Calling all youth riders and kids! Chuck LeMaster and the folks at Team Faith have been working hard to bring the Youth Outreach program back to GNCC. Join them this Saturday at 5:30 p.m as Rachel Mullins will be hosting the festivities with some t-shirt tie dying. Kids of all ages are invited and encouraged to attend and this isn’t just for the younger crowd, it’s a pretty happening spot for teens to hang as well. There will be several GNCC pro racers making appearances throughout the season and this week will feature William Yokley and Shelby Rolen. So parents, if you’re looking for a fun and positive place to send your kids this weekend, look no further than the Team Faith rig – 5:30 on Saturday evening.

As Bolton mentions below, coming to Big Buck every year is almost like attending a spectacular city festival. Henry Turner and his crew at Big Buck Farms treat GNCC Racers like family and he’s excited about this race all year long. Henry always lines up as many city officials, military personnel and beauty queens to attend Big Buck and this year is no different as he’s lined up the band Prettier Than Matt to play the National Anthem both days. Prettier Than Matt is made up of two members, Jessica Skinner and Jeff Pitts, who are apparently much more than a couple of pretty faces and sharp personalities. They have some kick-ass talent to top it all off. In the two years the duo has been together, they’ve released a digital single called “Miss You,” performed their signature brand of music from South Carolina to Tennessee and opened for established acts like Danielle Howle, Jonas See In Color and Sister Hazel.  “We pride ourselves on being cool enough for the edgy and sweet enough for the sensitive. Become a fan now, because if you’re trying to fight it, we will eventually catch up with you. Welcome aboard.” –Prettier Than Matt

We’re looking forward to hearing those guys play the National Anthem this weekend!

If you haven’t already checked them out, head over to RacerTV.com to see the first two episodes of the season. Both ATV and Bike racing from River Ranch are now up for your viewing pleasure. We announced the entire NBC Sports Network lineup this week, which can be found HERE, and the RacerTV.com lineup will be out shortly.

Tomorrow morning we’re headed into the town of Union for some media activities, which I’m really excited about. We always have a blast hanging out in the community whether it’s a school visit or radio opportunity. So tomorrow morning Josh Strang will be heading to the WBCU radio station to hang out on their morning show and talk GNCC Racing. And then the AmPro Yamaha crew will join me in heading over to Monarch Elementary School to talk to students about positive living topics and of course, invite them to Big Buck this weekend! I’m looking forward to getting the race weekend kicked off with these great media opportunities and definitely excited to see what kind of racing action will come about.

Don’t forget to tune into RacerTV.com at 1 PM EST on Saturday and Sunday for another weekend of GNCC LIVE. Rodney Tomblin, Stu Baylor and I (and the massive crew we have behind the scenes) will once again bring you as much live race action and commentary as we possibly can in the two and three-hour shows so you definitely don’t want to miss out on that.

By the way, if you’re traveling on 77 southbound be very careful on your speed! There are all kinds of law enforcement folks along this road and they aren’t being shy about puling people over. Also, don’t forget that gas and diesel are much cheaper in the state of South Carolina than anywhere else so it may be a good idea to hold off on filling up until you cross the border.

That’s all for me. See you all this weekend!

Here’s @JaredBolton:

Henry Turner from Big Buck always welcomes us with open arms and I’m sure a lot of you will agree with me when I say that I really do enjoy heading to Big Buck. South Carolina really offers a lot of opportunities for off-road racing, and Big Buck is always one of the best places in the state.

While I’m on the subject of racing in South Carolina, I’ll jump back to last weekend where the Mid-East Hare Scramble Series was in action in Woodruff, South Carolina only about 20 minutes or so away from Big Buck. I’d heard that the Harris Bridge track had become a fairly popular stop for the Mid-East folks, and after racing there myself, I found out why. It was a pretty fun course!

On the bike side, Ricky Russell ended up with the overall win, after he finished second overall to Chris Bach the day before at the MAXC race in Indiana. Obviously that wasn’t enough racing for Ricky as he did make that drive from Indiana to South Carolina to snag that overall win at the Mid-East. Jesse Robinson ended up 2^nd while 3^rd place overall went to a familiar name, Bryan Henson, who came out of hiding to win the AA-Expert class.

Bryan Cook ran away with the overall win on the quad side over Chris Barbee, and every time I see this guy’s name pop up in results I like to mention it, Chuck Norris won the AA-Expert class and finished third overall. Some more interesting results from the race comes from Women’s class competitor, Jesi Stracham who competed in her first ever race on the bike and ended up with 2^nd place (Jesi, I won’t mention how many people were in the class) and after that, she jumped on the quad and back into her comfort zone where she ended up taking the win in the A class and finishing 10^th overall. Pretty impressive feat!

While all of that was going on, Charlie Mullins was busy absolutely dominating the Cajun Classic National Enduro in Louisiana. Charlie won every single test and finished the day 2:43 ahead of Russell Bobbitt in second while Nick Fahringer rounded out the podium in third. That’s a pretty impressive ride by Charlie as well because it seems like a lot of times in the National Enduros, the guys are only separated by a few seconds.

That means you’ll want to keep an eye on Charlie this weekend, but wait, if there’s one person that excels at Big Buck, it’s Kailub Russell. Throw in the fact that it’s officially a points race between the FMF KTM teammates, and it will surely make for an interesting race day come Sunday. This could be the race that we’ve been waiting all year to see, and it very well could come down to the wire. We’ll see how it goes but I’m definitely thinking that we could be in for a pretty interesting weekend of racing at Big Buck.

Of course, the action doesn’t end with just Kailub and Charlie. You’ve also got several guys who are looking to stay close and each of these guys have already shown this season that they can run up front. Chris Bach, Josh Strang and Thad Duvall are all certainly hungry to jump up front and try to snag a win away from the KTM boys. Can any of them do it? It’s pretty possible.

However, you can never count out Paul Whibley. Although it seems like some folks may be beginning to doubt Whibs after he’s struggled mildly in this first part of the season, everyone should remember that if there’s one guy that you should never count out, it’s Whibs. He’s proved time and time again that he can grab a win in just about any terrain or condition there is. He may not be a big fan of some of those conditions or terrains, but he can definitely pull of a win.

Then there’s the XC2 class! Andrew Delong showed himself as the top dog at the opening rounds and ran up front for the majority of the race at Steele Creek. However, Jason Thomas and Grant Baylor are both right there in contention as well. Then it was Aaron Plessinger who snagged a win away from all 3 of those guys at Steele Creek. All that just barely scratches the surface, as the XC2 class is proving to be just as interesting to watch this season as XC1.

Before I go, I wanted to let everyone know that if any racers travelling through North Carolina that would like an extra place to ride during the week, Wednesday or Thursday, the folks are Brushy Mountain Motorsports Park in Taylorsville, NC are willing to accommodate! Check them out at www.bmmspark.com

Well, that’s going to do it for me this week. Hope to see everyone out enjoying a great weekend of racing at Big Buck! Until next time, Bolt-On out!

And here’s @HotRodney22:

Is it Round 4, The Big Buck GNCC already? I for one am amazed at how fast this season is clicking away. I don’t know why it seems to surprise me like it does each season, but somehow it does. The most appealing thing about this race is the surprises generally that seem to pop up each year at this event.

Last season, the surprises that stood out most to me were the unbelievable run that Walker Fowler and Taylor Kiser were making in the early part of the afternoon ATV race last year. Kiser, fresh off his win after the preseason injury, and Fowler, still reeling from the defeat suffered in Georgia where he had mechanical issues that had they not happened may have turned the tables on the GNCC racing world forever, were leading the field convincingly when identical mechanical issues took them both out of competition within only a few hundred feet apart. It was stated that the computer mapping technology had somehow been dialed into a motocross setting which had the bike firing different and actually ran the motor so hard that it lasted only a little longer than the length of an actual ATV MX moto. Fast motor setup but unfortunately not conducive to GNCC Racing and there again the pages of history may have been written differently from that point on. We will never really know, but what we do know is that this year’s ATV race should be no less exciting or dramatic than anything that has happened is years past.

As far as the bike side of things goes, my memory is leading toward the way the series really starts to blossom here. We have seen riders from the second row in land on the podium and nearly taking overall wins during this race. We have seen contenders lose their edge here with crashes and we have seen some of the most intense battles of the series during this event. Last season we saw the inevitable rise of Andrew Delong. Delong, who was injured coming into the season, blossomed here last year and through a major wrench into the second title hopes of then defending XC2 Lites Champ Stu Baylor.

This year the questions plague us as to what will be the things we take from this year’s Big Buck? With the intensity of the ATV XC1 and XC2 Pro Am battles it is a long shot trying to answer. Chris Borich continues to carry the confidence and skill to keep winning races. Each week though his competition is hanging on closer and closer making the 4 time GNCC champs job a little harder than it has been. The amazing thing is that every time the competition steps up so does Chris Borich. I know a lot of eyes watch the young Walker Fowler right now and many are looking at Adam McGill to be the one to start denting the armor of Borich, but I have to wonder about Chris Bithell in this mix now too. Chris has always been a threat but now seems to possess more desire than in the past and it is becoming evident in his performances. If Bithell puts and keeps it together, he could be the one Borich has to worry about.

The questions that plague us for the two wheel side of things is a simple one in the XC1 Pro class and that is now that Duvall has been slowed from the recent crash in North Carolina, is there anyone to step up to fight against the power house of Charlie Mullins and Kailub Russell? We may be surprised this weekend. I expect the reaffirmation of Paul Whibley this weekend. Whibs has had his struggles this season and most recently a practice crash and an illness that slowed him down at Steele Creek. Is he better? Will the “Axe Man” return to action? What about Josh Strang? Josh has been getting up to speed but the only thing is if he can get out front early with Charlie and Kailub, can he maintain the pace these two have found for 3 hours? Or can anyone for that matter? There seems to be a level that the bar has been raised to this season that right now only two seem to be able to ride consistently. The great thing about GNCC and the Big Buck GNCC is that this is one that you can never really know what to expect and it keeps us all on our toes and makes the excitement that is the fabric of GNCC.

As we roll into this weekend I do have a few reminders for you. One thing for certain is to say thank you to any local you see around the area. They have embraced GNCC into their history and it has become as much a part of their lives as it is ours. The red carpet will roll all around town so be cordial and enjoy being their guest this weekend. Good Ole Southern Hospitality is what you are in store for.

Also, as you roll to the start line this weekend remember that you need to get there promptly and find your spot on the line and when the blue flag waves….shut your engines off. Do not be riding through the first turn, behind the start doing burnouts or checking your brakes. It has been brought to my attention that penalties will be imposed this weekend if you are deemed to be doing any things of this nature. Basically you could end up starting backwards on the line. This goes for all classes and has been done in the past. However, it has not been done often lately but due to many infractions by many people there must be a handle placed upon this. So don’t be an example this weekend, it may cost you a good start. The main thing to remember is that warm your bike up on the way to the start, find your start line and pick your spot, park it and make sure you shut down when you see the blue flag. Simple enough you would think but I look for several to be starting backwards this weekend for some reason.