Farewell to the 2016 Season (Chelsea Taylor)

This past weekend’s banquet was the perfect way to cap off the 2016 season. In addition to celebrating the top-ten in each class, we had a full list of specialty award winners including: 

• ATV Rider of the Year – Walker Fowler
• Bike Rider of the Year – Kailub Russell
• 4x4 Rider of the Year – Kevin Cunningham
• ATV Amateur Rider of the Year – Devon Feehan
• Bike Amateur Rider of the Year – Zach Nolan
• ATV Most Improved Rider – Greg Covert
• Bike Most Improved Rider – Josh Toth
• ATV Bad Ass – Angel Knox
• Bike Bad Ass – Becca Sheets
• ATV Youth Rider of the Year – Mikey Nickels
• Bike Youth Rider of the Year – Hunter Riemer
• ATV Rough & Ready Pit Crew – Team Nappo Racing
• Bike Rough & Ready Pit Crew – Tely Energy
• Sport Ambassador – Vickie Fowler
• Lifetime Achievement - Charlie Mullins
• ATV Award of Media Excellence – Johnny Gallagher
• Bike Award of Media Excellence – Matt Watson
• ATV Manufacturers Cup – Yamaha Motor Corp.
• Bike Manufacturers Cup – KTM North America
• ATV State Championship – Pennsylvania
• Bike State Championship – Ohio
• ATV Sponsor of the Year – Rocky Mountain ATV/MC
• Bike Sponsor of the Year - FMF

Although he finished second in his class, Devon Feehan topped the amateur ATV charts with three top-ten finishes and was named the ATV Amateur Rider of the Year. Zach Nolan’s 250 A championship vaulted him to the top of the bike standings as well where he was named the Bike Amateur Rider of the Year. 

For the first time ever, a pair of females were the recipients of the Bad Ass Awards. Just five weeks after giving birth to her son, defending WXC champion Angel Knox returned to the racing scene at Unadilla and even finished on the podium with second. Likewise, Brooke Cosner dominated the 10 a.m. overall podium multiple times this year even placing first overall in the largest GNCC to date, the Ironman GNCC.

Rocky Mountain ATV/MC’s Ticket to Ride program returned this year with Ryan Beauvais and Dustin Hendershot winning on ATV night, and Andrew Boggs and Brooke Cosner on bike night. The group will be accompanied by GNCC track crew member, Joel Creed, next spring on their trip to Moab, Utah! 

Johnny Gallagher was recognized with the Award of Media Excellence for his help with Racer TV, while Matt “Megawatt” Watson received the award on bike night. Matt also revealed that this would be his last year working with GNCC. Matt has decided to take another job closer to home that doesn’t require as much traveling so he can spend more time with his wife and daughter. This decision wasn’t easy for Matt, and we will miss him greatly in the upcoming season.

After announcing his retirement earlier this season, Charlie Mullins was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Charlie also keyed us in that he won’t be leaving the GNCC Racing Nation any time soon as he will be helping the FMF/KTM Factory Racing team as a trainer.

As mentioned in that list, Pennsylvania claimed the ATV State Championship award, which is awarded to the state with the most class champions. Those Pennsylvania State Champions were Scotty Bajack, Cory Blinkiewicz, Logan Carlisle, Shayne Crull (two classes), Alicia McCormick, Layne McCormick, Robbie Pecorari, Shane Pitzer, David Plavi, Lawrence Sampson and Brayland Sekura.

Ohio came away with State Champion honors on the bike side with Jacob Barnes, Dakota Cunningham, Joseph Cunningham, Dakoda Devore, Triston Landrum, Nick Obryant, Becca Sheets, Phil Smith, Noah Stewart and Hayden Vancuren all claiming class championships.

We present a special In Memoriam Teardrop to the families of GNCC family members who pass away each year. We can’t forget those who left us too soon this season including Tom Wright, Dusty Miller, Darrell Raines, Katherine Whibley, Earl Bennett Sr., Ty Kesten, Amy Yukevich, Cliff Ousley and Joy Shaver.

In addition to our usual awards, we had a special addition this year with the Aaron Plessinger Race Scholarship. After multiple entries came in the GNCC Board had their hands busy reviewing each application. In the end, Ethan Greve was awarded the $4,000 scholarship! Originally advertised as $1,000 Aaron’s grandmother and aunt chipped in to raise the total to $2,000. Then GNCC Racing and the Dave Coombs Scholarship Fund matched that to make the grand total $4,000. Ethan’s impressive race resume and course load/grades made him a stand out winner. To view his complete essay, please click HERE.

Congratulations and thank you to all our GNCC Racers. The 2016 season was one for the record books, literally. We are so thankful for each and every racer, family member and fan who dedicate themselves to the series and makes us America’s premier off-road racing organization! 

Closing Chapters and Opening New Ones (Rodney Tomblin)

A few announcements were made at last weekend’s banquet to add to some silly season info. For starters, it seems the Bonzi team is really going to be a powerhouse again next season. Many of the up and coming youth and amateur riders announced there new affiliation with the team and it makes for some exciting times for racing in the future. Walker Fowler announced he will be in total control his own “factory backed” program, and the absence of Chris Borich at the banquet left some big questions. 

Elaborating on the Walker Fowler announcement, he said there would be a little more personal control in his program. He stated working with Randy Hawkins and NFab/AmPro Yamaha was great experience but he wanted a to have a little more control of things. He said being the man on the phone talking to sponsors, setting and organizing deals has been a new experience but one he feels will be in his best interest. If you follow ATVMX you know that Chad Wienen has a hugely successful self-ran program and using that as a model could produce huge benefits for anyone in their position.

As far as the Chris Borich absence, I’m not sure there is a whole lot to read into this but there have been a few things going on as of late that he is being tight lipped about. We know he has been working with one the top trainers in the form of Dom from “The Program”. Seeing the results of Chris’s physical appearance at the last rounds of the season may signal some changes ahead. Another signal could be that GNCC’s All Time Wins record holder and 6-Time ATV champion has been seen experimenting, testing or playing on a Honda. This is similar to the reports we were getting before the late offseason announcement of his move to Yamaha in 2015. We know that deal did not work out in his favor but Chris has known success on the red machines in the past. So if he is considering changing things up again next season, this time won’t be the stretch it was before and he has time to have it all dialed in by the start of the season.

Two of my most memorable moments at the banquet this year came with one on each night in the XC1 Pro classes. First it was with Johnny Gallagher. I know I have been talking a lot about him lately but I can’t help it. He is truly an inspiring individual that, like I have said before, exemplifies the true spirit of GNCC and “what GNCC Racing is all about.” It came to reality how good he really is and what his presence means in our sport. He stated during his interview that he had been racing GNCC professionally for 22 years. That is without a doubt an amazing feat but what is even cooler is that he is as fast as pros he races with that are younger than his racing career. And honestly I think the best for Johnny may still be yet to come.

Johnny is as great an ambassador to our sport as much as he is competitor. He told me he recently returned from Argentina with AMA Pro ATV Motocross Champion Chad Wienen. They went to instruct a two day ATV riding and racing clinic. He said this was the second time they have done this but he has actually been to Argentina five times total. He said once was for leisure but the other two were to support the 7240 Team in one of the largest off-road races in the world called “Enduro Del Varno” held in Villa de Gisell, Argentina. The event attracts 100,000 plus spectators with helicopters and blimps filling the sky above. There are also dozens of TV stations covering the event and even though the purse is not big, the exposure is huge. Johnny said the stands are completely packed and there are even luxury VIP boxes for some of the more privileged fans. The event is being held around the weekend of February 18, 2017 this year.

I asked Johnny if he was going to race and he said he would love to but if he does, he wants to win. The racers all move there two months before the race to practice and train for the event. This makes it hard to just show up and win as they actually practice the course leading up to the event since it is held on a open public riding area. It is also only a few days before the start of GNCC, so he is still on the fence whether he will try or not. I for one hope he does.

The second thing that stands out for me was the interview with Kailub Russell on bike night. KR seems to really be opening up as a rider and individual. He always seemed a little quiet and reserved growing up but has been coming out of that shell the last few seasons. He too I feel exemplifies the spirit of GNCC. When he spoke of sitting at the stage in the floor looking up at Scott Summers, Rodney Smith, Barry Hawk and the many GNCC greats thinking that he one day wanted to be a champion.

The way Kailub spoke of his competition and the respect he showed them was very admirable. And on top of that, it was some of the most sincere words I have heard the champ speak. He stated that he knows they are all working hard to reach his level and he feels the pressure but that it is what drives him. Kailub likes to win there is no doubt but he likes the competitive process that comes with winning.

I feel the win with his team at the ISDE was a very humbling experience, which likely came to reality the night the team presented the trophy for the first time ever to American race fans at the Ironman GNCC. He is undoubtedly destined to be one of the greatest of not only his era, but of all time in off road racing. Witnessing what we are now is bigger than we realize at this moment and as exciting as the written history is so far, it is the unwritten pages that drive me to keep coming back waiting on the proverbial epic events that are sure to unfold.