May 10, 2007

Welcome to Quick Fill. It’s time for Ohio.

Charlie Mullins - Ohio Guy

Ohio and off-road racing go together like peanut butter and chocolate. There’s as much history in this state as any other in the country, with a rich history of great riders, great races, and great places to race. Especially on the bike side, where a giant list of off-road greats calls the Buckeye state home, like Terry Cunningham, Mark Hyde, Scott Plessinger and our own GNCC Trail Boss Jeff Russell. And don’t forget the next generation of off-road stars seem to be coming from here, too, like the last two GNCC Youth Overall Champions Kailub Russell and Cory Buttrick, and current youth points leader Walker Fowler. And on the ATV side, Ohio can also claim a two-time Youth ATV Champion, who also happens to be Walker Fowler! There’s also the Gallagher clan, with John Sr. and Jr. on the ATVs, as well as currently undefeated XC2 ATV racer Brandon Sommers.

Jimmy Jarrett - Ohio Guy

The bike side of GNCC Racing is filled with Ohio talent, including Charlie Mullins, Jimmy Jarrett and Robbie Jenks, as well as Fred Andrews, who now manages the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team, which features Ohio talent like Scott Watkins and Cole Calkins.

There are many theories as to why so much great talent comes from this state, and many believe it’s because the terrain in the state is so difficult. And that brings us to this weekend’s Wiseco John Penton GNCC. One of the longest-running events on the tour, The John Penton is named after another legend in Ohio off-road, John Penton, who first imported the KTM motorcycle to the U.S. after years of searching for the perfect off-road bike. And of course, even modern day KTM is still headquarted in Ohio with their offices and warehouse in Amherst. So include all of KTM’s star racers and employees under the Ohio banner now—even David Knight’s AMA card lists him from Amherst (and of course the AMA headquarters are in Ohio, too). Same with Jack Penton, John’s son, who was a successful racer in his own right and now runs the KTM hospitality program.

As always, KTM will celebrate the Ohio homecoming with their full KTM Youth Weekend. Here are the details:

THIRD ANNUAL KTM YOUTH DAY AT THE JOHN PENTON GNCC

KTM Off-Road is pleased to announce a special weekend of activities for all of the youth riders, family and friends attending the John Penton GNCC in Ohio on Saturday, May 12 th, and Sunday, May 13 th.

John Penton, Jack Penton, David Knight, Robbie Jenks and Justin Williamson will be on hand to sign autographs and answer any questions that fans may have! Everyone is welcome at the KTM semi in the pro pits to visit the KTM Off-Road stars of yesterday and today. Stop by and compare the KTM factory bikes of the past and present.

Kids will get to hang with factory KTM riders this weekend. Like Robbie Jenks - an Ohio guy.

 

Sign-Up – Each youth motorcycle racer will receive a free commemorative “Youth Day at the John Penton” event tee shirt. See details at sign-up.

Finish-Line – A special edition “Finisher Medallion” will be awarded to all competitors that cross the finish line at the end of the youth motorcycle event.

Podium – Mom’s and Dad’s be sure to bring your camera’s because the youth riders that podium at the event will be joined by the 2007 Red Bull/KTM pro team riders and John Penton himself! You don’t want to miss out! Come see us on the Podium.

Pro Send Off – The first 100 KTM enthusiasts to visit the KTM semi will receive a set of “Bam Sticks” for a special Pro race send off. You have to stop by to get the inside scoop on this one.

See you at the John Penton.

KTM will have some help for you ATV guys soon, trust me, and they’ve even hired legendary Ohio ATV racer Tim Farr to help with the development of their new machine. Got all that?

You know, KTM isn’t the only company about to jump into the ATV racing wars full on. There’s another company that told us they would be there soon, and now it sure looks like they were telling the truth… keep reading further down.

Anyway, Ohio. Yeah, the terrain there breeds great racers since it boasts this magical combination that, as I say, is sticky on the bikes and slippery on the tires. Sunday Creek Raceway, which hosts this event, is not different. If you’re raced with us at the Penton before, you’re surely familiar with the muddy conditions that Ohio has to offer. Sometimes this race is dusty, sometimes it’s muddy, and sometimes it’s both! Ohio boy Johnny Gallagher told me this week that he is of course praying for rain, because he knows he’ll be up front if it’s muddy. Will it be? Well, it looked like it earlier in the week, but things have changed. Check out the weather report here http://www.weather.com/outlook/events/sports/weekend/USOH0610?from=36hr_topnav_sports – rain doesn’t look that likely.

Walker Fowler - Ohio Kid.

So maybe for once the weather will be perfect all weekend and everyone will get to enjoy the trails and motocross track at Sunday Creek. This Ohio race marks a homecoming not only for many racers, but for much of our staff. Jeff Russell and his father Howard own/operate the Sunday Creek MX facility, and the majority of our track crew is from the area, like Joe and John, two guys who you have probably seen at the races 1 million times. Same with our sign up ladies like Charmia, Ruth, Liz and Vikki. Basically, the Ohio connections with GNCC never stop!

Since High Point is long gone from the GNCC schedule, and Jeff and Howard own this track, this one is pretty much our “home” event. That means the crew can work the place over all year long, making improvements to the pits, parking, track, trails, access, whatever it takes to make this event go smoothly. A few years ago the parking area underwent a huge expansion. Miles of fresh new trail were cut the year after that. And then the motocross track received a face lift a few months ago in anticipation of qualifiers for the Air Nautiques/AMA Amateur Nationals at Loretta Lynn’s. You should all enjoy the changes this weekend.

Okay, what’s that new racing ATV we were talking about? It’s a Can-Am! After years of development, the highly-anticipated DS450 performance ATV is on its way, and it’s closing on a full reveal on June 2. The boys from Canada are already teasing us hard, launching a website this week that’s a must-see. They won’t show the full machine until June, but, they’re already promising four bold things: The lightest weight, lowest unsprung weight, best mass centralization, and the most power (in typical Can-Am fashion) in its class. Does that sound good to you? ATV racers, head to http://www.can-amds450.com/ right now!

Got an email from Thomas Lanahan, our old buddy from back in the day on GNCC TV. Thomas used to do it all at the GNCCs, shooting, editing, producing, basically putting shows together all by himself, and sometimes sleeping in the office to do it! He's shooting some NASCAR racing now, and he was in Richmond, VA, over the weekend. Look who he ran into!

Lanahan (center) with old buddies Randy Hawkins and Barry Hawk!

Barry Hawk, by the way, was still looking for someone to pick up his GNCC ATV #1 machine from the going-out-of-business Race Rock restaurant in Orlando. I talked to Barry on Monday and he still didn't have anyone lined up to get that quad. Anyone in that area that can help him out? Email me: info@gnccracing.com

Last week we said we would cover the XC2 classes from our previous race at Loretta Lynn’s. We already covered the bike XC2 class in a way with last week’s Tuesday Toolbox interview with Rodney Smith, who now appears that he may race the full season in that class. If he does, he is obviously the favorite for the championship. No doubt the kids in that class are going to race him hard and learn a whole lot from it. Thad DuVall has been the fastest rider on the track in just about every race this year, and he’s come really, really close to winning a bunch of times. He may be listed from West Virginia, but he’s not far from this Ohio neck of the woods, either, so this weekend could be the one.

Thad DuVall - Close to an Ohio Guy.

In fact, how about placing some odds on both Thad and his Am-Pro teammate Charlie Mullins finally getting their first wins this weekend? I don’t think it’s a long shot.

Anyway, Thad was a close second to Rodney at Loretta’s. We also had a rejuvenated Justin Williamson in the hunt. If it were muddy this weekend, I would put my money on JW11, but even if it isn’t, he will still be a threat. He proved that much at Loretta’s. Then you’ve got “Hot Scott” Watkins, and that Josh Weisenfels dude who is still pretty much an unknown but is actually in the title hunt. And somewhere, my man C Robb on the Thumpertalk.com bike has to get going, and maybe it will be here, at the track that’s just minutes from his house.

On the ATV side of XC2, the first rider who needs a shout is Don Ockerman. Don finished on the podium in the first three races on the year, and then grabbed a big ATVRiders.com holeshot at Loretta’s, only to be done in by mechanical troubles. After the race, the “other” GNCC announcer, Rodney Tomblin gave me a call, and said “Man, someone has got to do a story on Ockerman. Did you know he’s one of the guys over there mounting tires and Tire Balls for everyone all weekend long? One week I saw him running down to the start, probably late because he was changing tires for someone else, and I realized that he was the same guy who is on the podium every week in XC2! That guy is working hard!”

Well, Rodney is a smart one, and Don is one hard worker for pulling duties at the track around his racing, and then doing well when he races. And then you’ve got his dad out there giving ole’ John Gallagher Sr. a run for his money in the Super Senior class. Great story there, Rodney Tomblin. (Rodney, by the way, is from Ohio, too).

Anyway, we know the dominator of XC2 is Brandon Sommers, who will carry his undefeated streak into his home state this weekend. One of these days Ryan Lane will get a start and we may see a battle with these boys.

How ‘bout them 4x4 classes at Loretta’s? Reigning Open 4x4 King Scott Kilby took the weekend off to race WPSA, and Rick Cecco finally had some good luck and got his Can-Am Outlander 800 to the finish—and in first. Rick is still pretty new to the 4x4 game, but I expect some absolutely epic battles between he and Scott all season long.

Cliff Beasley won another on his Can-Am in the Lites class, and ditto for Michael Swift in the Limited division. Those 4x4 Can-Am boys are setting the standard pretty high. What will happen when the yellow crew goes racing that 450 in the XC1 class? Oh boy.

Can-Am’s U2 class rider, Brock Parker, may be back sooner than expected after breaking his shoulder at the Big Buck GNCC a month ago. We have a full month break in the season after this race, so he could be back by Sparta. Right now, Mike Benson is rolling through that class on his Four-Stroke Tech KFX700, and he wants to end Traci Cecco’s overall win streak in the morning really, really bad this weekend. And hey, how about Ohio-based former Women’s GNCC Champion Steph Parton? It’s been far too long since Steph had a win. Maybe she will end Traci’s streak.

Steph Parton - Ohio Gal

 

Finally, one more Ohio rider gets a shout out. Multi-time GNCC Champion Scott Plessinger has been a juggernaut in the bike Sportsman class this season, winning three morning race overalls, including the last race at Loretta’s. Scott told us back in Georgia that once he gets into better shape by mid season, that he might try racing XC2. Will this be the weekend? He could be a contender if he goes for it—especially if it’s muddy.

GNCC Chaplain Joey Halloway wants to run a talent show at our next GNCC in Sparta, Kentucky. This will be a chance for GNCC racers, friends and family to show what they’ve got in something other than riding. We’re talking singing and dancing, stuff like that. Are you or someone in your family up for the challenge? We’ll see you Saturday nigh at Sparta—details to come!

A reminder, Klotz Lubricants won't be able to make the GNCC race this weekend in Ohio, so if you're planning on buying fuel at the track, you won't be able to. So make arrangements for your own fuel/lube accordingly.

Two websites to share. First, Women’s ATV Racer Steph Verkade is back with her latest column, and she’s getting super high-tech this time.

http://www.quadzone.com/Steph/stefanie_12.htm

This was a pleasant surprise. Jason Raines has launched a website chock full of training tips. Jason will be back racing by September, but he’s really focusing on his value as a trainer, and this excellent website will give you the chance to enroll in his training programs. You know they work if Jason is doing it! Check his site out, it’s surely the first training program designed specifically for GNCC Racing.

http://www.jasonrainesfullcircletraining.com/

GNCCCast.com has a full new set of interviews up in their standard Wednesday format. Check out interviews with Randy Hawkins, Bill Ballance and Scotty Watkins right now at www.GNCCCast.com

That’s it for Quick Fill. We’re off to the races. Oh, and Happy Mother's Day, too. See you soon!

 

John Gallagher Sr.- Ohio Old Guy.