On the ATV side of GNCC Racing, there’s a group of warriors you see blasting through the woods aboard their utility machines. The utility classes have been around for quite a number of years and have really come into their own and now feature full blown race machines out of these 4x4 monsters. One of the top riders to tame the 4x4 classes is Kevin Trantham. Kevin has had his share of success and ended the 2012 season with the 4x4 Lites championship. We caught up with Kevin to hear about his 2012 season, plans for 2013, and more.

GNCCRacing.com: How's it going today?  Â 
Kevin Trantham: It's going great. Just messing around the house today, having a little fun just soaking up the day!

So how have you been spending your winter break? 
I've been working on building my son a new bike, and getting all my stuff together for next year. A lot of people think you get a break during the winter, but there is always something to do to prepare for the next season, and I’ve been doing exactly that.

How did it feel to snag the Ironman class win at the Rattlesnake Ridge race last month?  
It felt really good. I had a lot of fun, getting some more seat time in on the new 2013 Can-Am Outlander 500.

How is that new 2013 Outlander?
It’s a great machine! It has more than enough power and it’s still agile enough to be able to throw it around and make it go where I want. It’s pretty much the perfect ride.

Back to that Rattlesnake Ridge race, how tough is it to race a quad by yourself for 4 hours?  
4 hours actually wasn't too bad. I did the Heartland Challenge back in August which is a 10 hour race, and that’s a lot harder to do by yourself. Thankfully I used my experience there and the 4 hour format seemed a lot easier for me.

Did you have any sort of strategy for the race? 
Yeah, I knew I would have to pace myself to be able to make a good run to the finish. I wouldn’t be able to run my GNCC pace for the whole 4 hours, so I backed it down a couple of notches. That actually ended up paying off and it made things even more fun.

So how did your 2012 season go? 
It went really great! I had the best season in 2012 that I've ever had. Other than a couple of mechanical failures, I had a pretty flawless year. It would have been nice to have ended up 1st overall, but that will give me something to shoot for next year.

How did it feel to end up taking the 4x4 Lites title?  
I was glad to be able to take another championship title for Can-Am and all my other great sponsors. It takes everyone working together to make it happen. Championships don’t come easy, but with a lot of hard work, smart racing and great support, I was able to make it happen.

Your worst finish all season was a 4th place, how did it feel to have such a successful season?  
It feels good to be able to have a great season like I had. All the hard work and determination really paid off, and when you have something to show for all the work, it makes it even more rewarding. I definitely feel like 2012 was one of those truly rewarding seasons for me.

The 4x4 competition is pretty tough through all the classes. What is it like battling with those guys? 
That’s one of the best parts about racing, is battling it out with all the 4x4 guys. It's fun racing with all my classmates. Riding a 500 and getting up there with all those 800's is pretty fun as well. There are a lot of really great riders and it's an honor to be able to run with those guys. It makes you ride a little smarter to be able to get around some of them.

For people who have never raced a 4x4, what is it like?  
It's by far the most fun you can have racing. (laughs) No, seriously it's definitely a lot of fun to be able to take a utility quad that most people see as having something to work with on the job or around on the farm, and race it against all the sport quads and be competitive. It’s definitely a pretty unique thing and people that don’t know much about 4x4 racing always seem to be blown away by what we do on them.

What are the biggest differences between the 4x4 and a sport quad?  
Well, of course 4 wheel drive and automatic transmission are the big ones, along with power steering, more ground clearance and at least twice as much weight. It’s pretty much like comparing apples and oranges. You’re going to enjoy both but they’re totally different.

Obviously there's places where it has an advantage. Where do the 4x4s really shine?  
If it's a muddy race we have an advantage because of the 4 wheel drive, plus extra ground clearance. We can get through the nasty stuff a lot easier where the sport quads have to hammer down, work at it and hope for the best. Snowshoe is a good example because it's such a gnarly track.

Some of the 4x4s are always really trick machines, how much do they differ from a stock utility quad?  
It really depends on each machine and rider. Some guys race pretty much stock quads, while others do tires, wheels, suspension, motor mods and clutching.

What are your plans for 2013?  
My main goal is to defend the championship in the GNCC 4x4 Lites class. I will be doing the Heartland Challenge 10 hour race and hope to have some success there this year as well. I also plan on running as many of the Mid-East Hare Scramble races that I can. I had some good battles and a lot of fun running that series this year.

What do you hope to accomplish in 2013?  
I hope to take another championship in the GNCC 4x4 Lites class and hopefully maybe end up with the title in Mid-East AA-Expert class.

Alright, before we wrap this up, who would you like to thank? 
First I would like to thank the Lord for all his blessings and keeping us safe this year. I would also like to thank my wife for being there for me and supporting me, it really means a lot. All my family and friends, we have made a lot of really good friends over the years racing the GNCC's and other series also, all my sponsors: Can-Am/BRP, Jimmie O'Dell, Simon Belzile, Kenda, Custom Axis, Team Hiper, Moose Racing, Fasst Co, Spider Grips, DP Brakes, Tireballs, Ron Wood Racing, SSI Decals, Leatt, Evans Coolant, Arai, All Balls Racing, Ricochet, HRP Sports, Rath, Twin Air, Amsoil, RoxSpeedFX, Cycra, XCountry Photos, RaceDay Pix, ATVRiders.com, CarboRocket, GNCC/Racer Productions, Team UXC and Team MPR.