Welcome to Quick Fill.

Finally, we’ve got a GNCC gathering that we can look forward to this weekend. While it’s not actually a race weekend, I have no qualms that our group will turn the GNCC Awards Banquet into some kind of competition. I just hope everyone remembers to leave the bikes and quads at home this time.  

Which, by the way, if you haven’t made reservations for the banquet yet I would suggest you do so by today. There are over 600 people attending each night so it’s going to become more difficult to seat everyone the closer we get to go time. Also, the Waterfront Hotel is actually overbooked on Friday night so if you’re looking for a place to stay, we recommend the Ramada, which is at 20 Scott Avenue, Morgantown, WV 26508. There are plenty of other places to stay in town, but that one is just down the street from Waterfront and fairly priced, too.

We’ve been working hard to perfect our very own GNCC Photo Booth, which is set to make its debt this weekend at the banquet. We will have it set up from approximately 8-11 p.m. so definitely make your way over to capture the festivities of the evening. The photo booth will print two strips of each shot and we’ll also load them onto the GNCC Facebook after the banquet so everyone can tag and download them as well. So that means you probably shouldn’t take photos that you wouldn’t want to see online! DJ ELO will be providing the evening entertainment once again, so bring those dancing shoes. He will kick things off as soon as the awards ceremony finishes up, pretty much like last year’s banquet. We will have video games and a few other activities to keep the younger kids entertained again this year as well. 

If you’re interested in attending the post-banquet GNCC rules meetings, listen up! Saturday morning we will have a Pro ATV meeting at 8:30 a.m., followed by Amateurs at 9, UTV at 9:30 and Youth at 10 a.m. Sunday morning the Pro bikes will meet at 8:30 a.m., Amateur at 9 and Youth at 10. I believe there will be coffee and water available in the conference room but if anyone wants to bring more coffee and lots of snacks, you won’t be turned away at the door, just saying.

So Chris Bithell finally announced his 2013 plans and although he’s still riding a yellow machine, it’s not Can-Am. Bithell will be racing aboard the Suzuki LTR 450, which as you know, isn’t in production any more. It makes sense, though, since he will be teaming up with Chris Borich, who has been running Suzuki for a long time now. It’s pretty crazy to think that Suzuki has two of the top five pro racers on a machine that isn’t even produced any more, nor do they give any rider support. I mean, Borich clearly has the Suzuki dialed in, so Bithell is putting his faith that the team can produce two perfect race quads for the season. I guess that attests to the pure confidence that Borich has in the LTR 450. Bithell also announced his main sponsors: Ye Old Cycle Barn, Greg's ATV, Mosities Motorsports, Fly Racing, Maxxis, HMF, Hiper Wheels, Fox Shox, Precision and more!

After reading today’s edition of Wednesday Wrench, it sounds like the JG Off Road team will not be around this season. This is what it said, “Unfortunately due to economic circumstances and budget cuts, JG Off Road will be riding the 2013 season on the sidelines. We aren’t ready to call it quits just yet, we will still be attending select events to see everyone and maybe even race 1 or 2. For now we just do not have the financial capacity to support a team for this season. We will take this time to reflect on past seasons, regroup, and hopefully be able to put a strong team together for 2014.” That’s a bummer to hear for those guys, and probably even more to a guy like Scott Grills. Two of their three riders from last season (on the bike side) announced their retirement in 2012 but that leaves Grills to find a place for next season. I haven’t heard what Scott will be riding for 2013 but surely he’ll have something lined up before Round 1. He had a good run in 2011, taking the 4 Stroke A Lites championship before moving up and made a huge progression this past season in both XC2 and overall finishes. Finishing 8^th in his rookie XC2 year, I think the kid has a lot of potential this season now that he’s got his feet wet.

Editor's note: Scott Grills will be riding for Jimmy Woodford Racing (J.W.R) aboard a 2013 Kawasaki kx250f, supplied by Babbitt's Kawasaki.

By now most people have read and heard that we’re going to a new venue this season. Loretta Lynn’s will not be on the schedule for 2013 and the new venue will be in Western Pennsylvania. As I said in the press release, the new facility will run through the Allegheny Mountains so the terrain will be full of natural elevation change, which is always good for a nice hill climb. B Hawk and Jeff Russell have been on the land, obviously, and I’ve heard nothing but good things about the terrain. First off, it’s all going to be fresh trail so I know those guys are excited to jump into the woods and cut a brand-new track for GNCC racers. It sounds like the dirt here is really nice too, especially for what you would think about in Pennsylvania. It’s also going to run through an old 18-hole golf course, which means there was a lot of time and money spent in order to maintain a top notch ground at one point. I understand people are upset about the removal of Loretta Lynn’s this season but it’s a done deal and I think once people get to the new PA round they’ll quickly realize the positives that can be pulled from the situation as well.  

That’s it for me. Looking forward to seeing all you fancy GNCC’ers this weekend at the banquet!

Here’s @JaredBolton:

So now we head to officially close the book on the 2012 season with this weekend’s GNCC banquet. I know, it’s already 2013 but it really feels like the banquet is another event all in itself just without the racing part. After this weekend, we can head full on into the 2013 season and I know that there's many people who can’t wait, myself included because as nice as it may be to have a little break, I’ve been ready to get back at it since right after Loretta’s ended.

Speaking of Loretta’s, by now you’ve heard that we’re not returning to Loretta’s in 2013. I’ve seen a lot mixed emotions on that one and whether anyone had something good to say about it, or negative to say about it, it’s good to hear back from racers regardless. Just don’t forget, when an announcement like that is made, be sure to read all the info in the press release because it did say that we could possibly return to Loretta’s in the future.

The history of and prestige of Loretta’s runs deep in GNCC history, and everyone knows how legendary the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National Motocross is as well. On the GNCC side, Loretta’s played host to its first GNCC in November of 1983, which saw Patrick Henderson taking the first-ever ATV win at Loretta’s and Ed Lojak emerging as the first-ever bike victor. Since then, pretty much every big name to come from the GNCC racing nation has logged at least one win at Loretta’s.

While it may be a bummer to have a legendary race replaced for this season, it’s just what happens in this sport. Sometimes things are even uncontrollable. Races come and go, but nowhere can host an event for life. It makes it better when an entirely new venue is the replacement, and from what I’ve been told, it looks like the new venue at The Gusher could prove to be one of the most popular GNCC events in a long time. With a wide variety of terrain, it could have a little something for everyone, and you really can’t beat racing at a mansion that sits surrounded by two rivers, how cool is that?

Moving on, last weekend saw an event that wasn’t a GNCC event, but it definitely had a real GNCC feel with a pretty big number of familiar faces. By now, you’ve likely heard about it but I’m of course talking about the #WelbornRussellWedding (as it was known on Twitter and Instagram) that saw the marriage of Kailub Russell to his longtime girlfriend, now wife, Chandler Welborn (now Chandler Russell of course). Since the wedding was only about an hour drive for me, I actually ended up spending the whole weekend in Charlotte enjoying the wedding festivities and hanging out with some of the familiar faces from the GNCC world.

The wedding itself was actually only the second one I had attended but it was one of those truly traditional, great weddings that I believe everyone enjoyed. Then, of course, the reception afterwards was a lot of fun because, well you wouldn’t expect anything less from a crowd of racers! I truly enjoyed every minute of the weekend and I have to give a huge thanks to Kailub and Chandler for the invite. Also, thanks to Maria Forsberg for being my “date” so I didn’t have to say I was going alone, and also for the dance which made me feel pretty cool and I immediately wanted to brag about. More thanks go out to my little “group” from the weekend, Donna Macan, Kendra DuPont, Maria Forsberg (again), Michelle Macan, Alex McWilliams, Rory Mead and also everyone that I had the pleasure of terrorizing Charlotte on Friday night with, which are too many to list.

After the banquet this weekend, I’m sure there will be a lot of people that are really jonesing to race. Good news is that we’re getting to that point in the year where there’s more chances to do so. I’ve mentioned the FTR series prior and it sounds like the guys down there have been having a pretty good turnout of GNCC regulars. I’m sure they’ll continue to see that kind of turnout over their next few races too. A little further north though, the SORCS series will kick off in Wrens, Georgia next weekend, January 20^th. After that, things will really heat up on the bike side with the first National Hare Scramble of the year with the Burnt Gin National Hare Scramble in Wedgefield, South Carolina. The SERMA club that puts on that event will follow that up the next weekend with the Sumter Enduro, which actually still has some spots open if you’re interested.

So as you can see, there are plenty of opportunities to race down south coming up. For now though, that’s all I’ve got. Hope to see you at the banquet this weekend. Until next time, Bolt-On out!

@RodneyTomblin:

The New Year is off and rolling and 2013 looks to see a lot of changes on the horizon. Even though every New Year seems to bring this same scenario, it somehow always seems to be a surprise. I know I have been surprised a lot lately and am still reeling from some of it. When our heads stop spinning we may be able to focus a little more and see what the future holds.

The GNCC Night of Champions is finally upon us and the excitement is in the air. Here we will hopefully start to put everything together and get a better idea of what we should expect. Don't forget to stick around the morning after for the riders meetings that will help shape the 2013 rulebook.

I again have been out the loop in the off road world due to some other things going on in my life. I did however talk to Jimmy Woodford who told me even more news out of that camp. Obvious conclusions are that they are busier than some may realize. We have been hearing reports of the team building but this week Jimmy Woodford that since he and Jimmy Jarrett reconnected, Jarrett is going to race some AMA NHS through Jimmy Woodford’s team but he and his brother Johnny have another project coming to light that will be pretty interesting for folks this winter in the Northern Ohio/Northwest Pennsylvania area.

Woodford said they have 60,000 square foot of indoor track. They have 170,000 square foot under roof to use if all goes well. They are almost done with the track and riding there this weekend. They are hoping to open next week to the public. It’s located in Youngstown, Ohio. He said that is going to be the biggest indoor track in Ohio and Pennsylvania and also have provisions for a separate kids track.

I got a message from Cody Gerhard this past week also and sounds like busy times for him too:

The New Year I feel is a new start for my family and me. During the off season I was unable to ride as much as I hoped, working three jobs and college kept me busy over the winter. I sold all my four strokes hoping all the hardships and mechanical issues would come to an end. I was unsure if I would be back to race during the 2013 season due to many unfortunate turnouts during the last season and not much help on expenses other then my parents. But I realized that my friends and my racing family would bring me back to race another year. I can't thank my parent’s enough for all they have done for me through the years and got to me to where I am today. If it wasn't for them I wouldn't have been able to meet the people I did such as the Rainey family. I am currently spending my winter break down south living with my second family. With Jon Michael no longer racing I decided it would be best to take over his bike and do what it's been doing the last season he rode it, winning. I feel at home on the Yamaha 250 2-stroke and much faster and smoother on it as well. I will also have Jon Michael along with me for the first half of the season to wrench on the bike and make sure it's set up and ready to go every race. Riding the A class for next season my goals are simple, give it 100%, have fun and of course look for that top number one spot. I feel my training in the gym this winter is key to bring me out on top at the end of the three hours. I feel like I have worked too hard to give up now and I have something to show for in the A class next year. I would like to thank everybody for their support and looking forward to see them next season. Raines Racing, Racedaypix, Offroad Viking, Ohio Offroad, Rodney Tomblin, Ryan Slagal, Randy Hawkins, Paul Whitey, Racer X, Tim Cotter, Rainey family, Wolfe family and Joe Bromley and his family.

I expect to hear more this weekend at the banquet and there may even be some bigger surprises that may shock us all. I can't wait. See you then.

That's it for now. Till next time God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.