Welcome to Quick Fill.

While I’m still admittedly recovering from last weekend’s GNCC banquet, I couldn’t be more excited to get the ball rolling for 2013. This week we’re kicking off the assembly of this season’s GNCC Souvenir Program and it’s really making the new season become more of a reality for me.

But first, let us take a look back at last weekend’s celebration. It’s something special for the Top 10 GNCC Racers to be recognized on stage for a season’s worth of hard work and I’m so pleased to see how seriously our racers and families take the recognition. It’s a long evening to squeeze all the classes and specialty awards into, which is why we had to restructure the rider speeches a bit in order to keep the program more concise.

Our team had a lot of fun choosing the specialty awards this year. You wouldn’t believe how much thought, fact checking and back-and-forth decision-making goes into these specialty awards. It’s really tough because we all know at least a handful of people who deserve to win and to only choose one winner for each award is pretty tough. In most cases, we had to revert back to the drawing board and pull up past and present results in order to finally reach a decision. Needless to say, each winner very well deserved it and we applaud all the hard work and dedication each of these racers and sponsors put forth. Our 2012 Riders of the Year were Chris Borich and Paul Whibley, Youth Rider of the Year went to Zack Jones and Cody Ruckle, Most Improved Riders were Emily Wise and Rory Mead, Bad Ass Awards went to Dave Simmons and Steward Baylor, the Rough & Ready Pit Crews were Big Nutz Racing and Ranieri Racing, the Award of Media Excellence went to Kenny Hill and Brandon Bolling, and the Wiseco Sport Ambassadors are Johnny Gallagher and KR4 Performance. Sponsor of the Year went to Can-Am BRP, while the State Championship trophy went to Pennsylvania and North Carolina and the Manufacturer’s of the Year were Yamaha and KTM North America. The Night of Champions also honored those who couldn’t be with us this year. The GNCC community honored and celebrated the lives of Glen “Jody” Pritchard, Jeff Phillips, Robert “Smitty” Smith, Joseph “Buddy” Norton and Kyle Rohan.

Also, we want to extend a huge thanks to everyone who attended the 2013 rules meetings after the banquet. If you were around for Saturday morning’s meeting, well then you’re a trooper. The ATV/UTV meeting began at 8:30 a.m. and didn’t get done until around 1:30 p.m. However, I think a lot of ideas were hashed out and I think we made awesome progress for next season. The newly revised rules and classes, as discussed at the meeting, are now posted and we will finalize them on Monday. Also, we’ve constructed a “Class Detail Chart” for the ATV classes in order to help clarify which models belong in which class. Now we understand that everyone may not agree with the chart, but if you see any major issues or incorrect information, please let us know. All rule and class comments should only go to [email protected] in order to be considered before Monday.  

We’re working on a new registration system (also discussed at the meeting) to streamline the process and make it faster, which will be issued soon. We’re planning on having annual release cards for both adults and youth available, we will open earlier on Friday per the request of ATV racers, and the pre-registration system will be analyzed and made more efficient.
 
Also, we are kicking around the idea of moving the bikes to Saturday for Unadilla, the new PA round and Powerline Park to switch things up a little. We would like to get input on that as well. Please let us know before Monday, though, as we hope to have all these things finalized by then. Again, contact [email protected] for comments on the schedule.

If you weren’t able to attend the GNCC banquet and would like to receive your awards, please email [email protected] and give rider name, class, position and shipping address. They will then price out the shipping cost and you can either leave your phone number to be contacted for a credit card number or if you feel comfortable you can include it in the email for us to charge shipping.

Atlas Cycles/Stickman GraphX.com announced their 2013 rider line up this week, which includes Jesse Robinson aboard a CRF450 in the XC1 class. It sounds like Jesse will only be back for select rounds but hey, that’s better than nothing! Jesse stepped away last season to focus on his new family as they welcomed a baby girl back in November. It will be good to see Jesse back this season. Also lining up with the Atlas team will be Morgan Moss (Kaw) at select events in the XC2 class, Dylan Stout in the 250 A class, 4-Stroke B Lites rider Tanner Earhart and Wes Keller in the 4-Stroke A Lites division.

For anyone looking to spend a few days in Daytona between River Ranch and The General, Digital Dave has a pretty sweet deal that also happens to be beachfront. The Lexington Inn and Suites on Daytona Beach has extended an offer to the GNCC Racing family for the nights of Sunday, March 10 ”“ Thursday, March 14 (the heart of Bike Week). The hotel is a newly renovated property and a great place to take a break in between races. I actually stayed there last year with a bunch of GNCC folks and the place was awesome. So if you book your room under the GNCC special, you’ll get a 15% discount off the regular rates, which are as follows: 2 queen beds standard room for $167 or 2 queen beds with kitchen in room for $190. If you’re interested in booking these rooms I suggest you do it soon as these rooms most likely will sell out if you wait until last minute. To reserve, call 1-386-255-0476, ask for Denise and mention the GNCC special.

One last note, MotoTees is looking to hire an extra sales associate to help sell t-shirts at the GNCC events, Friday thru Sunday. It can be one person for the whole weekend or just one day (depending on what days you are there). This would be a great way for a family member to earn some extra money to help with travel expenses! Contact [email protected] for more details or to apply now. Please don’t email Racer Productions with inquiries, direct them all toward the above contact. Thanks!

That’s all for me this week. Don't forget to check out the GNCC Photo Booth pictures on the GNCC Facebook! Here is Mr. Bolton.

@JaredBolton:

So now the book is completely closed on the 2012 season after last weekend’s GNCC banquet at the fabulous Waterfront Place Hotel in Morgantown. While it may already be 2013 and the season ended back in November, the banquet always feels like that last event of the season it pays tribute to. This year’s banquet was definitely a good time and everyone I’ve talked to seems to have enjoyed themselves, which makes for an even better weekend.

I was also really proud of all the banquet attendees. From what I saw, everyone had a really good time but also kept things under control, which I’m sure the Waterfront Place staff and non-banquet guests really appreciated it. It’s no secret that putting a group of racers together is ultimately going to result in some sort of rowdiness, competition or something. Thankfully everyone was able to have a lot of fun and still keep things under control. To me, that makes for the perfect weekend of “not actually riding” and I applaud everyone for doing so.

Personally, my banquet experience was a little different. I had a couple of things that kept me home until late Friday afternoon. After realizing that I wouldn’t make it until after 9pm, I decided to just wait and make the trek in the morning. I made it in time for the ATV/UTV riders meetings on Saturday morning and as always, I enjoyed sitting back and hearing what the racers had to say. Then of course I was there for the banquet Saturday night and enjoyed chatting it up with a bunch of different people throughout the night.

On Sunday, while a lot of racers were heading home, there were a good group of riders taking to the Florida sands at the Bostwick FTR race in Florida. No surprise that it would be Garrett Edmisten taking the win and Steven Squire ended up second while Jaco Wolmarans ended up third. That’s a solid ride for Squire who missed a bit of last year with an injury, but it looks like he’s been putting in the work over the winter and is looking to come back strong in 2013.

Speaking of riders coming back strong in 2013, I guess I can now say that Chris Bach will be returning to a KTM backed by Carolina KTM, RidePG.com, Genuine Dirt Racer and more. I mentioned a few weeks ago that Bach has something lined up, and unless I missed it, there hasn’t really been a 100% official press release but the word is out. Bach also posted a helmet cam video of him riding at Brushy Mountain Motorsports Park in Taylorsville, NC. You can check that out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANCszFRGiss&sns=fb

Back in 2010 when Bach made the move to XC1 from Open-A, he nearly won the opener in Florida and had multiple podium finishes throughout the year. It should be pretty interesting to see what Bach can do aboard the KTM. He seemed to find his groove again part way through 2012 so could we possibly see him back up front challenging for wins? We’ll see soon enough!

As for opportunities to get in some racing, FTR has this weekend off but the SORCS series will be in action in Wrens, Georgia. It’s actually kind of interesting. The General GNCC in Georgia is mostly red clay, well this SORCS event in Wrens is only about 45 minutes away and my understanding is that it’s basically 100% sand. So, if you’re in the Georgia area and are looking for some sand practice, it sounds like those guys will have you covered this weekend!

Then of course next weekend will be the first big event of the year with the Burnt Gin National Hare Scramble in Wedgefield, South Carolina. Last year the pro class was absolutely stacked at this event and from what I’ve been hearing, it’s probably going to be a pretty big field once again. This is another event that is all sand, albeit not as deep and powdery as Florida sand, it’s still going to be a big opportunity for a lot of riders to get in the sandy seat time before Florida.

So with all these races and more coming up over the course of the next month, that means we’re creeping closer and closer to that sought after time when we head to River Ranch. I see tweets and Facebook posts daily from people who are saying they’re ready to head to Florida, so there’s no doubt that the excitement is really starting to build, and the good news is, it’s going to be here before we know it.

Well, that’s going to do it for me this week. Until next time, Bolt-On out!

Thanks, Jared. Here’s Rodney Tomblin.

Here’s @HotRodney22:

I can honestly say that today I am at a loss for words. The 2012 season finally got its explanation point with the annual Night of Champions and what a great couple of nights they were””a perfect end to a perfect season. The perfect being that all the 2012 championships, from youth to pro, gave us the most exciting and competitive season of racing in GNCC history.

Saturday evening Bart Hayes from RidePG.com spoke while handing out the State Champions Trophy and he reminded me of the conversation we had in Florida about what we were soon to behold as the season got underway. A lot of times we say that because of the hype factor and such, but this time, it wasn't about the hype, it was about the talent, desire, heart and skills of the riders that poised themselves for the season to come.

The highlights of 2012 are so many to mention and if you have to ask me what one thing stands out in my mind about it, I would have to say in a nutshell, the love and passion that this series was formed upon is back. It isn't so much about the money; it's about the life of an off roader.

I honestly have to say that guys like XC2 Pro Lites Champ Jason Thomas from England and XC1 Champ Paul Whibley and fellow countryman Rory Mead from New Zealand have inspired me most. Add to that Australian and former XC1 Champ Josh Strang. Why? Because the only reason they are here is to fulfill a passion and dream. It isn't about the money, it isn't really about the fame, it’s more about the ride, the winning and being a part of something as great as the GNCC series.

We as Americans here in the east are kind of spoiled to have the series at our fingertips. Though a number of series follow our direction, formats and dreams, there is only one Grand National Cross Country Championship. Sometimes we can lose sight of a dream that sits right in front of our face looking for something that may or may not exist.

As far as ATV riders that inspire me from the same aspect, there are several. I will stick to the highlights, but because I do not mention a name doesn't mean they are not inspiring. Everyone has some inspiration to offer but these are the ones that stand out.

Four-time XC1 champ Chris Borich definitely inspires me but for reasons you may not think. I know he is fast and he really makes everyone work really hard to reach his benchmark. The reason I feel this way about Chris is because of his heart. He chased Bill Ballance around for years. While doing so, his passion for winning became stronger, his talents became more and his desire is unbridled. He used it all to get to where he is and it will take that same combination he has to beat him.

Adam McGill, because as much as anything, what he proved this past season. He went from a program where he was pampered, had a salary and didn't have to worry about anything but showing up and riding his ATV. When the chips were down after losing that sponsorship, he was able to build a competitive program in mere months and become as big of a threat as anyone to Chris Borich for wins.

Jeff Pickens and Kevin Yoho. It's all about the passion to do it for those guys. Working long workdays every week and then showing up barely prepped and trained to race. Though they may not be in the front of the pack, they display what this series was based upon as mentioned earlier. Each rider has potential and you have to wonder if they had different resources how much could be different.

Brian Wolf can be classified with the previous two as well. Brian works on the railroad and raises a family. He is another true weekend warrior even though he and so many others expect more out of him, he leaves it all on the track and some days are good and some days are not. But that is what keeps him coming back and as he puts it with a certain laughing seriousness, "I want to beat Borich.”Â

Walker Fowler is one that must be mentioned as well. I think that if you have followed GNCC at all, this kid is the poster child of what it’s all about. Walker showed a lot of promise growing up through the ranks, but I feel it was the one race in Georgia last season when he had to push his quad across the line that showed exactly what GNCC Racing is all about. If you witnessed, saw a photo or heard the story, it goes without mentioning. Those are the moments that define us in life and Walker Fowler gave everything he had that day.

Lastly, the great Johnny G. Johnny Gallagher has been doing this for a long time. He has raced in three different decades on the pro line and is the only rider still competing in the pro classes that can say that. The funny thing is, when you think he should be ready to hang up the boots, he actually gets better. He is consistent and hungry to do better all the time. For a guy that was ready to retire only a handful of years ago, he is as alive now with energy, desire and heart as he ever has been. Johnny may never ever win a championship in the pro class, but the one thing he does win is the biggest heart.

What does 2013 hold? Change? Most likely. What kind of change? It is yet to be answered and if one thing is for certain it is that the talent, desire, heart and skill of the riders poised to battle this season are any indications, we will be saying the same things about this year.

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