After an unlucky start at the River Ranch GNCC, Josh Strang is coming back full force, taking 3^rd at the General GNCC and 1^st at Steele Creek. He looks to win again at Big Buck this week to tighten up the ranks.  Can he keep his momentum going and come out with the 2009 GNCC Championship?

Hi Josh. How are you?

I'm good. Just got done at the gym. Got lunch. Now, I'm getting ready to load up and go ride. It finally stopped raining down here.

I was looking at the weather reports for Sunday and it was calling for rain and thunderstorms. Do you like riding in those conditions?

It'll be alright hopefully.  It doesn't bother me whether it's wet or not. It'll be good if it's another nice day but I enjoy riding in wet conditions. It's fun. It's no good for my mechanic when he has to work on the bike. It's fun. Just got to treat it like a dry ride and not take it too seriously.

You had kind of an unlucky start to the season when you ran out of gas in Florida, how did you feel after leaving that race?
I kind of wanted to be mad at someone but it wasn't really anyone's fault.  A part wasn't replaced from last year. It was a little old. I was a pretty devastated. I knew how much work I had put in over the summer back home and in the winter. Rodney and Lori worked me hard and I knew I was ready. To have that happen in the last lap, it was just a bummer. Ruined the spirits of everyone surrounding around me. Good result though with Charlie winning and all that.

You crashed at the General GNCC with Jimmy Jarrett, but waved him ahead to take second, why did you decide to do that?

It was kind of a stupid move on my part- to crash with him. I thought there was more room inside the corner than there actually was. So, already, the fault was mine. Jimmy is a good friend of mine and him and (his wife) Barb have put me up at their house and always helped me out.  It was the second round in the series. Maybe at round 11 or round 12 it might have turned out different. I'd much rather do that then have that on my mind. He's a good friend and to take him out like that was pretty dirty but it was unintentional.  Wasn't a hard decision to make. That's how I am.

Did you two talk after the race about the crash?
Yeah we talked and we laugh about it now. It's funny now. A few words were said when it happened. Once I let him by he forgot about it and knew I didn't mean to do it.

Do you think in the end it might hurt your points race?
No, not really. I know where I can finish in the GNCC. I'm not worried about that right now. Maybe if I lose the championship by three points at the end of the year I could be. But hopefully that won't happen.

So then you go into Steele Creek and get first. How did you feel after the race?
It was good. I knew it was coming. I'm happy it came so early in the season. Last year I didn't get on the podium until this coming race. So to get it out of the way early is good. Hopefully I can do it again this weekend.

You train with Rodney Smith and stay at his house. Tell me a little bit about that. Is Rodney a pretty tough trainer?
It's not too much Rodney, it's his wife. Rodney is like a mentor and he'll tell you what he thinks you need to do and what he might have done and what he thinks will work best. Lori is the ass kicker in that family. They work together and it works good.  I'm happy to have them as trainers.  Lori has me do gym work and cardio. I think because her and Rodney have been together throughout Rodney's career, she knows what has to be don, so that's why she pushes me a little bit extra.  It's just a bunch of cardio in the winter really. It ended up being a 9-5 job every day in the winter. It's fun going out there because you know when you're done at the end you know you're ready. It's not fun being there. It's not easy. There is also a guy back home, Andy Cunningham, and he helps me out with pre season lifting. I've got a bunch of good people around me that help me get to where I need to be at the start of the season.

How are you feeling about Big Buck?
I'm excited for it. I finished second last year. I like the track. It suits me pretty well. I'm pretty excited but I don't want to get too confident and have something to happen.  I'm confident that I'll do well at the race. I can't wait. My mom and dad are coming this weekend so I'm excited to do well for them.

Have your parents been to a race before?
My parents live in Australia and mom hasn't been over since I've been here. Dad came once last year.  But other than that they haven't seen any of them.

What do you think their impression of GNCC will be?
It will be good. Dad likes the racing and mom has never been around racing. She looked after my sisters when dad took me to the races. She follows it and I'm pretty sure she'll be amazed at how many people come to the races. I'm still amazed every time I turn up and see all the motor homes and trailers. It's definitely good for GNCC. Â  I like going around and seeing all the people and all the different kinds of people who come to the races and race it. It's cool every week to see some different faces.

There's a different winner for each round so far, how do you think this going to play out for you?
As far as I see right now, the last three guys are in it right now are going to be the ones in the 10^th and 11^th rounds. It's going to be an exciting year. I'm going to work hard and hopefully be the next winner, so hopefully after this weekend, there will still only be three!