Quick Fill #37: Championship Season

Welcome to Quick Fill. I actually just got back from having lunch at the new GNCC Banquet facility here in Morgantown and if you're familiar with the area at all - Waterfront Place Hotel should ring a very pleasant bell. We had a great run over at Lakeview, but I think we've simply outgrown the tennis court. Waterfront is a beautiful hotel located right along the river near downtown Morgantown and the facility is more than big enough to hold our entire GNCC crew. Tim Cotter, Jessie Coombs, Andrew Fredrickson from Racer X and myself got a tour of the entire place - including the banquet room, the "entertainment" room, the bar, several different types of hotel rooms and of course, we had a tasty lunch at the hotel restaurant. This place is super nice all-around and I'm excited for our ceremonies to be held there this year. With that being said, we're hoping that we can trust our riders and their families to not destroy the place so we can come back for years to come. Details will be out tomorrow so that you all can start planning and reserving your rooms and we took a bunch of pictures and will have them up so you can see the rooms etc.

It's time to dig up your little sister's collection of pink everything as this year's Ironman GNCC is going PINK once again! We're really excited to bring pink back to Crawfordsville once again, in conjunction with October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It seems almost impossible to not have been affected by cancer in some form, some way, some how these days. Whether you've lost someone in the battle or you know someone fighting each and every day, cancer is something that touches so many souls and we here at GNCC are happy to be able to extend our hands in helping the cause. I spoke with Sasha Clements of FAITH Alliance yesterday and she is so excited to return to Ironman this year to show support for all the courageous survivors and help the continued efforts to find a cure, while also having a good time with friends and family. FAITH Alliance will be selling pink wristbands at the track for a $1 donation and once again our friends at Powersports GrafX will be on board with specials on pink backgrounds, with portions going to Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation as well as FAITH Alliance. More information on the pink Ironman GNCC HERE.

It's official, F.A.R Husky's Jason Thomas and newly added Beta rider Jesse Robinson are set to go to Japan this year for the JNCC finale race. I talked to both of the guys last week and they're both pretty excited to experience something new and check out the scenery in Japan. Jason Thomas is "super-duper-pumped" to be exact. Those guys should have a blast over there and it's really cool to see how hospitable Masami, the President of JNCC and his entire racing family are when our riders come over. Here's the PR on that announcement.

If you haven't picked up your plaque an event this year, St. Clairsville is THE ONLY time you will be able to get it. Since it's a close event, Rita has decided to haul every plaque that hasn't been picked up. So, here is your one and only chance to get that first place that your mom wanted to hang up in her office but you never came up to get.

All right, enough housekeeping - let's get to the racing part! The season is drawing to a close here and championships are beginning to wrap up, even though we have three more stops on the tour. This is because our amateur and youth classes only count a certain number of races towards a class championship - 9 for ATVs and 8 for bikes. The number is different because if you think back to the Indy 100 reschedule, we put the bikes at Loretta's on Friday to make up for the rain out and then they will race again on Sunday as regularly scheduled. We understand riders may not be able to make a Friday race because of school or work, therefore we added an extra drop. So when you look at the class standings, it may appear that some battles are close, when really a rider may have that championship on lock down. Traci Cecco appears to be 11 points ahead of Angel Atwell but with the drops and all, Cecco has clenched the 2011 championship with 6 wins on the year so far. After the race, Traci mentioned that she was stuck in a deep line and wasn't sure how she was going to get out until someone on a Utility quad came by and bumped her out. Teamwork!

The Women's championship was also wrapped up on the bike side with Maria Forsberg winning eight of nine races so far. Maria mentioned that she'd like to ride the PM race now that she's won the championship so we'll look for her to mix it up with the PM guys sometime soon hopefully. After a second overall in the AM, I don't think she will have too much trouble getting up there. The guys will touch on a couple of the other championships below, so I figured I would rep my ladies first.

I'll wrap it up here for this week - I can sense the increase in length as Bolt-on joins the team this week. But first, here's Shan Moore.

Thanks, Jen. What great racing we had at Somerset. Charlie Mullins and Kailub Russell went at it from the start, with each rider taking a turn at the lead until Kailub finally took a hard fall in the rocks and dropped off the pace. At that point it was all Charlie, and the KTM rider wicked it up at the end to make sure no one caught him. The battle for second near the end of the race is the one I really want to talk about, though. Nate Kanney, Paul Whibley and Josh Strang had all worked their way up from the rear for various reasons and they all three met up together behind Mullins at about two laps from the end. What came next was an epic battle for the runner-up position. The part I witnessed was the next-to-last turn where Whibs and Nate came into the corner at the same time with Josh following. Nate was carrying too much speed and overshot the corner and went down in the banners, leaving Whibley a clear path to second and allowing Strang to get by for third. I'll give you Nate's viewpoint first and then Whibley's.

Nate: "I got a good start, but in the rocky fast stuff in the beginning, a lot of guys were willing to take a lot of risks and I didn't think it was necessary to do that in the beginning. And then when we got in the woods, it was much more difficult to pass than I had expected, so I wasn't able to move up very quickly. I finally got up into second and then Mullins and I came together and I ended up going down. I worked back up and then Paul and I hooked up and I knew he was really going to dig deep to get me because he needed the points and I wanted to catch Kailub because I needed those points. I wanted to get on the podium too, so I was going to fight for it as well and I wasn't going to go down easily. About a mile from the finish, I thought I had second wrapped up and there was this really fast road and Paul was coming in too hot and he started screaming to let me know he was there and he couldn't stop so I didn't go for the crash option, I let him take the line. So I wanted to get him back and I really went for it and I tried to get him in that last turn and I went down and ended up fourth."

Okay, now Whibley: "On that last lap, I put a pretty aggressive pass on Nate down in the bottom. I kind of pushed him out wide a little, and I think he planned on doing the same to me in that next corner but he ran wide. So it's all fun and games in racing and Nate is real fun to race with. It's a shame he lost back to fourth, he rode a great race today."

From a spectator's standpoint, it was awesome racing and we all appreciated the effort these two pros put into it.

Also, In the continuing saga of two-stroke versus four-stroke in eastern off-road race, eight-time national enduro champ Michael Lafferty, who recently dropped his 450 Husaberg for a 300 two-stroke in the enduro series, traded in his big 450 for a two-stroke at Mountain Ridge. This was a huge move since GNCC races are much faster and more wide-open than enduros, so more horsepower usually trumps lighter and more nimble. But not only did "Junior" make the switch to the two-stroke but also switched to a 250 instead of the 300 he's been riding in the enduro series. "I was planning on riding the 250 at Indiana next week anyway, and this seemed like a good chance to try it out," said Lafferty. "The 300 just seems to quick for the really tight stuff and I think it helped me today in the rocks." Lafferty finished a respectable sixth in the slippery and rocky race.

That's all for Shan, and now here's Jared "putting down my camera to write a little" Bolt-On.

Thanks Jen! Wow. After reading Quick Fill every week since, well, it began running; I'm now a member of Team Quick Fill. For those who don't know me (and I'm assuming that's the majority of our ATV riders), I'm Jared Bolton or as most people call me, Bolt-On. I've been working on the RacerTV crew since last season, I contribute articles to Digital Offroad, Trail Rider Magazine, my website plus a few others - all while being involved in other aspects of the sport, including being throw onto the mic a few times this season by Rodney, helping layout and mark courses for local races, and still finding the time to occasionally race. I've been around the sport my entire life as my dad is, and always has been a racer, and so was I full-time up until a few years ago when I stepped away to focus on finding a career in the industry. That's enough about me though; let's get into what Quick Fill is really about.

This past weekend at Mountain Ridge was yet another weekend of, yes I'll say it, epic racing. We saw our first Pro class title wrap-up as Walker Fowler took the win yet again, which of course wrapped up his first-ever XC2 Pro Am championship. Fowler's record is absolutely flawless this year as he has gone undefeated so far. How cool would it be to see Walker make it a perfect season? That's something that comes pretty rare in the off-road racing world, so rare that off the top of my head I can't even think of a single perfect season for any rider in any off-road series, bike or quad.

While Fowler wrapped up his title, the overall race win went to Brian Wolf who seems to thrive in the tougher, rocky conditions. Wolf won the overall at Snowshoe two years in a row as an XC2 rider, and was leading the race this year until he threw a chain. This makes one wonder, when the conditions get rough, does anyone have anything for Brian Wolf? The Can-Am boys of Adam McGill and Chris Bithell also put in good rides to round out the podium while Taylor Kiser and Chris Borich rounded out the top 5. Borich ran into a bit of trouble late in the race when he ended up with a flat tire. However, it seemed as if throughout the day Borich wasn't his usual easy threat for the win. No worries though because Borich still holds a healthy lead over Adam McGill in the overall points.

Switching gears to the bikes, we saw yet another incredible race. While the battle for the overall didn't come down to the wire like it seemed like it was going to, the battle for the final podium spots was nothing short of spectacular. Shan already touched on exactly what went down. I, too, had a really good view of what happened and for a second I thought Kanney had the pass with no problem, but he was just a hair on the hot side in the corner and lost it. You could almost feel Nate's pain as he rode off dragging about 30 feet of banner in his rear wheel. Undoubtedly though, we're going to see Nate back at the front again. Ironman is just a few weeks away and Kanney probably has the best record there of any current rider logging wins there in 2006, 2008 and 2009. Nate didn't get to race the 2007 and 2010 events since he was in Europe in 2007 and injured last year, so that technically makes Nate undefeated at Ironman for the past 5 years.

The other "epic" moment of this past weekend came in the opening laps when the XC2 leaders of Jordan Ashburn, Jake Korn, Andrew Delong and Jason Thomas all led the top 4 overall on time adjustments. These guys were absolutely killing it in those opening laps even pulling up close to the top 4 physical overall leaders. Unfortunately it was short lived as Mountain Ridge is the type of track that is tough on both riders and their machines. That coupled with the XC1 leaders picking up the pace took the XC2 riders out of contention for the overall, but that didn't end their battle there. Those top 4 riders took turns swapping the lead. I caught a glimpse of Delong and Thomas battling on the opening mile of one of the later laps, and those guys were absolutely flying. Delong was looking for every opportunity he could get. Eventually it would pay off as he would get by Thomas. Ashburn made it three wins in a row when it was all said and done. It looks as if he has definitely figured out the XC2 class after struggling early in the season.

One rider missing from all the action this weekend was Cory Buttrick, who sat out the event after the crash he suffered with Josh Strang on the first lap at Unadilla. I got the chance to hear from Antti at KTM Saturday night in the hotel parking lot (while the fire department was there assisting with an overheated elevator motor?) and he mentioned that Buttrick is making good progress since his first tests after the crash. Last I had heard, Mountain Ridge was the only GNCC that Cory had planned on sitting out given that he was supposed to spend 3-4 weeks off the bike. Hopefully we will see him back in action at Powerline Park, which would be four weeks after the crash.

Coming up this weekend, the Mid-East Hare Scramble Series is racing in Yadkinville, NC, and yes, it's the same track we used to have the GNCC at. Hoop is planning on racing his new RMZ450, and I'm working on finding a bike to borrow so I can have my shot at last place finish, so it could shape up to be an interesting race between Hoop and myself. Yesterday afternoon on Twitter I declared it, "Battle of the Gut Bulge". So if you're in the area, come on out and enjoy the action.

That's going to do it for me this week. Until next time, Bolt-On out!

Alright you heard it folks, Bolt-On is out and Hot Rodney is in.

Thanks Jen.  Well the obvious has been stated and I must say the word "epic" just because everyone else has.  I have come to the conclusion that maybe GNCC or the Grand National Cross Country should even be called the "ENCC" or "Epic National Cross Country".  Or maybe we go to the "GECC" or 
Grand Epic Cross Country"?  I doubt it works out to be official and all but one has to at least consider it.

This season has for sure met its struggles and challenges and the entire season could be deemed as what everyone is echoing as epic.  The great and exciting thing about GNCC is that it is not over yet.  There is obvious excitement from all angles of the series right now and it does not look to even close to over.

As I left this past weekend's Mt. Ridge GNCC, I was about as excited for the championship as one could ever be.  I pondered on the amazing battles we have witnessed on both 2 and 4 wheels. We have seen what could possibly turn out to be the most competitive title chase in GNCC history.  We have seen defending champions with firm grasps on point leads let them shrink or even disappear.  And we have seen one rider (Walker Fowler) writing all new chapters in the ATV GNCC history books.

Friday I arrived at the track to do my normal sound set up and such.  As I was loading wire and tools onto my Can Am Outlander I was chatting with Trail Boss Jeff Russell.  I looked down and noticed a "Four-Leaved Clover" popping out of a small patch of clover next to the work trailers.  I said, "Look there Jeff Russell, a Four Leafed Clover, this could be my lucky day."  A few moments later I was telling Barry Hawk of my intriguing find and he said, "I found one of those on the John Penton and look what happened to me."  It was then that I was like "uh-oh" I thought these things were supposed to be lucky.  I rode away in panic and then it hit me.  I returned to Barry and said, "Can you imagine how bad you could have been hurt that day had you not found that Four-Leafed Clover"?  It kind of took him by surprise and he said, "I never thought about it like that!" Moral to that story is that there is always a silver lining, if you look for it.

So thinking that all was good and such I installed the wire and hooked up the sound system.  Then the rain set in for a while in the afternoon.  When the rain lightened up and was moving out there was a break in the clouds and the sun came out as bright as could be.  I turned to look to see if there would happen to be a rainbow.  To my surprise I saw the brightest thickest most colorful view of the color spectrum I had ever seen.  There before me was the most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen.  I immediately started digging for my camera so I could snap a quick shot.  I knew it wouldn't last long.  And as I finally had my camera ready, it disappeared as quickly as it appeared.  I didn't get the photo but I will never forget feeling it gave me.  It also reminded me of how quickly things come and go and to cherish every moment we can while life's rainbows are shining.

As far as the racing goes, Saturday morning Youth ATV racing kicked things off on a somewhat slippery, muddy and rocky course that Mt. Ridge has become famous for over the years.  Hunter Hart was back in action after suffering a broken arm over the break.  Hart was determined to race this weekend and even modified his cast in order to be able to compete.  I spoke with Hunter's Dad on Friday and he said that everything was healed as far as the break goes but the doctor wanted to keep the cast on a few more days to give it a little more support knowing Hunter's active lifestyle.  In the end it all worked out.  Hunter was able to capture the overall by a little more than 21 seconds and should have wrapped his 90 Open (8-11) Class Championship.

Charlie Welch had a great ride finishing the day with a class win and a second place overall.  Welch has seen some relentless battles this season in both the 90 Modified (12-15) class and for the overall.  Charlie has battled it out not only for the overall but also in class with Zachary Jones.  Jones led the class at Mt. Ridge until about the halfway point in the race.  Nearly 40 seconds down Welch was able to pull in Jones and take his 4^th class win of the season and now sits 5 points ahead of Jones in the championship battle.  That's one to watch.

The Morning ATV racing continued with another amazing 4x4 Open battle, as conditions were perfect for Utility ATV racing.  Michael Swift, Bryan Buckhannon and Zack Zakowski finished nearly 3 minutes ahead of everyone else in the morning.  Swift took a very important win as he and Buckhannon sit only 4 points apart for the class title and each have 5 wins.

Clifton Beasley continued his undefeated streak in the U2 Class.  Beasley is going for second undefeated championship season in this class and though the competition is coming they have yet to stop him.  Beasley could become a moving target soon as he is making a lot of press not only with the dominance of class but also is threat for the overall each race.

Anyone who was following the morning race and watching Glen "Jody" Pritchard's progress may be wondering what happened this weekend with the DNF.  Unfortunately Glen was in a really hard crash that left him with some broken ribs, collapsed lung and severely broken leg.   Glen had to undergo some surgeries this week and the last report I got yesterday is that things were looking a lot better but today was a slight bump in the road. Just continue to keep Glen in your prayers for a speedy recovery.

Then of course as mentioned there was the "Epic" battle in the afternoon which saw a second win by Brian Wolf and a 5^th place finish for point leader and class champ Chris Borich.  I hear he had some issues with flat tires at the end of the race and it kept him from making a late race charge. Whatever the problem, be it a flat tire or he just got beat that day, Adam McGill who finished second and led most of the race was rather confident afterwards stating "That's the way to do it!  Today I controlled the pace of the whole race.  I wasn't waiting around on anyone and wore those guys out."  This could get interesting.  Has Borich lost his edge?  No, but you know he has to be wondering if a sharpening stone may not soon be needed.

One last thing before I go.  I would like to send out a note of gratitude to all those who attended the Pastor Appreciation Ice Cream Social this past weekend at the Team Faith pits.  GNCC Pastor Chuck Lemaster was overwhelmed by the outpouring and so was I actually.  Thanks to everyone who helped organize it and most of all thanks to Chuck and Team Faith for bringing such a wonderful service to our GNCC Nation.

That'll have to do it for now.  Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.