Welcome to Quick Fill.

We’re another week closer to hitting the road for Round 1 of the AMSOIL GNCC Series and the loose ends are finally beginning to harness, on this side of the fence anyway. If you haven’t already begun a countdown to River Ranch, let me take this opportunity to remind you that we’re officially 17 days away from the season opener, or at least to Saturday, which sort of kicks off the weekend all around with the Daytona Supercross and ATV practice day. Remember, for this round only, ATVs will be able to practice on Saturday and race on Sunday, while bikes can practice on Monday and race Tuesday. The practice course will be something similar to the trail but you won’t actually be riding on the track. Check out the Moose Racing River Ranch event page on the GNCC website for more details on the weekend.

I usually don’t get to see the ATV opener because I’m still in Daytona for the Monster Energy Ricky Carmichael Amateur SX and it looks like this year will be no different, which I’m really bummed about because I think this year has the potential to be an epic preface to 2013. I’m going to go ahead and put my money on the champ for this one, but I don’t think he’ll walk away uncontested by any means. Clearly guys like Fowler, Bithell and McGill will be intermingled in the lead pack, too; but age and experience have yet to fail Borich when facing his younger opponents for a full two-hours. Although, I do hope these guys prove me wrong in a couple of weeks.

If you remember last year’s bike opener, Paul Whibley and Charlie Mullins literally exhausted themselves to the finish line, both collapsing after coming through only five tenths of a second apart. Whibs won that battle, but it was a pretty insane testament for just how grueling three hours in the whooped out sand in sunny Florida can be. Steward Baylor actually claimed his first overall podium of the season from XC2 at Round 1 and it was the first time New Zealander Rory Mead showed big promise in the championship fight by finishing third in XC1 and fourth overall. Unfortunately Baylor won’t be in the mix in Florida this year, but I’m excited to see what Mead can do on his new FMF/RPM/KTM ride and obviously the addition of Kailub Russell (who raced last year but pulled off midrace after injuring his shoulder) and Josh Strang will add another element to the excitement we saw last year. To be honest, I couldn’t really come up with a good pick for the bike side because I have a feeling that all the top guys have done their homework and are prepping themselves to be stronger than ever so it’s going to come down to who wants it more on race day.

Yesterday we announced the addition of Rocky Mountain ATV/MC to this year’s lineup of GNCC Feature sponsors, which is actually pretty exciting for you all. Part of their sponsorship includes the all-new Fast Pass feature for riders who choose to use GNCC pre-registration. Now I know what you’re thinking, and yes, we’ve made improvements. Dan the man has been testing new online registration software that will include new features such as check boxes if you need new helmet tags printed (they will be ready when you get to the race), digital and yearly adult and minor releases to speed up the on-site process, and you’ll be able to print off your completed data card in which you will bring directly to the pre-registration line at the event. This in itself should better streamline the pre-reg process, and as an additional bonus of registering online, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC will give you a $20 coupon for their online retail store EVERY time you pre-register for an event! Stay tuned for more updates and details on the new system.

Another quick note I want to make about River Ranch. We’ve had a few questions regarding the camping/gate fees for this event so hopefully I can clarify things here. It is $20/person for Friday/Saturday/Sunday and $20/person for Monday/Tuesday, or you can pay $40 up front for all five days. However, please remember that if you come in Saturday evening to camp and race on Sunday, you will still need to pay $20/person to stay overnight and all day on Sunday. If you think about it, that’s a pretty cheap deal for camping AND being at River Ranch all day Sunday. Again, more details can be found on www.gnccracing.com/schedule/river-ranch.

Here’s another job opportunity for those of you traveling to the GNCC’s this season and looking for some part-time work while you’re there. Dunlop is looking for someone to change tires at all of the GNCC events-which will include Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please contact [email protected] for more details. Also note that there may be opportunities for advancement in this position.

That’s it for me this week. If you’re racing this weekend, best of luck to you and I wish I could say the same! See you all in a couple weeks!

@JaredBolton:

I think, no, I KNOW it’s safe to say that there are quite a few of you who are more than excited at this point to head to River Ranch. Well, it’s just around the corner now as we head into the final stretch of February so you’ll be getting your GNCC Racing fix before you know it. Personally, I wish it was already time to make the drive down and I’m sure you’re agreeing with me right now.

While River Ranch is still a few weeks away, we’re still neck deep in other various races right now before the 2013 GNCC season kicks off. Last weekend saw the opening round of the 2013 National Enduro Series with the Cherokee National Enduro in Greensboro, Georgia. There was a good bit of discussion heading into this race as to who exactly could be a favorite. It wasn’t clear until just before the event if Steward Baylor would be racing or not, which caused a pretty good buzz. Then there are the races we’ve seen in the past few weeks that have given a preview of what we could expect.

Mike Lafferty had a solid season last year in the National Enduro ranks, and a great ride at the Sumter Enduro a few weeks ago. Russell Bobbitt won the Sumter event, which made him a favorite as well, in addition to Nick Fahringer who’s been adjusting to his new program very well. You also can’t count out Jesse Groemm who was doing extremely well at Sumter before losing time fixing his brake pedal in the last section. Then there’s that Charlie Mullins character that you should never count out. It made for one of the more storied opening rounds of the National Enduro Series in quite a while.

When the race got underway, Charlie Mullins was absolutely on fire in the first two sections winning the first by 20 seconds, and the second section by 54 seconds while Nick Fahringer took second in sections 1 and 2. Section 3 would see a different winner as Brad Bakken turned up the heat to take the section win. Nick Fahringer would take the win the 4^th and 6^th sections while Russell Bobbitt won the 5^th section. Thad Duvall put in a solid ride in the first section for third but had some issues in the 3^rd section, which would cost him some time.

In the end, Charlie Mullins would end up with the win with a 28:52 over Nick Fahringer in 2^nd with 29:31 while Russell Bobbitt rounded out the podium with a 30:02. Brad Bakken put in an excellent ride to take 4^th over Mike Lafferty rounding out the top 5. Jesse Groemm ended up 6^th ahead of Andrew Delong in 7^th. Both of those riders logged several top 5 section finishes throughout the day. Grant Baylor, Shane Hufford and Thad Duvall rounded out the top 10, respectively.

Steward Baylor did make the race but ended up only riding 3 sections before calling it a day. They felt that the risk of re-injuring his wrist was greater than any points he would salvage by continuing. The decision was also made for Steward to go back in for surgery today and repair the wrist, hopefully for good this time. Unfortunately this means that Steward will ultimately be spending a few more months off the bike, but in the long run will prove to be the better choice.

Oh, and I raced as well for those who have asked me this week. My ride was incredibly unimpressive and I basically rode like I didn’t know what I was doing for a good bit of the day. If you’re actually interested in reading my story about the race, or well, it’s really just me talking about how bad I did, you can see that HERE.

If you remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that I heard about a rider whose program might be changing before the season starts. Well, the pieces of the puzzle have all come together. Last week it was announced that Rory Mead and WMR had parted ways, then at the Cherokee National Enduro, Rory was spotted with a piece of duct tape on his jersey with the letters “RPM” written with a Sharpie. Those who noticed took it as a sign and that sign was correct. Earlier this week it was announced that Rory Mead will be joining Travis Coy and Kacy Martinez to make up the GNCC effort of the FMF/RPM/KTM Team.

Rory will be aboard a KTM 450XC-F back in the XC1 class. With another great program behind him, it will be interesting to see how Rory does in 2013. However, this also leaves a spot open on the WMR team and according to the press release announcing Rory’s departure from the team, it sounds like they’re looking at some options as we speak, so stay tuned to see who fills that spot.

Speaking of new riders, I caught up with 6-time Women’s Motocross champion, Jessica Patterson for Tuesday Toolbox this week. Jessica will be making her GNCC debut at River Ranch and looks like she’ll be going GNCC Racing all this year since the WMX Series has been reduced to a 3-round Triple Crown. Between Jessica and Kacy Martinez coming into race the Women’s class in addition to 3-time champ Maria Forsberg back again, it’s definitely going to be a pretty stacked year for the Women’s class.

Wow, I feel like there’s so much more we could talk about but we still have some time before River Ranch so I’ll save some it for the coming weeks. I’m heading to the ATL this weekend to catch some Supercross action, so if anyone is there and sees me wandering around aimlessly, it’s because I’m not used to being at a race just to spectate, so feel free to say hi.

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

Here’s @HotRodney22:

As another big red slash decorates my calendar, I now only count two weeks before the masses begin to roll into The Westgate River Ranch for round one of the AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series. It kind of blows my mind actually and I even warned you all that this would happen. Time flies, just when you think you have enough to spare.

I would like to take this time personally to welcome AMSOIL as the new title sponsor for the GNCC. It is a great union that will only lift the series to another level. A big example may be what the future holds as far as TV and Internet coverage. It will be streamed live and there will be highlight shows and so much more as it was stated in a press release last week.  RacerTV is becoming what I like to call its own mini off road racing network and the level just went up one more click.

The big question about the live Internet coverage is the obvious, "How will it work?" Coming from a radio and television background, I know this is not going to be an easy task. A lot of time and effort in research and testing has gone into the project and we got to see the fruits of their labor with last season's tests webcasts. As great as that was, it is believed to be even better for the start for the season. Will there be growing pains? I would say yes, but GNCC will be available for the world to watch and experience virtually what the fans at the race will experience. (Minus mud, rain, cold, dust and such)

It seems that there is a state of the art satellite Internet system to broadcast the event to the world. There will be remote cameras with state of the art technology relay systems that should be able to bring the action deep in the woods right into the homes of many fans that may never be able to experience what it is like first hand. Cameras will be positioned in strategic locations and you can expect to always be up to date on the finish line, Pro Pits and when and where feasible, the toughest, most gnarly places on the track. I for one cannot wait to see this take place, because I like many cannot get to many places on the track and am limited to certain areas and this will give us all the opportunity to this actually. It will also be cool to sit in the woods on your smart phone or tablet and watch the race and still know where and what's going on elsewhere.  

I realize I haven't covered anything specific about what anyone is doing right now but I think it is obvious. They are training, racing regionally and locally and getting ready for the 2013 Amsoil GNCC. There are a number of changes going to take place and many will not have any answers to questions we may have, some don't know and some are keeping it hush hush.

The things I have caught include Stew Baylor sitting out at least the first part of the season for surgery on his wrist from an injury that has plagued him since mid last season. I spoke with Stew late last season and in the off-season about his problems and asked him why he had not taken the time to let it heal. I told him he was young and had s long career ahead of him if he didn't do anything stupid like race with broken wrists and broken collarbones. I asked him why he would put himself through all that and he told me that he wanted both the National Enduro and XC2 Pro Lites GNCC title. He also said that he had to do it so he could have a ride in 2013. I asked him why and he told me, "You're only as good as your last race and your sponsors want to see results and that's the bottom line." He said that not only that but he was hoping to snag more support and if he could go out strong it would be easier. Luckily it paid off and Stew is now a full KTM rider. He said that the team is behind 100% to heal and be ready. He said that they are all looking to the future and they are standing behind him knowing what potentially can happen in his career for many years to come. A wise choice by such a young and ambitious young man. Heal up Stew and we can't wait to see you back to full power.

I also recently spoke with XC2 Pro Am ATV Rookie Brycen Neal and it looks like he is ready to roll into 2013. He sent this note to let me know what was going on:

How have you been? My teammate Kylie Ahart and I have been hitting the gym hard every week. We've been testing motors and this past Saturday we tested shocks in Kentucky with Josh Owens of DirtWorks Motorsports.  We're very happy with the changes that we have made this year coming up. Our Teixeira tech, fox float shox set front end is working spot on, and our new rear setup with the Dirtworks "XC hybrid" link is working phenomenal.

We have been racing the Mid-South Cross Country series all winter long and put our DC Cycle motors through the test. We'll be racing every weekend from here till the week before Florida. We then plan on heading out the week before and putting some time in on the bikes in the sand.

Kylie Ahart has really surprised me with the speed she has gained over the winter.  I look for great things to come from her. I myself, I haven't stopped since Loretta Lynn's last year, and I'm ready to go toe-to-toe in the XC2 class.  I am literally giving everything I have to transform myself into a championship contender and not just a weekend warrior. I'm really looking forward to the year ahead competition wise and I can't wait to get out there and see where we all stack up.

My team is very excited to get out there and showcase our new team, sponsors, and have all kinds of fun!! We can't wait Rodney!  I look forward to seeing you at River Ranch and hope your winter has been a good one.

Thanks, Brycen! That is some really cool stuff to hear. I for one cannot wait to see what kind of wrath these two, as well as the rest of the GNCC Racin' Nation, has to unleash.

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