@jenkenyon: Welcome to Quick Fill.
Former "PR Guy" and GNCC Announcer Jason Weigandt recently posted an article on racerxonline.com that really caught my eye, even more than his usual witty banter and clever analysis of SX/MX. If you follow @JasonWeigandt on Twitter, you may have seen his latest form of self-promotion, where he basically told everyone he had written a kick ass article and they better read it. So I did. And had he not self-promoted himself like that, I may have missed out on a cool piece that is totally relatable to people in this group as well. Weege hits the nail on the head when he talks about the fun aspect of our sport and how sometimes riders and even parents/sponsors forget about the fun part of what we do. Once you lose that, you might as well sell your bikes and take up something a little less interesting, like chess. So I'm going to go ahead and promote this one as well, because I think it's a worthy-read and especially relevant as we head into another season of GNCC Racing. Even if you're not a rider, I encourage you to check it out because it's pretty applicable no matter what angle you're coming at in this industry. Racer X Redux LA: here.
More good news on the media front. This week we learned that vurbmoto.com (one of the top MX/SX websites) is working on launching a new media site called vurboffroad.com. It sounds like what is now Off-Road Journal is going to merge together with VOR and continue to cover off-road racing all over the country. I talked to Ryne Swanberg, the main photog over at Vurb, and he said they were planning to send someone out to most of the GNCC's this year and hopefully generate even more content of our riders and racing. I do believe this will be a motorcycle only outlet, sorry ATV guys. Anyway, you can LIKE them on Facebook for now and we'll keep you posted on when the website is going to launch. Here's the FB: https://www.facebook.com/vurboffroad.
The ever-elusive Chris Borich was spotted in Florida on Tuesday tearing up the motocross track at PaxTrax, near Daytona. Borich was indeed mounted on the #1 yellow Suzuki and was using it to good effect to give Johnny G a decent beat down. Former GNCC bike champ Shane Watts was the one who made the sighting and actually got to spin a few laps with Borich and Gallagher before having to pull off with some bike issues. Watts said, "Those guys were going pretty fast and it was fun to watch them in action, except for the 100-foot tabletop. Those quads look a little sketchy in the air!"
Photo By: Dirtwise Academy
Wattsy tearing it up in Florida over the weekend
If you're wondering why Wattsy is in Florida right now throwing down some laps, unfortunately it's not because we'll see him on the front row at River Ranch. Instead he was filling in time at the track with some old mates while waiting for his wife and kids to fly in and spend the rest of the week at Clearwater beach and a day at SeaWorld. He said that one day he may reappear at a GNCC and go for the victory, but for now he's just way too slammed every weekend conducting his continually sold out DirtWise Academy of Offroad Riding schools across the USA. It's always nice to catch up with Wattsy and the gang, it seems like they stay pretty busy throughout the year. If you want more information on the schools, visit www.shanewatts.com.
I'll wrap it up here. Good luck to everyone racing and riding this weekend. I still haven't decided what I'm going to do on my last free weekend until.......well, September.
I'll pass it over to @Bhawk8:
So yesterday I went with Jeff Russell to check out the new Indy 100 facility that we're going to in May. This place is going to be fun! It has quite a bit of elevation change, some existing trails, a few creeks, and it even has a few rocks (well not really, maybe like a couple dozen). It also has gravel roads around the parking area, those can be quite important. If you don't think so, ask anyone that went to the Gosport race last year.
Photo By: Racer Archives
JR or KR?
The track should be very interesting because there are no existing trails, although there are a few old logging roads throughout. Since there aren't any existing trails, it should be somewhat old school. I'm predicting it's going to be a little tighter than most, but one of the most interesting things there are the rock bluffs that pop up out of the hillside. They're nothing like Snowshoe, where the rocks are everywhere. These rock sections are very short but may be a little technical. Hopefully we'll be able to incorporate them to where you can go through them to gain a few seconds or go around the easy way. I think both of these tracks should be awesome. If the weather holds out next week I'll be able to give an update on the new West Virginia track soon.
Back to you, Jen.
Thanks, Barry. We're getting excited about the new rounds-new terrain, new atmosphere and more excitement! I'll hand it over to Bolt-On.
While we've still got 44 days (yes, I'm counting) until the start of the 2012 GNCC season, there are some riders already getting their season kicked off. This past weekend saw round 1 of the 2012 East National Hare Scramble Series with the SETRA Burnt Gin National Hare Scramble in Wedgefield, South Carolina. The race itself actually looked like a mini-GNCC with the majority of the top bike guys in attendance. When things got under way, Jordan Ashburn took the early lead and held onto it for a few laps. Charlie Mullins came from a few spots back to begin challenging Jordan on the second lap. During the opening laps, the real battles were for the third through seventh place spots. Cory Buttrick, Russell Bobbitt, Steward Baylor, Brad Bakken, Jason Raines, Nate Kanney, Chris Bach, Nick Davis-plus SETRA and National Enduro regular Alex McRee-all charged for those spots.
Buttrick and McRee both ended up running out of gas, while Russell Bobbitt also ran into some issues as well. Baylor, Bakken and Raines all kind of settled into the rest of the top five spots, while Kanney, Bach and Davis battled for sixth though eighth. On the fifth lap, Mullins ended up taking over the lead and would control it all the way to the end. Ashburn had to stop to swap out his front wheel after destroying some spokes, but he would manage to hold onto to second place at the finish. Steward Baylor put in a solid ride to take third followed, by OberRainesViking riders Brad Bakken and Jason Raines rounding out the top five. Nate Kanney took sixth in his first race aboard his new Honda while Chris Bach, Nick Davis, Grant Baylor and Jedediah Haines rounded out the top ten.
Photo By: Racer Archives
You can never have enough retro B Hawk photos around
This weekend, the action returns to South Carolina, just about a mile up the road from last weekend's race site. This time it will be the opening round of the 2012 National Enduro Series. There's even more GNCC riders contesting the entire National Enduro series in 2012 with Chris Bach, Jordan Ashburn and Thad Duvall all throwing their name into the mix. It should definitely be interesting to watch things unfold because last year's championship came down to the wire, much like it did in the GNCC series. Hopefully this year's action is just as intense as it was last year.
Obviously there's a ton to talk about on the bike side because of the various events that happen across the southeast during the winter. Unfortunately, for the ATV riders, there aren't quite as many opportunities for pre-season racing. That doesn't bother the guys too much because as it's been for a while now, many of the guys are down in Florida training. I caught up with Walker Fowler for Tuesday Toolbox this week, and he talked a little about the training he's been doing with Florida native, Taylor Kiser. He also told me that he had bought a road bike and has been doing a bit of cycling. We're seeing more and more guys figuring out that cycling is the ultimate cross-training platform. Maybe one day we could put all the guys head-to-head in a cycling race. That could be interesting. Anyway, make sure you check out this week's Tuesday Toolbox because Walker had some pretty interesting stuff to talk about. I won't ruin it for you.
Photo By: www.digitaloffroad.com
Nate Kanney is settling nicely into his Honda machine
Well, I'm going to cut myself here before I overload you with too much information. I'm heading south once again this weekend to check out the National Enduro opener. Good luck to anyone who may be there racing. Until next week, Bolt-On out.
Here's @HotRodney22:
2012 season of GNCC Racing is still several weeks away but this pre-season ramp-up has been about as exciting as any have been in a while. The National Hare Scrambles, along with several southern racing series, opening season is such a positive light after all of the dark shadows that seemed be looming only a few short months ago.
Obviously there hasn't been some remarkable industry or worldwide turn around in the financial aspect of things. It seems that people are adjusting to the situations. In a conversation with Brian Wolf from the ATV side of things, he told me that he felt this year had the potential to be the best racing season ever. He said that so many people have gotten back to doing it for themselves and it is really making a difference. It will honestly be another 10 months or so to know exactly how true that statement is but I for one have been getting the same feeling.
Photo By: Shan Moore
It sounds like McClure is on his game right now
The latest words from down in the dirty south as far as the ATV GNCC Racin' Nation goes, is that everyone is working hard to be prepared for what lies ahead. Chris Borich has been spotted at a couple of races and has continued his winning ways in the pre-season warm ups. However, the word is that he has been pulling out early leads only to be nearly caught and put under some heavy pressure before taking the wins by a few seconds. Sound familiar?
I would say yes, but Borich normally has to work his way into position and then fire on late. It seems his strategy may be changing a bit. Knowing Chris, a win is a win, but when you have guys like Taylor Kiser, Adam McGill, Walker Fowler, Johnny G and the 2012 sleeper Jarrod McClure making you work it can start to work on your mind. Chris is the champion and he said he likes the weight the "target on my back" carries, but with everyone so hungry will that load get to be too much?
One individual that has been quietly running under the radar has been the newly sported number 7 ride of Jarrod McClure. There have been a lot of glimpses of his greatness over the past few years but I am not so sure we have seen the best of what this young 23 year old rider has. McClure has been training away quietly at the Chris Borich Compound with Johnny Gallagher and a revolving cast of characters. Jarrod is back in Ohio this week regrouping and is tentatively scheduled to return this weekend to Florida to race. Rumor has it that he has been one of the faster guys in the early part of 2012.
Photo By: www.digitaloffroad.com
Ashburn looks to be a contender in the XC1 class this year
It only makes sense for McClure to be rising to the occasion. If you look at his career he has done things kind of the hard way but one step at a time. He started out racing the production classes in the morning races a few years ago. Moved into the A ranks and then had a rather strong stand as a Pro Am taking a couple of wins. He then made the move up to the XC1 Pro class where he held the #10 for a season. He worked with Polaris and the William Yokely crew and though he had his struggles, he was able to at least keep his name in the game. Now he's back on Hondas and last season he quietly became a consistent contender for the podium. Don't be surprised to see a lot more of that quiet kid from Pennsylvania.
Word is that Walker Fowler is a little frustrated with some early season results but knowing Walker, it's only adding fuel to his fire. Fowler along with teammates Taylor Kiser and their ATVMX teammate Thomas Brown hosted a riding school this past weekend and this may be the step back that all three of the these guys needed. Back to the basics never hurt anyone, and even Taylor Kiser in a recent interview I had with him made that exact statement.
Speaking of Taylor Kiser, I hear that he has been running strong in the pre-season warm up races but at one of the recent rounds was laying chase to Borich, catching him and ended pulling off with what was said to be "engine issues". And being back to the basics, Kiser probably knows the machine better than anyone right now. He has reopened his shop and is doing a lot of his own work so he is obviously in better tune with the equipment now.
Photo By: Shelby Rolen
Walker says signing with the Ballance Racing Yamaha Team is the best decision he's ever made.
As we head into the coming days remember to keep Glenn "Jody' Pritchard and his family in your prayers. The most recent report I got was actually a little uplifting and we can only hope things continue in a positive direction.
Josh Kirkland and his family also need continued prayers. Josh has had a rough way to go lately but is fighting on like the champion he is. In a recent Facebook posting, Josh's sister Lee Ann has expressed her gratitude for the support of prayer that everyone is giving.
That'll do it for now. Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.
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