The Schoolboy classes of the morning ATV race serve as an excellent stepping stone for the young up and coming racers in the ATV ranks. Kody McClung had a stellar 2012 season in the Schoolboy Novice class logging 5 wins on his way to the class championship. We caught up with Kody to hear about his 2012 season, plans for this season, and more.

GNCCRacing.com: How's it going today?
Kody McClung: It’s going pretty good. Just got done with another day of school and now I’m just relaxing at home.

Sounds like a good day. Are you ready to get back racing?
Yeah, for sure. Racing is hard to get away from in the off season and it really seems like the winter just drags on sometimes. Plus, I'm excited to race my 450 this year so that makes me even more ready.

Speaking of the winter, what have you been doing over the winter break?
I've been training hard and hoping for breaks in the weather to ride. My dad and I have also been busy building my race bike for the season.

So tell us a little about yourself. 
I live in Kennerdell, Pennsylvania. I love to race and ride my quads every chance I get. I enjoy spending time with family and friends, as well as working on quads. Other than that, I’m just a typical kid going to school and hanging out with my friends. Â 

What is it like for you balancing school with racing?
It’s actually a little bit tough sometimes. I know that school is very important though, so I try to balance it out the best I can and keep my grades up.

Which do you think is tougher, schoolwork or racing?
That’s a hard one (laughs). Both school and racing are tough in their own way, but I think racing is a little harder because of all the work, time and money that goes into it. Schoolwork is just mentally tough.

When did you start riding and who got you into it?   
I started riding a KTM dirt bike when I was 3 years old.  My parents have always been involved with powersports and I’ve always been around the sport. I’ve gone back and forth between bikes and quads my whole life but I’ve found the quads seem to work for me the best and that’s what I do the best on.

What about racing? How did you get started racing? Â 
Shortly after I started riding, I wanted to race but my parents wouldn’t let me because they were afraid that I would get hurt. After a while though, they came around and I was finally allowed to try an AWRCS ATV race in 2011. I raced the whole season and ended up third in the overall youth ATV division.  In 2012, I did my first GNCC race in Georgia and won. 

Wow, so you not only won your first GNCC race but you also won the championship in your first season?
Yeah, that’s how it ended up working out.

That’s impressive. Tell us how your 2012 season went. Â 
The season was really the best I could’ve asked for it to be. I won two championships on my 250. One in GNCC and one in AWRCS. I finished the year off racing my 450 in my local series. When we went to the Georgia race, it was initially just going to be a family weekend getaway and warm up for my local series. After the excitement of winning we decided to try another. It snowballed from there and with the help from some sponsors and friends like the Pitzer and Graff families, I was able to race nine rounds which was just enough to qualify for GNCC points.

How did it feel to take the class championship? 
Winning the championship was an amazing feeling, especially when we didn’t expect to race for points in GNCC. It was also a great learning experience and confidence booster and will hopefully help me in the future.

What about finishing no worse than 2nd? How did that feel? 
It especially made me feel good because I knew my 1992 Honda 250 X was one of the oldest quads on the track.

You also had some pretty good overall finishes, especially later in the season. How did that feel? Â Ã‚ 
Westley [Wolfe] and I both had some good overall finishes. My best was 34th at Powerline Park. Towards the end of the year it seemed the two of us would push each other to do better. It was very exciting for both me and my pit crew and it gave me some great experience.

What are your plans for this season? 
I plan to mainly race my local series, AWRCS, this season and hopefully return to a full national schedule with GNCC in the next year or two. The time and travel is tough, especially with school but I definitely want to pursue another class championship soon.

What do you hope to accomplish in 2013? Â 
I would love to grab a B class championship in the AWRCS series and shoot for some good overall finishes as well.

What would you hope to accomplish in the future? 
I definitely want to work my way up to the top and become a pro rider. That’s the dream for everyone but I think if you put in the hard work, it’s definitely possible.

Alright Kody, it’s been a pleasure chatting with you but before we wrap this up, who would you like to thank?   
God, my Mom and Dad, my grandparents, Aunt Lori and Uncle Bob, Pitzer family, Graff family, Phil McKinley, Corbin Knox, Merle Kope, Brian Stafford, Buchanan Racing, Joy Cone Company, Silco Inc., Amy at X-Country Photos, G and G Builder Supply, McCool's Sign and Graphics, Witherup Fab., Fasst, East Coast Suspension, Emulsion Technologies, Chris Shannon, and Ed Ceremuga.