Welcome to Quick Fill.

Last weekend’s race action surely didn’t disappoint as the series began its two-stop tour of the Wild and Wonderful state of West Virginia. The 2^nd Annual Parts Unlimited Mountaineer Run GNCC was a success all around, from the desirable track conditions to the great spectator turnout and every food vendor in between. Marvin’s Mountain Top definitely provides a gnarly landscape for GNCC Racers but it also showcases the picturesque scenery that surrounds the state. Last year we heard several comments from the racers that the course was very rocky and a bit harsh on the bikes, but of course it was tough to know how things would shape up the first year around. So this year, it looks like Barry Hawk, JR and the crew took into account what folks said last year when making the trail this year because I honestly heard nothing but great things about the track all weekend long.

The rain leading up to Saturday gave just the right amount of moisture in the woods for the ATV and UTV races, and even the additional rainfall on Saturday evening and Sunday morning aided in making the 1 PM bike race pretty darned good. The guys will cover the afternoon racing below, but I want to touch on what’s happening so far in the morning ATV racing. Kylie Ahart has really stepped her game up this season, dominating the Women’s class and inching her way to the front of the overall each round. Unfortunately Kylie experienced some issues at the last round, but the Marietta Missile did finish atop the overall morning podium at The Penton, which is huge! The morning class battles are all over the place, especially between the 4x4 guys. Right now the class to be in (or maybe not to be in) is the U2 division. Robert Smith and Michael Swift have been duking it out for class points all season long but more importantly, they’ve been battling in the overall running as well. Swift bested Smith on the final lap at the Mountaineer Run, taking the 4x4 overall position away by only 10 seconds after two hours of racing. Heading into that race, the 4x4 guys seemed pretty confident that they were going to fare well in the rough terrain, seeing as those machines typically handle the slick rocks better than the sport quads. However, it seemed like the sport guys really put on impressive rides to capture two of the three overall spots on the podium. And it was none other than Schoolboy (13-15) rider Cody Collier topping the field for his first EVER morning overall. Cody was pretty pumped to say the least and I know he’s wanted to grab that overall pretty badly. Especially since his biggest competition, Westley Wolfe, has two under his belt as well. Dave Simmons and the rest of the veteran racers had better watch out because the young guns are here to stay!

Defending Youth champ Hunter Hart returned to his winning ways at the Mountaineer Run, topping the Youth overall for the seventh time this season. I always enjoy doing the post-race #gncclive interviews with Hunter because you just never know what kind of adventure that boy will endure during his race. It’s never just a plain old story about how the track was fun and his bike worked well. I feel like Hunter rides his quad through hoops of fire, overcomes the any obstacle in the woods and always finds a way to battle through any kind of injury imaginable. Not to mention, he wins. It’s also really neat to see just how much he admires Chris Borich. You can always find those two hanging out at the Borich camp on race day and Hunter actually mentioned last weekend that he’s alright with having one loss on his record because (at the time) Borich had one loss too, and both Suzuki boys were on the hunt to win 12/13 this season. Unfortunately for Borich, he wasn’t able to keep the same winning record as his Youth prodigy, but nonetheless I think both riders have that special something that spells out champion. I’m interested to follow Hunter’s career as he moves through the ranks.

But we’ve really seen several of the Youth ATV riders step up their game this season. Riders like John Glauda Jr., Seth Wilson, Kalab Hagan and Carter Kerens have been names we’ve heard quite often and those top five guys are constantly battling for the overall win. The 90 Open (12-15) division is very competitive but then you’ve got Kerens in the 125 Sr. (12-15) class thrown into the mix as well, so it’s been pretty exciting to watch it all unfold this season.

Just a reminder that GNCC University is returning to the Snowshoe Campus this year and there are a few positions available if you’d like to take part in this amazing riding school. I’ve been a part of GNCC U the past two years and the things I learned there are those that have stuck in my mind every time I’m riding in the woods. I haven’t had the opportunity to learn from the ATV instructors since I’m a dirtbike gal, but Paul Whibley, Randy Hawkins, Jason Raines and the rest are incredible instructors. It’s actually kind of unbelievable how good they are at teaching, considering how fast they are on a dirtbike. I was talking to six-time WMX champion Jessica Patterson the other day and she said she’s been riding a lot with the whole AmPro Yamaha team and they have broken down so many elements of woods racing that she didn’t really knew existed. Whibs, especially, has become a mentor to Jessica it sounds like and it’s definitely beginning to pay off. Other than the fact that JP$ banged her hand up pretty well at the last round, she’s been improving immensely in the woods. But anyway, the point is that the only place the rest of us “normal folks” can get one-on-one training with the champ and other Pro riders is at GNCC University. For more information and to see a full list of this year’s instructors on both the ATV and dirt bike side, click HERE.

That’s going to be all for me this week. I’ll pass it along to Bolton and looking forward to seeing everyone at Snowshoe Mountain in less than a week!

And here’s Mr. Bolton.

So how was that for a weekend of racing? Rain during the week prior had a lot of people concerned but it actually ended up being really good for the quads on Saturday and as close to perfect as you can get for the majority of the morning bike race. A quick shower around 1pm on Sunday made the opening laps for the afternoon bikes a little slick but it ended up being pretty good for those guys as well.

That goes to show, if there’s rain in the forecast, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to be muddy. I’ve told people plenty of times before, number one; a 40% chance of rain means there’s a 60% chance that it doesn’t rain, and number two; scattered showers is only like watering the track.

One person that seemed to really enjoy the track was Adam McGill, who became the 2^nd person to beat Chris Borich this year. However, Borich put in a charge on that final lap and even tried to make a last turn pass on McGill but couldn’t make it stick. If you watched it on the GNCCLive webcast, you know that McGill was pretty pumped on the win to say the least.

On the bike side, Kailub Russell made it two in a row with his win at The Mountaineer Run while Josh Strang worked his way through the pack to end up 2^nd ahead of Charlie Mullins. Strang and Chris Bach had a pretty good battle for third going and eventually even caught up to Mullins. However, Bach had a small crash and couldn’t get the bike started, which took him out of podium contention, so he settled for a fourth ahead of Paul Whibley in fifth.

Speaking of Bach, he’ll be making his debut in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship this weekend at Budds Creek. I actually had the opportunity to shoot a little video earlier this week of Bach getting some final suspension testing in at MX421 (formerly known as Thunder Valley) in Yadkinville, NC (just up the road from where the Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC was held). If you want to check that out, you can see the video HERE.

The Women’s class had some good racing this weekend as well with Maria Forsberg taking the win, and a 2^nd overall in the Morning race behind “The Southeastern Legend” Vance Earl (yeah, I just stuck Vance with a new nickname. It pays tribute to his numerous Mid-East and NCHSA overall titles). Maria was absolutely on the gas and came away with her biggest win of the season.

I spoke with Maria briefly after the race and she mentioned how much she enjoyed the track and that it was the most comfortable she felt all year, so you have to wonder what Snowshoe will bring for Maria. Kacy Martinez put in a solid ride for 2^nd ahead of Mandi Mastin. Kacy said that it was the rockiest race she’s ever done. Just wait until Snowshoe, Kacy! Also, props to Mandi for making her way back onto the podium.

So now we’re gearing up to head into the final round before summer break, and it’s the mackdaddy of them all, Snowshoe. This is easily the most unique GNCC event of all, as not only with it taking place at one of the premiere ski resorts on the east coast, but also because of how tough and rugged it is, plus it’s tribute to the original GNCC event, The Blackwater 100.

For anyone who never knew the background on the “in-town” style start, that’s part of how Snowshoe pays tribute to Blackwater as that’s how the race was started. Then the miles and miles of rugged, rocky, muddy terrain is probably the best Snowshoe tribute we have. All Snowshoe is missing is the deep river crossings, and the Route 93 river crossing… Well, and the exorbitant amount of, um, shall I say “enthusiastic” spectators. If you were there or have seen any videos, you know what I mean.

That’s part of what makes Snowshoe so special. Not only is it our most rugged, unique, wild and wonderful (see what I did there!) event of the year but it also pays homage to the roots of our series, and that’s a pretty important thing to do in my book.

An interesting note as well, I saw a couple of weeks ago that MotoTees is planning on remaking a Blackwater 100 t-shirt to sell at Snowshoe. So, make sure you get your hands on one because I imagine they will be a pretty popular item. You’re also going to have to beat me to the front of the line because I know I want one!

I’ll dive more into this next week, but racers, don’t forget that Snowshoe presents a lot of unique challenges. Remember that riding smart is just as important as riding fast. Ricky Bobby’s dad may have said “it’s the fastest that gets paid” but that’s not always true. Snowshoe is definitely one of those races where it’s not always about going fast. Well, except on the fire roads. Make sure you pin it there, but also be careful. We put the Danger markers up for a reason.

That’s all I’ve got for this week. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend off and fills it with some sort of riding, racing, spectating, or some sort of fun activity. Until next time, Bolt-On out!

Thanks, Jared. We’ll pass it over to Chuck LeMaster for a look at what’s coming up on the Youth activity calendar.

Team Faith Youth had a lot of fun this past weekend at the Mountaineer GNCC!  We started things off on FRIDAY with a tug-of-war contest.  (This is an all-new experience having Youth on Friday nights and turn out was a little low...but I believe we will catch momentum).  Saturday night turnout was as expected - about 50 kids gathered around the Team Faith trailer and we launched water balloons at one another!  The KTM mechanic squad came over and even XC2 racer Grant Baylor got in on the action...pelting the kids with water balloons!  

The next round is Snowshoe.  Be sure to come to the Village Square for Youth activities on Friday and Saturday nights (6:30pm).  We will be hosting a Cornhole Tournament complete with a $50 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC gift card for the winning team!  Practice up!

@HotRodney22:

First off let me say a big whopping "WOW! What a weekend!"  With that out of the way I can maybe make some sense of a million things going through my mind. I not only took a ride in the UTV races on Saturday but I witnessed some pretty powerful GNCC history unfold before my very eyes. The Borich-McGill battle to the finish was to say the least made things very interesting heading into the second half of the season. Then on Sunday it became quite clear that the win in Ohio may have made Kailub Russell a very dangerous threat for the 2013 GNCC title.

I would surely like to thank the Team Can Am/Hendershot Performance for one of the most exciting rides of my life. I really hope that I get a chance to do it again. I as well salute all the competitors and fans of a sport that I never truly understood until this past Saturday at the Parts Unlimited Mountaineer Run GNCC.

My day as a co-pilot in the GNCC Side x Side race began as the XC1 Pro class podium wrapped up. I didn't have a lot of time to think about the historical battle between Chris Borich and Adam McGill before I was climbing into a fire suit in preparation for my ride along with the Hendershots. The final steps before climbing into the car were being performed. My fire retardant mask and then helmet. A quick sound check for the in-car radio and we were golden.

I must have hit a switch or something because I never heard my drivers voice again for the rest of the day because my radio had gone out. They told me to hit a switch on the dash as soon as it fires and hang on. And that is exactly what I did.

When the green flag waved, everything went off like clockwork. I would say that we did not get the best of starts but we were all together and maybe next to last. However as we hit the wood line, my mouth dropped open (only for a second though, the car in front of us filled it with roost almost immediately) at the sight I beheld. Rocks and trees and roots were everywhere. There were several lines burned in by the ATV racing earlier in the day and as I watched a freight train of cars go through this ridiculous section Larry takes a quick right between two trees and over another and passes two cars. Then, as we hit an open section Larry rolled the power on and passed another on the straights and before we knew it we were leading our wave, which started second row off the line.

It wasn't long before we saw the leaders ahead of us out in the open sections. Larry pushed the throttle to the floor and would not let up and as the front few made their way into another tight section of woods we had caught them. I thought “Wow, we have to be winning.” It was then that I thought we would settle in and just take it on home. No way! Larry put the pressure on and made some incredible passes to where we were in second physically. I looked behind us and we were gapping the field. I can remember telling Larry, "There is no one in sight. Where did they go?" and he said, "They're back there somewhere!" as he pushed the pedal to the floor.

Eventually all good things have to come to an end and as we were leading the race on time, second on the track right behind the physical leader, a car crashes right in front of us and stops us. We come to a complete stop for what seemed liked forever. We were trying to back up a bit when from out of no where we get slammed in the rear two or three times and nearly everyone we had passed to get in position was making their way by. I remember telling Larry to "Go get them! They are getting away!" as he said "It won't go! Something’s wrong!" Then he reached up on the dash and hit the 4x4 switch and we started moving. Little did we know that in the collision the right rear wheel was ripped from the machine. It did not slow things down any though. Once we got rolling it we had lost sight of the leaders but Larry was on a mission. Coming around for the 2 Lap Board we were making ground but got caught up in lap traffic. However, once we shook worked our way through that, the race was on again. It wasn't long before we were able to catch the lead pack again with only three wheels. I promise a Can Am Commander can run as fast with 3 wheels as 4 or at least it did that day. We had gained on the lead pack again as we were approaching the white flag and it was then the that the one wheel in the back that was halfway functioning gave way and it as we came into the finish we were literally dragging the rear section of the car.

As the #44 car, in which I was a passenger crossed the finish line with one lap to go, my driver Larry looked over at me and said, "That's it, we're done."  The car was running great but the rear drive section of the car was all but missing. It was a bittersweet moment for me and definitely just a bitter moment for Larry. Quite understandably. Not only did it cost us the race and the overall win but I am sure the damage done was not going to be cheap to fix.

I recall climbing out of the car and as I was taking my helmet off the team came running up. Momma Hendershot was in the mix and I felt so bad for her. She came up with nearly tears in her eyes and said, "My poor car. What did you do to it? It was so beautiful."  At which time I smiled, chuckled and said, "you have no idea what it’s like out there. It's war and we are lucky to make out." (okay I didn't really say that (out loud) but it did cross my mind) The team as well had mixed emotions saying, "You were winning! What happened to the wheels on the back? At this moment the whole day started to unwind. I was feeling so pumped up from the experience and I knew then why people spend the time, money and effort into competing at this level. It really is that much fun.

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