Welcome to Quick Fill.
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It’s hard to believe we’re almost through the last full week of 2012. The New Year is coming upon us quickly and the new racing season isn’t far behind. Three months seems like eternity when you’re knee deep in snow, ice and cold weather but the warmth of sunny Florida is right around the corner, or so I keep telling myself.
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But before we get there, we’ve still got a GNCC Awards Banquet next month! If you haven’t taken care of your reservations, it’s probably a good idea to do that. You can find all the info
HERE and if you’re a class champion, please be sure to fill out your information ASAP because your contingency prizes are ordered in relation to your clothing sizes. Thanks to the gracious behavior of our GNCC Racers last year, we’re excited to be back at the Waterfront Place Hotel again this year. The Waterfront staff is awesome to work with and those of you who went last year can attest that the facility is equally great. Bring your dancing shoes this year as we’ll have DJ ELO back again for the after hours party. There will also be video games in the hallway outside of the after party room, which coincidently serve as a full-time baby sitter for the younger kids as well. Either way, there’s something to do for all ages so bring the whole family out for a night of celebration.
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I’ve had a few people email about the number of UTV rounds on the 2013 schedule and as far as I know there will be 6 events as usual. We’re working on getting those rounds finalized and it should be released shortly and there will be a release as soon as they are final.
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From the looks of social media, the snowbirds have already begun to flock south for training season. Let’s take a look at some of our GNCC Racer’s Twitter updates:
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@Thaddy989: What's up south Carolina! It's been awhile
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@SSR895: Watching the sun rise in Florida! 3 hrs left
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@adam_mcgill521: The journey is about to end and @hayleyhenthorn is bringing it home, GO BABY GO!
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@JohnnyGallagher: Loaded down and Florida bound!
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@landonwolfe18: I'm leaving just in time for Florida to escape this weatherÃ
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@layne523: SC I love you!!
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@plessinger157: Finally on the way to SC!! #sosick
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@EJaudas153: The eagle has landed.
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@MikeWitkowski28: Ready to get outta this cold snowy place an head south to do some riding..Can't come soon enough.
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As far as silly season goes, we’ve heard a few rumors regarding which XC1 ATV racer will be riding the Can-Am DS450 next season but we’ll wait to see a PR hopefully soon. I believe it’s public knowledge that Chris Bithell will not be that rider next season, so that leaves us to wait and see what exactly he will show up on for next season.
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The racing community lost another dear family member last night with the passing of Bob “Smitty”à Smith. Bob was a longtime referee for the AMA ATV Motocross series and his genuine passion for racing made it such a pleasure to work with and be around him in general. We’re all going to miss Smitty at the races but there’s no doubt he’ll ride on in heaven. God Speed, Smitty.
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Here’s @JaredBolton:
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First off, my shameless self-plug. I’ve mentioned it a few times already but I’m putting on a GP event at Zoo City Motocross in Asheboro, North Carolina THIS Sunday. It’s going to be around a 2-mile course, with a portion of that being the Zoo City Motocross track and the rest being woods with some optional “extreme obstacles”à (with alternate lines of course). It’s going to be two 20-minute motos for all classes, and we’ve got classes for everyone from 50’s on up to Pro’s and yes, a 100% pro payback. If you’re interested, you can get more info
HERE or you can drop me a line at
[email protected] and I’d be glad to answer any questions.
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If you can’t make that, you’re not out of luck! The FTR Series in Florida always draws a good crowd of GNCC racers this time of year who make the trek south for some pre-season racing. They have hare scramble events all throughout January and February before we go racing in March. Their events will always give you a good opportunity to go down and adjust to the sand.
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Or, if you can’t make it all the way down to Florida, the National Hare Scramble Series kicks off January 27 with the SETRA Burnt Gin Hare Scramble in Wedgefield, South Carolina with the Sumter Enduro happening at the same location the next weekend. Well, they’re actually about 2 miles apart but it’s the same club that puts on the hare scramble and the enduro, and the Sumter Enduro Riders Motorcycle Association always does a good job with their events.
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If you still can’t quite make the trip down south until it comes time for Florida, you’re STILL not out of luck. The JDay Offroad Series out of New England will be hosting a GP event at Bostwick MX the Saturday before the River Ranch GNCC. That might be cutting it close for some, but should definitely serve as a good opportunity to get in some final seat time before you head to River Ranch.
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Then of course, the National Enduro Series always kicks off a little earlier than the GNCC’s do, and a lot of racers use those first rounds as warm ups as well. The Cherokee and The Sandlapper are the first two National Enduros of 2013. The Cherokee has already sold out, but The Sandlapper currently still has open spots available, so you still have a chance to sign up!
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Those are just a few of the racing opportunities out there before it comes time to roll into River Ranch, but there’s plenty more I haven’t mentioned, and there’s always the seat time you can get by simply just going out and enjoying a good day of riding with your friends.
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Earlier this week, I mixed things up just a bit for Tuesday Toolbox. We asked our Facebook fans and Twitter followers what they wanted for Christmas and posted some of the replies in a special “GNCC Christmas”à edition of Tuesday Toolbox. I read a lot of really awesome replies and it was actually hard to pick some of the best ones, but the bright side was the even with the hard picks, it turned out pretty cool and it seemed that people really enjoyed it. So, with the success of the Christmas edition, I figured I would try it again next week for New Years. So, stay tuned for the official tweet and Facebook post, but I want to know what the GNCC Racing Nation has for their New Years resolutions. If you’re not a Facebook or Twitter user, I’d still love to hear from you. You can shoot me an email at
[email protected].
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Once again, I’ll pick some of the best replies and use them for the special New Year’s Day edition of Tuesday Toolbox. After that, we’ll return to the normal Tuesday Toolbox format, so as always, feel free to drop me a line if you have any recommendations for someone you would like to see featured in a Tuesday Toolbox.
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Well, that’s going to do it for me this week. If you’re in the North Carolina, South Carolina or Virginia area this weekend, I hope you can make it out to the Zoo City GP. Until next time, Bolt-On out!
Here’s @HotRodney22:
Here we are post Christmas and pre-New Year. It's kind of a limbo state in a way for me personally but for a number of others out there in the GNCC Racin' Nation, it's actually just the opposite. If you follow Twitter and Facebook, you notice a number of posts right now of people rolling south to get a few days of riding in. Something rather intriguing though is the numbers that are already training in the south or have already been training in the south.
Steven Squire, Thad Duvall, Layne Michael, Aaron Plessinger, Ethan Jaudas and ole "Shake-N-Bake" Blake Shaffer are a few I know that are in route or nearing their destination from what I can gather. Thad sent me a message yesterday to let me know what was up and it sounds like things are getting pretty exciting.
Thad wrote: Got down to South Carolina today to do some testing in the sand. John Ross the boss man of the team has been hard at it getting sponsors lined up for next year and it's coming along awesome. Can't wait for 2013. The new Hondas are awesome and can't wait till Florida to showcase the new 2013 Honda 450. I'm down south planning on riding with Delong and a bunch of kids this week so looking forward to getting the bike set up!
I also spoke with College A champ Brycen Neal as he and his crew were heading to Croom to do some riding and testing with Marshal Goings at fellow racer Billy Donavan's place in Florida. I also saw that Derisi Racing's Santo Derisi is doing some testing and tuning with a few guys including Braden Henthorn and James Reeves. It looks like those boys are getting really excited and pumped for the new season.
Cody Collier who has been busy riding some bigger machines this fall says that the weather has put a halt to his riding the past few weeks. He said that actually the last time he rode was at Wildwood GP and he and Levi Cohen were in a pretty heated battle.
Speaking of Levi Cohen, his parents Norm and Shawna Bickley run the famous Fast Traxx racing complex in Nelsonville, Ohio. They had rolled the dice and scheduled a GP race for this weekend but have already realized the weather has made things way to wet to make it happen and have canceled the event for this weekend. It was worth a shot anyway, guys.
It seems that Laz Sommers and the crew from GT Thunder are pretty busy themselves. GT Thunder has had hugely successful seasons and the way things are shaping up 2013 shouldn't be any different, except for maybe they may even be stronger. I can't wait to see what they have in store and of course I am looking forward to seeing the Sommers crew and hopefully Marry Ann will have been busy baking up some new season goodies to pass around again...hint hint.
The next thing I think of as we approach the end of 2012 is that I for one will be glad to see it finally gone. As great of a year as it has been racing, it has been one of the most personally challenging years I have faced in a long time.
I share this because I know that I am not the only one that feels this way I am sure. Realizing that January 1 is simply just another day on the calendar, we all seem to use it as a benchmark of sorts. Saying that it will be the day I start_________________. Some may succeed, others may not even get things in motion and others may fail at their "resolutions" but whatever category you fall into keep your head up and keep the faith. It is all we seem to have some times and may be just what we need to make it.
That's about all I have constructive right now but if you would like to drop me a note on Facebook or email [email protected] to let us know what's up in your world.
That'll do it for now. Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs! And oh yeah, Happy New Year!
