and it would be cool to see him race an MX round again this year.

Of course, Paul Whibley will be staying fit riding the OMAs all summer, plus whatever local races he can find. He has the Millville OMA at the end of the month, and so far, Paul has three-straight wins and is on track to take down a fourth OMA title. Sounds like our top bike guys are staying busy...

Here's Rodney with a little breakdown of the first half of the season and what's to come.

Thanks Jen.  Wow is it hot!  I am just so glad that the John Penton GNCC was not scheduled any later because the temperatures since then have been even warmer.  The heat index today is like 111 degrees.  A number of the GNCC Racin' Nation masses are continuing to run local and other series across the United States which appears just as hot and it doesn't look like there is any big break coming anytime soon.   Can anyone relate to "Meet me at the lake?!"

As the series takes its annual summer break it gives an opportunity to take a closer look at the way things are breaking down in the series.  This year, as mentioned numerous times before, is going to go down as one of the oddest seasons in recent history.  The postponements have given us a total of 5 stops after the break for ATV racers and a total of 5 stops but 6 rounds of racing for the bikes with the double-header bike weekend in November at Loretta Lynn's.

One may wonder why it is so important to run the race at Loretta's after the cancellation this past spring.  Why not just drop it and call it a 12 round series for 2011?  The reason is as Racer Productions "Voice of Reason" Rita Coombs put it, "This is too monumental of a year not to race it.  It is not only the longest standing venue on the schedule but it also our 30^th year there.  We have to race it!"  Enough said as far as this writer is concerned.  So see you in November for our final round(s).

Now to look at the series to this point one may say it is about as interesting of a season as we may have ever had.  I say so because both premier classes still do not have a clear and definite rider that one can say is destined to be champion.  At times and even now it looks more so on the ATV side of things that Chris Borich has things in control but a look at the points show that he is not nearly as far ahead as he would like to be at this point.  Only one race ago the points lead was 7 in class and he trailed by 5 in the overall.  The big break he got was the misfortune of Adam McGill in Ohio.  The eye opener he may have gotten though is that Ballance Racing Yamaha's Taylor Kiser may just be back with the impressive 2^nd place he commanded in Ohio.  And there is also Chris Bithell who is kind of a quiet under the radar type of rider that with a little luck could be in position for a run at the title himself.

As far as the 10:00 a.m. and the Women Class championship battle is concerned one has to be on the edge of their seats watching this championship unfold.  Coming into the season it was billed as a year for Angel Atwell to battle it out with her niece and defending Women Class Champion Kristen Atwell.  It was assumed that 7-Time Champ Traci Cecco would have her hat in the ring and that Lexie Coulter would be gunning as well.  Amazingly it has been everything expected and then some.

The "then some" part of this statement is the battles that have culminated among those four ladies have been unrelenting.  Ask any of them and they will tell you that this is the toughest season they have battled to date.  Even Traci Cecco who has won 5 of the 8 rounds ran this season has not done it with any amount of ease.  The Atwell girls seem to have set their sights on each other for the title fight heading into the season but were quickly reminded of Traci and Lexie.  One does have to wonder though if Coulter had not gotten injured what this point battle would be like right now.  Traci Cecco leads a consistent Kristen Atwell into the break by 12 points.  Angel Atwell is another 4 points back in 3^rd while Coulter dropped to 6^th in points after an injury.  Coulter does have a hope though.  If she wins the final 5 rounds of the season she could put herself right where she needs to be.

Then of course, the morning ATV race has its Utility based 4x4 racing that has more than given any race fan a spectacle to watch.  Who would ever imagine that these machines would not only race at the level they do as well as winning overall's against sport ATVs that are often times favored in the odds over these mammoth machines.  Since I posed the question I can tell you one that thought it possible was MPR's Mike Penland from Rabun Gap Georgia.  Penland has raced and won nearly everything from Baja to Pike's Peak and everything in between on a Utility ATV for many years.  I can recall a time when the ole boy was even considered a threat and contender for the morning over-all in GNCC for several years.

Penland is a true pioneer of Utility racing and in my opinion the inspiration of many men that would never have considered ever racing or adventuring off on the trails of a GNCC.  Even some of today's top 4x4 riders will tell stories of Penland and speak of how they aspired to be able to just beat him once.  Now they are the new heroes of the sport themselves and they inspire the next generation.  They are men like Michael Swift, Clifton Beasley, Brian Buckhannon, Zach Zakowski, Rick Cecco, Daryl Rath and more who could not have traveled down this road had it not been blazed by a man like Mike Penland.

I have a lot to talk about as the off-season wanes on.  I see we have some undefeated riders in a few classes this season and I also see that Clifton Beasley is several steps closer to 50 wins.  I will talk about these things and more, but for now I am off to the county fair with the children.  It's motocross night, imagine that.

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