Welcome to Quick Fill.

 It's crazy to think we've already reached the mid-way point of the season as we head into Round 7 this weekend. The first half of the season has already shaped up for what is sure to be an exciting championship chase, not only in the XC1 and XC2 classes, but pretty much all the way down the line. Of course we have a few standout riders who are domininating their respective classes, but for the most part the class battles have remained pretty tight in the first six rounds.

 I missed the last round of GNCC and I feel all out of whack as far as which riders are doing what on the circuit. What I do know, though, is a few standout wins took place in Indiana that are definitely worth mentioning. Beginning with the morning ATV division, young gun Westley Wolfe grabbed another overall win at the Limestone 100 and I have to say - I was pretty pumped for the kid! The morning race has been historically dominated by the veterans like Dave Simmons and even the Women's class competitors, so it's pretty cool to see the young kids use the 10 AM race as a stepping stone to the premier afternoon race. Obviously Walker Fowler's win, and Chris Bithell's second place for that matter, over the champ Chris Borich was a huge deal for various reasons. Fowler was able to break a five-race win streak on Borich's part, while also giving himself the confidence needed to re-enter the championship contention after sort of stepping away from the heated battles for a moment this season. Bithell has been looking stronger than ever before, so I don't expect to see anything less from him this weekend at The Penton.

I'm really impressed with Fred Marley's XC2 Pro Am rides this season. Marley put in another second place finish behind Brycen Neal last round, which gives the Indiana native two podium finishes this season. The XC2 competition is so unpredictible, with the exception of Brycen Neal's always solid performances, of course. Those young guns are really going to wreak havoc in the next couple of years as they continue to pick up speed and momentum leading into the Pro division.

On the bike side, I can't help but be excited for 16-year-old Grant Baylor, who secured his first career XC2 win last round. While I don't ever like to see Andrew DeLong experience problems, his misfortune in the past couple of rounds has really evened out the playing field and now that Baylor is into second overall in the points, with Thomas in the lead, things are going to be interesting from here on out. DeLong has proven to have the most consistent speed and finishes, but once Baylor gets the kinks out of his rookie season, he will be tough to beat. However, defending champ Jason Thomas is going for a different approach this year it seems. UK 1 is playing the sneaky snake roll, where he kind of moves under the radar all along the way and keeps finishing consistently up front while the others put in an all-or-nothing type ride. Thomas has yet to win a race, but he must be doing something right as he holds the points halfway through the season.

 That's going to be it for me this weekend. I'm spending the weekend in Blountville, Tenn. for Round 3 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at a place that may be familiar to many GNCC Racers out there. Muddy Creek Raceway is hosting the inaugural Tennessee National this Saturday and while it will be exciting to see the first Pro Motocross National in the southeast in 15 years, I am also bummed to miss a second straight GNCC. Good luck to everyone racing the Wiseco John Penton this weekend and don't forget to tune into GNCC LIVE on Saturday and Sunday, as the RacerTV.com crew will bring you live coverage of the racing.

And here’s Chuck LeMaster:

Thankfully, we are heading to Southern Ohio in June...not July (as we have the past two years).  However, it's still going to be WARM with temps near 90 degrees!  Therefore, Team Faith Youth will be hosting its First Annual Water Truck Water Slide!  This consists of laying several large tarps out on a grassy hill and using the water truck to create the slide.  Bring your shorts and sunscreen!  We'll be slipping and sliding at 6:30pm Saturday evening! 

In other news, I know the GNCC community is very concerned with the condition of Masters A rider Randall Riggs.  (He had a bad crash at Limestone 100 and was Life Flighted to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis)  He's been moved from the hospital to Kindred Transitional Care Facility.  He still has a long way to go and there is no long-term prognosis as of yet.  Please stop by the Team Faith pits this weekend and sign the giant "Get Well Card."  I'm sure this will help lift his spirits - he's a fighter (as anyone who has had to race against him can attest!).  

That's it for now - see you in a couple days! 

Thanks Chuck. Here’s Bolton.

@JaredBolton:

Guess what kids? It’s time to go GNCC Racing once again this weekend! We now head to a venue that is pretty high on the list of number of GNCC events it’s hosted, which is of course, The John Penton (back in the day it was called Burr Oaks for those who may not have known that) and over the years The Penton has seen its fair share of excellent races.

When people think of The Penton, it seems like everyone says, “oh it’s either really dusty or really muddy” but it’s also seen some really good conditions before. This year, we’re looking at the possibility of some rain. If you look at the percentage chance though, it’s a greater chance that it doesn’t rain, so make sure to look at the “glass half full.”

However, that’s only half the story as the real focus will be on the racing action. At the Limestone, Walker Fowler became the first person to beat Chris Borich this season and Chris Bithell landed another 2^nd place, his third one of the season. Many were asking, “what happened to Borich” as it seemed like his late race charge never really came. Well, I think everyone knows that sometimes you have your “off-days” in racing (must be nice when 3^rd place is your off-day) so I imagine we’ll see Borich bounce back at The Penton.

The bike race produced one of the best of the year as it was a three-way battle between Charlie Mullins, Kailub Russell and Thad Duvall for much of the race. The FMF/KTM teammates have been on fire this year and I know I talk about it every week but those two are definitely the guys to beat at the moment, and Duvall has been the only guy to beat them so far this year when he took the win in the Kentucky mud while Kailub and Charlie ran into bike issues.

The XC2 class has also been very interesting this year and things have shaken up even more. Andrew Delong dominated the class early in the season but has been struck by bad luck in the two previous rounds. That’s now allowed Jason Thomas to take over the points lead and Grant Baylor has climbed to second. However, Baylor is beginning to come on strong and it’s obvious that he’s quickly adjusted to the XC2 class as he snagged his first XC2 win at the Limestone.

The Women’s bike class has also been huge this season and things shook up a little bit the last race. Jessica Patterson sat out the last two rounds in preparation for the Hangtown Motocross National, and then to race Hangtown. Maria Forsberg and Kacy Martinez both made the trip to Barcelona to compete in X Games Endurocross, so they both missed Limestone as well. This took the only 3 riders to previously win races this season out of the running, which made it anyone’s ball game.

Hannah Otto would end up taking the win ahead of Becca Sheets and Mandi Mastin. However, Forsberg, Martinez and Patterson will all three be back this weekend in Ohio but as we know in GNCC Racing, anything could happen. We could see those three on the podium again but the other ladies are hungry, and there’s an equal chance that we could see Otto, Sheets, Mastin or numerous others work their way into contention. That’s what’s great about GNCC Racing, you never really know exactly what to expect.

UTV racing also returns this weekend and I actually caught up with Ellen Pritchard, wife of the late Glen “Jody” Pritchard, for Tuesday Toolbox this week. This is probably one of, if not THE best Tuesday Toolbox interview I’ve ever done just for the great answers that Ellen had for my questions and just sharing her stories. She’ll be back behind the wheel of a UTV this weekend, so if you want to read it, and trust me, you do, you can check that out here: http://www.gnccracing.com/2013/05/28/tuesday-toolbox-ellen-pritchard

Well, I hate to cut myself short but we’ve got a race weekend coming up and it’s getting close to that time. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend and hope to see you in Ohio. Until next time, Bolt-On… Um, is done typing. 

@HotRodney22:

The actual mid-way point of the 2013 Amsoil GNCC is this weekend with the Wiseco John Penton GNCC. Round 7 of 13 and the mid-season championship dramas begin to build to fever pitch. The exciting thing is that it has mainly been on the track and the racing has been once again positioning itself for one of the greatest seasons on record. It is hard to believe that we as race fans are being treated to such a spectacle two seasons in a row, but it appears to be our gift and I for one am truly thankful.

The big story leading into this weekend is of course the impending battle brewing in the XC1 Pro ATV class. Chris Borich coming off his first defeat handed to him in a straight up race with no mechanical or injury problems. Walker Fowler AND Chris Bithell straight up took it to the champ two weeks ago in Indiana. The questions now are deduced down to one question ultimately and that question is, "Will Chris Borich let it happen again?" To say Chris Borich lost the last round is truly a stretch with the way he secured the valuable championship points, but he did come across in third and anyone who knows him knows that it is not acceptable.

One thing is certain and that is that Walker Fowler got a taste of "True Victory" with that win and the way he rode at such a fever pitch the entire race has one wondering if possibly things may be about to change as far as ATV pacing in the early points of the race. I know I never saw Fowler or Bithell relax at any point and to me it was glimpses of Walker Fowler in the XC2 Pro Am days. I know Fowler is ready to back it up and in his home state of Ohio would be a good place to make his mark permanent.

Chris Bithell may have finished 2nd behind Fowler but in the grand scheme of things he did exactly what Fowler did and that was beat Chris Borich. That in itself is a huge confidence booster and coupled with the already exceptional rides this season, he is another super threat to Borich and his continued dominance in the 2013 season.

If nothing else, I love the hype of such an occurrence of seeing Chris Borich get beat. The flip side to that is that is almost like seeing Superman taken down. It kind of hurts to see our hero take a shot like that. However, it makes the anticipation for 1:00 on Saturday that much more intense.

The XC2 Pro Am class has its own drama and excitement building as well. The phenomenal rides being put in by Brycen Neal and defending XC2 Champ Pat McGuire have been nothing less than amazing as well. Neal seems to pull off a strong ride no matter what. He has four wins and only finished off the podium once this season. Sitting 15 points back in 2nd of the class is McGuire. Pat has put together a pretty amazing season himself. Though his results don't show it with wins, McGuire has rode well enough to win at nearly every round. However, minimal mistakes and some equipment problems have made it tougher to take the wins but his consistency is paying off in huge dividends. With only one win so far this season, McGuire needs to find the combinations that put him where he was last year and the championship in the XC2 class will be one that you will not be able to ignore.

The bike side of things will feature three of Southern Ohio's premier local standouts. Charlie Mullins was born and raised on the west side of District 11, while Kailub Russell grew up basically in the soils of the family farm known as Sunday Creek which hosts the John Penton GNCC. Thad Duvall is also considered a District 11 boy being from just across the Ohio River only minutes away from Sunday Creek. Duvall grew up cutting his teeth through the local ranks of Ohio and there will be a huge fan base cheering there for him this weekend as well. 

The question here is, will anyone be able to stop the freight train of steam these three are building at the halfway point. Charlie has proven to be the most consistent but both Kailub and Thad have the speed to win. The key thing to remember though is that they are not the only ones. If Paul Whibley is healthy and Josh Strang finally finds his groove, things could become excitingly different on the turn of a time. And oh yeah, though he has been doing it quietly, Chris Bach has been extremely steady and quiet about it all season. It is as if he is trying to sneak up and win the championship. If things heat up much more, it could play in his favor. The only thing that could make this even more visually exciting is if Bach shows up on a black bike in black gear like a stealth bomber. 

This weekend should be a warm one and hopefully the weather stays dry. The forecast is calling for a chance of showers but they look like the passing summertime type that hopefully doesn't cause a lot of problems. Either way The John Penton GNCC and everything that makes it a premier stop on the tour will ready to make special memories for racers, families and fans alike.

Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.