Photos by Jason Hooper

Welcome to Quick Fill. That was bad.

Uh, it rained pretty  hard on Sunday.

 

In case you couldn’t tell, we were being sarcastic last weekend when we said it wasn’t going to rain or be muddy at the Wiseco John Penton GNCC. By the time we posted last Thursday, it was already muddy at the track, and even a beautiful day of sunshine on Saturday couldn’t fix it. Then the 80 percent chance of rain in the forecast for Sunday pretty much hit spot on, because it rained for about 80 percent of the day. It was as bad as bad could be.

I don’t think this was quite the worst mud race I’ve ever seen, but it certainly ranks right up there. I’ll still put the 2003 Hurricane GNCC in Palatka, Florida at the top of my list, because it rained so hard there that water started coming up from the bottom of the track (we were at sea level). But I’m not sure everyone agrees. Barry Hawk was at the Penton hanging out, and after watching the racing all day, he told me this John Penton race was one of the worst he had seen. Then after the race, one of his buddies said, “Yeah but Palatka 2003 was bad, too” and Barry suddenly realized “Yeah, hey wait, I won that race, didn’t I?” Even by winning it, it didn’t stick out in his mind as much as this one!

By the way, Barry wanted to thank everyone who sent him a letter a few weeks ago. Click here.

By the afternoon race on Sunday, the lines were totally blown out, the ruts were ridiculously deep, and the parking area was destroyed. It was so bad that the motocross race scheduled for Sunday Creek Raceway this weekend had to be cancelled. Jeff Russell builds the GNCC tracks and owns the Sunday Creek track along with his dad, Howard. He showed up in our Morgantown office on Tuesday this week, and I said “wow, done cleaning that place up already?” Jeff said he wasn’t done, he was just sick and tired of walking around in the mud and needed to take a break! Plus, it was still so bad there that they couldn’t really fix anything. So this weekend’s race at Sunday Creek will probably be moved to the fall. We’ll let you know right here once we know the exact date.

The Penton Owners' Group still had bikes on display. Did you know KTM's orange and black color combo goes way back?

Mud races always produce wild results, and this weekend was no different. Besides Steward Baylor continuing his incredible undefeated streak on Youth bikes, and Bill Ballance taking his second win in a row on ATVs, almost every other result was a shocker.

The mud was even able to stop David Knight, whose bike just took in too much water. Knight hooked up with his Red Bull KTM teammate Nathan Kanney on the first lap, and Kanney said that Knight was hitting stuff hard, even bottoming the suspension of his machine in some of the muddy, water-filled ruts. That all caught up to the boys, as their bikes finally gave in at almost the exact same time. With two laps to go, Knight stopped in the KTM pits for gas, and when he tried to start his bike again, it was reluctant to fire. He finally got it going again, and then seconds later, Kanney came into the pits by being towed in by one of our staff ATVs!

You want mixed up results? 250 A rider Jordan Ashburn was third overall for the first two laps!

While the KTM crew was putting a clean filter on Nate’s bike, I heard over the radio that Knight’s bike had died at the one-mile mark. Knight got it started, but it died again, and he later had to be towed to the pits for repairs. Unfortunately, towing in is considered outside assistance, so we had to take a lap away from each rider. You can’t blame them for doing whatever they could to keep on trudging through. A lot of riders would have just given up once their bike broke.

We had our live timing and scoring working from the track, and Red Bull KTM Team Manager Antti Kallonen was tracking the race on his laptop. So he saw Knight lose a lap live on the screen. This has to be the first time a team manager found out they were losing a lap via their computer.

This is also the first time I’ve ever seen teams pressure wash bikes during the race. It was a brilliant idea, and both Suzuki and KTM did it. The riders were already soaked anyway, so why not clean off their radiators, grips and seat? You might all want to try that at the next mud race””just bring your pressure washer and a barrel of water. I bet it helped keep the bikes cooler and lighter. In fact, this could really help the ATV guys, who pack on hundreds of pounds of mud in a race like this. William Yokley said his Honda handled like a cement mixer after the first lap.

Suzuki had a banner day (besides Charlie Mullins going out with clutch issues) on bikes, going 1-2-3 for the first time in like ten years. But your heart goes out to Josh Strang, who could sense his first victory coming, only to have it ripped away at the last moment when Paul Whibley found a new line and passed him right at the end. Strang was very upset at the finish, but he put on his team player face and never got angry on the podium. Congrats to Whibley, the Axeman/Badger, on the win. And I hope this Strang kid gets a win soon. He is really coming on strong lately and deserves one.

By the way, the gang down in Australia was pumped to see a Kiwi and an Aussie go 1-2. Here’s a story.

 

Want more mixed up results? In Youth ATVs, 11-year-old Ryan Earley took the overall victory, still two weeks shy of his 12^th birthday. Yes, an 11-year-old won the overall against riders up to 15! Earley is an amazing talent, he won his class last year (90 Limited 8-10) and this year he decided to step up and run the 12-15 class for more competition. Now he already has three wins!

I talked to James Giddings this week, who builds Earley’s machine. Apparently, Ryan’s TRX90 is pretty darn cobbled together for a Modified machine, as James just bolted some 300EX shocks on the front and a front YFZ450 shock on the back and let it go. The quad still has single a-arms up front, which means the front tires are cambering all over the place. Giddings said the set-up isn’t supposed to work, by Ryan likes it, so they keep running it.

KTM had Knighter and the gang handing out finisher medals to the Youth bike racers.

Then in the Morning ATV race, Stefanie Verkade, who has been at this as long as anyone, finally romped home with a win. The key to victory was simple: a giant bottleneck started on the last lap, and overall leaders Angel Atwell and Traci Cecco got hung up in it. Verkade went around it, which is legal, and won the race. GNCC Lieutenant Trail Boss Buren Hamrick saw the whole thing happen, and he said the Verkade move was legal, and the win stands. The girl has been racing for 19 years, so this is just reward for never giving up. She even cried on the podium, which I thought was pretty cool.

Since we had so much confusion over who finished where, I was all mixed up on the podium and forgot to give Stef her flowers, champagne and plaque. Luckily, Cecco herself stepped up and gave it to her. Very classy move.

Way to go, Verkade!

Luckily, Cecco was there to give Verkade her winnings.

Here’s a reminder for everyone from Dan, our new scoring guy, and it’s an especially important note in muddy race days like this. Results can change after the race. Just because you hear the announcer say it, or you see it posted on the results board when the race is over does not mean it’s official. Results at the track are always unofficial, and a million different things can go wrong when you’re trying to score 1000+ riders throughout a weekend. By Monday, we usually have everything fixed and yes sometimes that changes the results.

Dan the scoring man worked hard to keep everything running in the rain.

 

But it doesn’t matter who you are, no one had a worse day than the following two riders:

 

Hey folks,

 

I thought I might send you all a note and picture of the rider who's bike caught fire during the Millfield, OH race.

 

Bryce Martin - Senoia, GA

4 Stroke C Lites - currently second in points

17 years old

 

Bryce was having his best race of the season, he has been chasing the overall class leader and finally he was in the lead in the nastiest race of the season.  He came off the line near last but passed several riders in his class. By the end of the first lap he was in first place, with a quick change of goggles he was off into the mud for another lap.  During the second lap, Hayden O'Kelley's dad called and said the live scoring showed him in 1st in his class and 13th overall.  As Bryce completed his second lap he realized he was in first place and we made a quick pit stop for one gallon of gas and new gloves and goggles.  Not knowing how much of a lead he had, he pushed hard for the third lap until he realized that the bike was on fire!!!  He dropped the burning bike while some of the spectators proceeded to throw mud and dirt on the bike.

 

Unfortunately, it was too little to late.  As you can see by the attached picture the bike is a complete loss.  At this time we are contacting all our sponsors and supporters trying to gather any financial support or a new bike.  Bryce is looking forward to the next race and is hoping that we can acquire another bike

 

The good news is that Bryce was not hurt and finished 3rd in his class and 34th overall.  Quite an accomplishment considering the horrible track, weather conditions and the obvious bike problems.

 

I guess the picture gives a whole new meaning to smoking fast. 

 

Thanks,

Rodney Martin

678-378-3536

Here's the burned bike as we took it off the track.

 

And that wasn’t the only fire!

 

Just to let you know the rain wasn't the worst part of Joey Kiser 's day - #108 - 4 Stroke B Lites. On the way home from the race, while parked at a truck stop, his entire trailer caught on fire. He lost his bike, gear and camping trailer on the way home to North Carolina.

 

It happened Sunday - after racing in that awful mud all day.  In Ravenwood off of 33 just before you get on 77 in West Virginia, they went into a Subway for a bite to eat and came out to a fire. They don't know what happened to cause it, but they were able to get the truck unhooked and the propane bottle disconnected from the trailer.

They live in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

The trailer insurance will not pay for the (new) bike which I think is terrible due to it being a toy hauler.

Needless to say, as with all of us in the lower ranks, - cash is very tight so he can never afford to replace his stuff right away. His friends have rounded up some gear and all are trying to get him a bike before Sparta.  And of course we'll be hauling his stuff and he will be staying with us next time.

Anita

 

Jeez. If anyone can help these kids out, let us know: [email protected]

 

Also while we’re sharing the tough news, here’s a get-well-soon to our buddy Timmy Coombs, who broke his neck racing motocross at Steel City two weeks ago. Timmy has feeling and movement everywhere, and he had surgery to repair to exploded discs in his neck. Should be in a neck brace for at least six weeks, and the poor guy is hurting pretty bad right now. If you want to send the 1988 Blackwater 100 Champion some support, email me at [email protected]

 

Are you familiar with the In The Dirt theme song that we use on the Racer TV shows and GNCC DVDs? Well, the band that made that song, Ten Man Push, is going on tour and also has a new DC out. These guys are serious GNCC fans. Check out the press release.

 

Finally, our buddy Dave Smith over at www.racedaypix.comis turning into a well-rounded journalist! Here’s a note:

 

Jason,
I also wanted to update you on the interview part of things.  We have a few interviews up and running on the video links on our www.racedaypix.comwebsite.  So far we have Kailub Russell, Andrew Matusek, Cory Buttrick, Brian Cook and many others on the way.  Upcoming interviews will be with some of the following racers: Thad Duvall, Brandon Sommers, Adam McGill as well as some non-pro racers and Juniors.  We are having a blast and hope this gives fans and newbies to the sport a chance to get to know some of the talent in our sport.

David Smith

Finally, a reminder to all the ATV racers out there that the popular High Point ATV Pro National Motocross, part of the ITP Tires/Moose Racing ATVA/AMA National Motocross Series, has moved to a new date this year. That race always used to take place on Father’s Day weekend, but now we running it on Memorial Day Weekend. So if you want to do some ATV motocross racing in Pennsylvania on one of the finest ATV tracks in the world, head to High Point next weekend.

Sweet. Okay that’s it for Quick Fill this week. Enjoy washing off all of those bikes and ATVs!

$100 extra dollars for Brandon Higgins.