Welcome to Quick Fill.

 

So obviously the next thing on the agenda is the Amsoil Ironman GNCC, which happens to once again be a “pink themed” event. We’ve been getting a lot of questions regarding the background colors, etc so I’ll throw in a little refresher. GNCC will relax number-plate background codes for the race and encourages riders to run pink backgrounds on their machines. Remember, no one is required to run pink graphics and you can always add pink accents to the bike or ATV using things like pink duct tape or stickers. PowerSports GrafX (ridepg.com) is offering up the same deal as last year, a $22.95 pink front number plate background will result in a $5 donation, and a full set of front and side backgrounds retails for $69.95, and includes a $10 donation.

 

I’m sure many of you have noticed one less front-runner on Sunday’s second row. Well, I was talking to Jimmy Robinson this week and he filled me in on why the #12 Husaberg hasn’t been around lately. Jesse and his wife are actually expecting a baby girl within the next week or so and Grandpa Jimmy [he he] sounds very excited! We’ll keep you all updated on baby girl as soon as we get word that she’s here. So as a result, Jesse decided to take some time away from racing to get things started up with his new family. It sounds like once things slow down a bit, Jesse will put his focus back into racing but most likely that won’t happen until next season. I personally hope so because pro row hasn’t been the same without the good ol’ box van posted up on the end. We’re all wishing Jesse and his family the very best and we can’t wait to meet their newest addition!

 

Speaking of babies, Charlie and Rachel Mullins are also expecting a baby boy soon and we’re all very excited to meet their little guy when the time comes!

 

I’m going to have to cut things short this week. Bolt-On and Rodney have some insight on the racing side of things below. Take advantage of the great fall weather this weekend because I have a feeling it won’t be long before the snow falls in most parts of the country.

 

@JaredBolton:

 

It’s hard to believe it, but the 2012 season is officially beginning to wind down. We now only have 2 races left to go before heading into that long winter break that everyone enjoys for about 5 minutes. While that may be true, there’s still a lot of racing left to be done and there’s still two major title chases that are really heating up coming into the final rounds.

 

It’s sort of crazy to think, but on the bike side both the XC1 and XC2 title chases will definitely come down to the final round at Loretta’s. Even more interesting is that after Powerline Park, both classes are only separated by a mere 4 points. In the XC1 class, Paul Whibley’s lead has now dropped to 4 points over Kailub Russell after KR’s win last weekend. Then, in the XC2 class, Jason Thomas took over the points lead after his XC2 class win and Steward Baylor’s tough 5^th place ride.

 

With both pro classes coming down to the wire, these final rounds could shape up to be some of the most interesting and entertaining GNCC events we’ve seen in a really long time. You’ve got Kailub Russell who is looking to take over the lead and claim his first ever XC1 title, while Paul Whibley is trying to fend him off to take his second title. At the same time, Jason Thomas is trying to win his first XC2 title while Steward Baylor is trying to take his second title. However, that XC2 class also has Andrew Delong who is no stranger to the top spot of the podium and is only 12 points out of the lead.

 

When you factor all of this together, you’ve got the potential for some truly great racing as the season winds down, and two of the best places for that to happen are at The Ironman and Loretta Lynn’s, both of which hold a rich history in GNCC racing and have seen their fair share of epic racing over the years (yes, I just used that ”˜e’ word)

 

While I’m on the topic of history, Maria Forsberg went down in the history books last weekend as the first Women’s rider to ever take an overall morning race win on the bike side. Maria had come pretty close a few times earlier this season and a lot of people were wondering when it would happen. Well, at Powerline Park she finally pulled it off, and it was pretty cool to see. So, a big congrats to Maria for the overall win.

 

I’ve already talked about how Powerline Park affected the points races but what about the actual racing itself? Well, it was definitely a good race to keep an eye on and it was really cool to see Kailub Russell and Charlie Mullins cross the finish line within a second of each other. Paul Whibley was in the hunt for a portion of the race but Kailub and Charlie checked out and really ended up riding their own race with Paul basically hanging around third trying to stay ahead of Rory Mead and Thad Duvall who had their own battle going for fourth place with Thad eventually edging Rory out for 4th. Takeshi Koikeda once again put in a solid ride and was up with the front-runners for the first half of the race, and managed to hold on for 6^th place.

 

In the XC2 class Steward Baylor stayed out front for a while and even when he lost the lead he was still in podium contention until he got himself stuck in the mudhole on the final lap. As I mentioned before, Jason Thomas took the win and the points lead but another interesting story from that class was Aaron Plessinger who took 2^nd place in the XC2 debut race. Andrew Delong fought his way from back in the pack, as low as 10^th on the first lap, to round out the podium. Scott Grills ended up with his best ride of the season and took fourth place, which had to be a pretty good way to rebound from Unadilla where he was in podium contention until the final lap.

 

There’s no doubt that Powerline Park once again made for a pretty interesting weekend of racing. This event always presents unique challenges to the riders with its mud holes and just generally slippery terrain. I spent the majority of both the ATV and Bike morning races helping riders out of the “Gus’s Mud Hole” section of the track which had a really deceiving line for the bike guys. If you looked far left, it appeared you could skirt the tree line and make a clear exit around all the water and deep mud. Well, what you couldn’t tell was that the exit of that line went through a section of grass that was even deeper, thicker, nastier mud than what was in the actual mud hole.

 

Anyway, that’s going to do it for me this week. Hope everyone fills their off weekend full of some sort of riding or racing because we’ll be heading to the Ironman in no time! Until next time, Bolt-On out!

 

And here’s Mr. Rodney.

@HotRdney22:

I know it is my job to hype things up a bit through my duties as announcer at the track and as a contributor in Quick Fill each week, but the nice thing about my job is that it isn’t a bit hard. The reason for this is simple. It isn’t really hype.  It is real life drama unfolding before everyone’s eyes. Each week a new chapter is written and honestly it is better and deeper than any “hype” could even come close to.

Chapter 11 of the 2012 book took us to the Power Line Park GNCC in St. Clairsville, Ohio. The racing began as always with the youth division. Some rain overnight presented a challenge and extra obstacles but the competition was as exciting as ever.

What drama might you say is there in the youth division?  Defending champion Hunter Hart may have created a beast of his own such as his idol Chris Borich has done. Riders have pushed themselves to all new levels in trying to reach the pace of the young phenom of Hart.

After an early season practice injury took Hunter out of contention for the wins a race or two, riders like Zachary Jones and Cody Collier have really stepped up the competition. So now what may have seemed so easy for Hart in the past has become a little more of a challenge since they gained the confidence it takes to win. The overall point race is tight and looks like it may go down to the wire in the youth ranks.

I feel it is only fitting to throw in the battle in the Girls 8-15 class for consideration of conversation. A three way tie for the points lead for Bryanne Parks, Sadie Welch and Catlyn Bennett make this a class to watch out for in the final two rounds. Again there is no need for hype in this class, the results speak for themselves and these are young girls so we will try to keep the drama out of this one. I have a young pre-teen age daughter myself so I know there is enough drama without stirring anything up. (that’s a joke by the way”¦please no hate mail)  Good luck ladies and most importantly keep having fun.

The 10:00 race on Saturday could be deemed one of historical proportions. Heading to the weekend the ATV Women class championship was as exciting as it gets. In order to keep Traci Cecco from capturing her 9^th title, Angel Atwell would have to win the final three rounds. Lexie Coulter took the win and sealed the deal for Cecco, which ended Atwell’s 2012 hopes. Traci Cecco sets the bar even higher for the future champions with this title and etches yet another record in the history of GNCC.

The afternoon race one could say that Chris Borich was literally on fire as he came through the pits heading into the final laps of the race. Borich, running an early lead in the class, experienced problem that dropped him back some spots and while playing catch up literally burst into flames. It was something to do with the pipe coming loose, which led to thing eventually catching fire. Borich was able to quickly extinguish the flames and when I caught up to him he really just kind of laughed about the whole situation. A situation much easier to swallow when you have the champion locked up.

Adam McGill who eventually took the win was a rider that really needed the win he took. Not so much for points as for pride. McGill has worked tirelessly this season and even with an injury that may have sidelined the average person for the season, has turned his program into a huge success. “Factory-Family” is what Adam refers to it as and says that his family has played a monumental roll in his program working with and supporting him every step of the way.

Walker Fowler was another rider that had himself in position to win the race. It could have been a historical feat for the young Fowler but a last lap mistake let McGill around and Walker finished the day chalking up as another lesson learned. It’s not a question of “if” Walker is going to win on people’s minds but more of a question of “when” is he going to start winning. However the answer to the question was not this past weekend. He may not even win a race this season, which is building the drama even more because everyone knows he has the talent and the heart, just not the luck so far.

Sunday morning brought some great battles for the two wheelers. Super Mini 12-15 rider Michael Witkowski continues his reign over the youth ranks. Witkowski starts on the second row but with resemblances of the Grant and Stew Baylor from when they rode they youth ranks winning from the second row the youngster from North Liberty may just be the next one to rise up out of the youth ranks. What looked like was going to be a year of building and maturing for the youth bikes is coming to pass and the new stars of this division are starting to rise with names like Witkowski, Jonathon Johnson, Cody Pingley, Cody Ruckle, Kaleb Ward and Zac Ponder.

The 10:00am race has been a little more exciting to watch recently with Maria Forsberg showing top overall results were looking like she may be looking at eventually taking the win. It is something that I know that I have watch for some time looking for a Women class rider to win the bike morning overall. Something that I am told has never been done.

A few years ago the Women class was a big focus of the morning races and the competition between Mandi Mastin, Heather Wilson and Heidi Landon-Douchette. As close as they came, I don’t think they ever were able to make it happen then. But this past weekend Maria Forsberg defied the odds and was able to best all the competitors from the morning ranks setting yet another benchmark in her already flawless record for 2012. Maria is as well working on a perfect season being undefeated so far and adding to the drama as well as the pages of history for GNCC.

The afternoon bike race only left us wanting more. Coming in 21 points down, Kaleb Russell was in a situation where things needed to happen to keep himself and his mind in the hunt for the title. Paul Whibley who finished third losing 8 points to Russell heating this points race up. Whibs has held onto the points lead since round 1 and is hoping to maintain the lead through the end. However the drama in this one is that how hard both are working to win. Add to the drama that since the youth ranks Russell has always won the championship the second season he contested it as he moved through the ranks. And this by the way is Russell’s second year in the XC1 class. Will that tradition live on? Time will tell and the plot of our off road racing drama thickens just like any good book.

A couple of quick things before we go this week:

Remember to plan accordingly for the season finale at Loretta Lynn’s this year.  Remember ATV racing and Motorcycle racing will switch days. That means bikes on Saturday and quads on Sunday. The reason was to accommodate those racing the final National Enduro round scheduled for Sunday that weekend.

A reminder of the Ironman GNCC is going to be a Pink Race again this year for Breast Cancer Awareness. Make sure you sport the Pink and spread the word.

If you are looking for something to do this weekend on Sunday October 14 and if you are going to be near Saegertown, Pennsylvania you may want to check out the Kyle T. Rohan Memorial Harescramble. It will take place this Saturday at Five Star Cycle. No riders under 16 and there will be no ATVs. The event will benefit a foundation set up in the memory of former GNCC Kyle Rohan who competed in the 25+ C class of the GNCC and was ranked in the top ten of the class. Kyle was killed in an auto accident this past summer. The foundation’s mission is to provide support for young underfunded riders in effort to give those riders that may not be able to afford to compete the opportunity. If you would like more information you can contact them at 813.504.2579 or by email at [email protected].

That will do it for now. Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.