Welcome to Quick Fill.

For as long as we all anticipated the Can-Am Unadilla GNCC, it seemed to disappear all too quickly. We were very fortunate to have nearly perfect weather all weekend and the racing action was nothing short of exciting across the board. If you’re an active member on the social networks, then you already know the Unadilla GNCC hype continued well throughout the week. To me, the vital signs show that everyone is pumped up about the final three rounds of GNCC Racing and as Kailub Russell said last weekend, “it’s going to be a dogfight until the end.”

Speaking of dogfight, many of the GNCC courses are laid out in a way that lends a hand in creating the ultimate fan favorite finale – long straights that funnel into tight corners with high visibility to the hundreds of people lining the fences. Well, the culmination of the 4x4 overall battle on Saturday morning came down to the final moments between U2 front-runners Michael Swift and Robert Smith and after a little bumping and grinding, Swift edged out Smith by 0.156!

I’m not here to make any race calls but it was an exciting finish after almost two hours of hard fought racing, which is fun to see. It probably wasn’t fun for Bert, who ended up taking a shoulder to the finish line structure in the midst of the battle, but it sounds like both riders talked it out after the race and chalked it up to all a part of racing (battle pictured above).

It was the young gun Westley Wolfe (pictured below) who grabbed the AM overall once again, topping Cody Collier and Dave Simmons in the running. Those three guys have been pretty solid up front all season and it will be especially interesting to see how the Schoolboy (13-15) battle ends up between Collier and Wolfe when it’s all said and done.

A big congrats to the “Marietta Missile” Kylie Ahart for wrapping up the 2013 Women’s ATV championship with nine of the ten wins so far this season. I got the chance to briefly chat with Kylie last weekend and I asked her if there was a chance we would see her move into the afternoon race to mix it up with the guys. She pretty much said it’s crossed her mind for sure but she hinted toward the possibility of a Women’s class retiree returning to ride the morning race and if so, she’d like to match up with that rider instead. So I’m not sure what Kylie knows that we don’t know but we’ll stay tuned to find out.

Most of you have probably heard already, but we had over 700 bikes for the morning race on Sunday, making for an epic morning of racing to say the least. The Women’s Class front-runners have proven themselves worthy of their front row position this season as they continue to visit the overall podium at the end of two-hours. This time it was Maria Forsberg who claimed her first overall victory (excluding Sportsman) ahead of 700 + riders at Unadilla. Maria went back and forth with Kacy Martinez for the overall lead while vying for Women’s Class points. Martinez collided with a lapper while leading Forsberg near the end but it was a close race between the KTM-mounted ladies nonetheless. It seems like those two have more exciting battles as the season goes on and the last three are sure to be exciting. (Women's Class podium pictured below)

I also want to give a shout out to Hunter Hart, Kalab Hagan and John Glauda Jr. for being so awesome for Saturday’s Youth ATV podium interviews. It was my first time doing podium interviews and those guys nailed it like pros (maybe even better than some of the pros!). Also, shout out to Cole Mattison for taking the Youth overall on the bike side, with Cody Cook and Braxton McGee rounding out the overall podium. Zack Ponder just missed the podium but took the Super Mini (12-13) class win and gave such a good podium speech that the PA system went out….haha well it wasn’t his fault but I do want to apologize to Zack for cutting off his sponsor list. I’m already looking forward to chatting with everyone next round!

We’re excited to announce that Northwestern Pennsylvania’s very own “Constant Distraction” will bring the evening’s entertainment to you at the Car-Mate Gusher GNCC. Constant Distraction covers a wide variety of music from classic rock to 90's alt, through today's top of the pop charts and will be playing on Friday and Saturday from 7-11 p.m. on a stage located at the end of Vendor Row. You can find out more about the group on their official website: www.constant-distraction.com.

You’ve probably seen some branch of the KR4 Performance crew hanging around the GNCC races - in fact, if you watch the Youth bike race on Sunday morning you’re bound to see at least seven or eight little Keegan’s bolting through the finish line at any given time. But what you may not notice is the other seven riders who are supported by the KR4 Arrive-N-Ride Program, which is designed to help racers pull together all the means to compete in 13 rounds of the GNCC Series. Basically, the rider pays a fee for either a single race or the full season, and the team provides all the gear, mechanic, tires, parts, fuel, bike transportation, race prep and hospitality at the track. Frank and Brian Keegan, Bill Beam, Craig Martin and the entire crew are working hard to further develop this program by obtaining team sponsors at the feature, associate and even title level. If you want to read more information on the KR4 Arrive-N-Ride Program, click HERE or visit www.kr4performance.com or call (251) 586-5836.

I received a message this week from the folks at the Kyle T. Rohan Racing Foundation, which is a non-profit organization that was established when 29-year-old racer Kyle Rohan was tragically taken in an automobile accident. During the summer months, Kyle traveled the east coast racing each weekend in the AWCRS and GNCC Series where he was a top-10-finisher in every race. Along the way Kyle met many young riders, some of which were less fortunate and could hardly afford to be in the competition and he always did what he could to help them out. Kyle’s passion for the sport has inspired the creation of this foundation. The mission is to enhance the experiences of young riders through sharing the passion of the sport, in hopes to touch the heart of a young winner. The Foundation will hold fundraisers to raise money to donate various safety items and help individuals in the motocross community further their education. Donations include; safety gear, scholarships to various motorcycle technician institutes, scholarships to riding schools, registration fees and gas cards. The creation of the Kyle T. Rohan Racing Foundation helps #482, Kyle T. Rohan, forever race through every heart he touched. On Sunday, September 29 there will be a Memorial Hare Scramble at Five Star Cycle / Hillside Motocross Club with all proceeds and donations going to the Kyle T. Rohan Racing Foundation. For more information on the memorial race, please click HERE.

So I recently received the invite on Facebook to LIKE the Walker Fowler fan page, so I thought I would pass that along to the GNCC community to see if we can help Walker get over that 2,000 mark – maybe even up to 5K by Ironman? Anyway, here’s the link, go check it out!

Speaking of something you should check out, there’s a cool write-up about the Snowshoe GNCC in West Virginia Living Magazine. It’s pretty cool to see an outsider’s perspective on the unique setting of the Snowshoe GNCC and how despite its picturesque atmosphere, the actual race itself is pretty gnarly. Check out the article online HERE.

@JaredBolton:

Not to take anything away from the quad side of things, I’m sure Rodney will give more insight into everything coming up, but Sunday’s bike race was probably one of the best races I’ve seen in quite some time. As many people expected, once the race settled in a little it was Kailub Russell and Charlie Mullins out front battling for the overall and the FMF/KTM duo managed to pull away from the pack a little bit. However, there were some challengers.

First, New England local and JDay Offroad series champ Johnny Girroir (Jur-Are) put in some blistering laps early and stayed inside the top 3. Girroir admitted to getting a little tired as the race wore on but still put in a solid ride. As the race wore on new challengers began working their way through the pack. Rory Mead was the first to do so coming from as far back as 7^th place to work his way up to 2^nd by the fifth lap.

Then it would be Josh Strang putting on a charge who would first pick off Mead for a podium spot and then begin making a run for the top two. When the checkered flag finally flew, it would be Russell taking the win by just 1.797 seconds over Mullins and Strang rounded out the podium only 3.109 seconds behind Russell. After three hours of racing, the top three guys were all separated by only around three seconds. That’s pretty darn impressive.

Then there was the race for XC2! I mentioned last week about the chances of seeing some motocross talent at Unadilla and of course Zach Osborne returned to GNCC Racing to give Unadilla his best shot, and would actually lead the first lap in the XC2 class. However, on Lap 2, Andrew Delong turned up the heat and would ultimately control the lead for the rest of the race. Osborne did keep the race tight for a portion of it but by the end, Delong had turned it up once again and pulled a pretty solid lead. Osborne held on for 2^nd while Scott Grills made his first podium appearance finishing third. Huge congrats to Scott Grills, as he’s pretty much as full-privateer as you can get!

After crashing in the 2^nd turn (pictured above) and battling from behind for much of the race, Grant Baylor came away with a 4^th place, and after some misfortune for Jason Thomas, helped Grant hold onto his points lead in the XC2 class which he’s now extended a bit as the season is winding down.

As for the championship points battle, Kailub Russell came out of Unadilla with a two-point lead over Charlie Mullins. Don’t forget that the championship is based off the OVERALL points, not XC1 points. Chris Bach sits a little ways back in third with a 20-point lead over Josh Strang in 4^th, and Thad Duvall rounds out the top five.

So all in all it was a pretty epic weekend of racing at Unadilla. As I was pulling arrows and stuff Monday, I got to thinking about Unadilla and just how legendary the place is. From there, my thoughts kind of strayed to thinking of the various happenings through the race weekend and I’m sure this doesn’t even apply to the overwhelming majority of those who are reading this, but please respect our wonderful landowners and the property we get to visit. There was a lot of trash scattered around the property at Unadilla from people who instead of carrying their trash out of the woods, or heck, even a few feet to a trash can, just felt the need to throw it on the ground.

I’m not even complaining about the extra work for us getting trash out of the woods and off the track, but more so just for the respect to the venue. It seems to be a problem at every race, not just Unadilla in particular. So please, next time you’re hanging out at a cool spot on the track, make sure you bring your trash back with you… And yeah, it also does create less work for us on a Monday, which is a big help!

One note before I go, if you’re looking for a race this weekend, the North Wilkesboro area of North Carolina will play host to the Bootlegger Enduro. This is a pretty great event and I’ve raced it a few times in the past. No lights or tags required. The trail is a lot of fun and definitely has a little something for everyone. They’ve also added some new stuff this year, which is supposed to be some really fun trail from what I’ve heard. For more info, head over to www.setra.org.

In 2008, The Bootlegger actually replaced the legendary Brown Mountain Lights Enduro that took place right by Steele Creek. Due to some difficulties with operating the race within a National Forest/OHV park, Brown Mountain was replaced by the Bootlegger. The Bootlegger is raced entirely on private property, so come some support if you’re in the area. You won’t regret it.

That’s all I’ve got this week. Until next time, Bolt-On out!

Thanks, Bolt-On. And here’s Rodney Tomblin folks.

Well I guess if you haven't heard yet, the Unadilla GNCC was H-U-G-E! I know I only echo what everyone else is speaking of but it was quite a spectacle to say the least. I know we had some rain Saturday evening and into Sunday morning but all in all it was by all accounts a perfect GNCC weekend. What else could you expect?

Rolling into the weekend I had a chance to catch up with points leader and defending GNCC ATV Champ Chris Borich. Chris was looking about as good as I had ever seen and maybe a little better. It seems he did have some time to chew on some sour apples for the summer after the two consecutive losses heading into the break. He let me know that some of my speculations of whether or not he was against the ropes with the rising level of competition from Fowler and McGill. Chris said that every time he would read that stuff it only made him more determined. And he proved just how much during Saturday's ATV race, shadowing Walker Fowler every step of the way until he "Boriched" him on the final lap. As Fowler put it "Boriched" has become a verb/pronoun/noun or whatever you want to call it.

This weekend marked not only Chris Borich's seventh win of the season but also his 66th overall win, moving him only one away from tying the Great Bill Ballance's ATV wins and only 2 away from tying the great Barry Hawk's 68 all time ATV and Motorcycle wins. It is surely still possible that when we hit the Ironman that Chris Borich could very well be crowned the "winningest" GNCC racer of all time. (I know it isn't a word but what else do you say.) The final three rounds will be epic as each win could bring a new etching in the GNCC history books.

I also ran into "Big Poppa P" Jeff Pickens and his wife Traci Cecco Pickens. They introduced me to the newest addition to the family and what a handsome baby boy. He already looks like he is ready to jump on the quad and go. Rumor has it, he was born on a quad. I don't know but time will tell whether or not he will fill the shoes of Momma T and Poppa P. Regardless, the young chap is getting some very early racetrack experience. Fortunately for him, all he has to do right now is eat and soil diapers. Congratulations guys and can't wait to watch him grow up.

As far the racing goes from this weekend in the afternoon ATV battles, the big story was Fowler and Borich as they pulled away from the rest of the field. There were times when it looked like Fowler would pull away with 15 to 20 second gaps at times but never for very long. It seemed every time Borich would pull him back in and never let him out of sight for long. It was without a doubt and epic fight to the finish. It was good to see Jarrod McClure pull out his first podium of the season. McClure has been spending the season adapting to the machine on the JB Racing/Cheerwine/ITP Can-Am. McClure could not have picked a better place as this was Can-Am's title weekend and this could be what finally gets the ball rolling for the number 5.

The XC 2 Pro Am class saw another spectacular ride by the young Brycen Neal. Brycen didn't have the best of starts but put it all in place quickly to jump out and roll to another impressive class win. Neal’s consistency pretty much has the deal sealed as far as class titles and one has to wonder what Neal's plans are. He actually said that we may see him line up in the XC1 class before seasons end to get his feet wet and see what it is like. New York's own Nathan Thomas showed up for his outing in 2013 and took the runner-up spot in the class. Thomas rode a well-executed race himself with a solid lock on second at the checkers. Thomas looked like he could be a threat anywhere he rides. The question is, will we see him any more this season.

Then there is the young Josh Merritt. Merritt made his way back to the podium for the second time this season. Merritt struggled at the beginning of the season but lately things have turned around. It sometimes takes these young ones a little time to peak but once they do it is full steam ahead. I feel Merritt is a face we will be seeing much more of in the future. 

The College A 16-21 class has become the relative springboard into the XC2 Pro Am ranks. This season has seen three elite riders surface in the relentless battles that have gone on in this class. The points race in this class is as equally exciting and intense. Cole Richardson claimed his third victory of the season and pulled to within ten points of Jay Shadron and class leader Marshal Goings. Richardson claimed the Top Amateur honors and made things extremely interesting heading into the final three rounds of this class.

As the season begins to wind down, it seems to only be getting more exciting. And even though the Ironman GNCC and finale of 2013 seemed a world away only a few short months ago it is now fast approaching and I don't feel anyone could have predicted what has transpired in the championship battles. Heck there has been so much; it is almost tough to remember sometimes. 

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