Just a quick note to all you folks that may be attempting to pre-register for Round 1, we had to close it early due to some technical difficulties and we sincerely apologize for that. We made some changes to better the system and unfortunately they backfired a little bit but I guess that’s part of the growing pains that come along with making the system better. If you already pre-registered but experienced an issue with your confirmed number, please know that we can fix that at the event with no problem.

I also wanted to remind everyone that the gates open at 3 p.m. on the Thursday prior to Round 1 and registration will begin on Friday at 8 a.m. ATV Youth will practice on Friday from Noon – 1 p.m., ATV Amateur and PM classes from 1 – 3 p.m., and there will be a Pro/PM only practice from 3 – 4 p.m. on Friday. Since the practice course is not a part of the actual race course, Saturday will host all the bike practices: Youth bikes from Noon – 1 p.m., Amateur and PM bikes from 1 – 3 p.m., and Pro/PM only practice from 3 – 4 p.m. on Saturday. For the complete weekend schedule for Round 1, go ahead and click HERE.

If you’re looking for some part-time work this season you may want to take a look at the latest post from MotoTees:

MotoTees is Hiring! We are looking for an energetic, responsible person to work in the event t-shirt trailer on Saturday and Sunday at the GNCC events. This person must already be at the events  (have their own transportation to and from the event), have their own lodging, and able to attend at least 12 of the 13 events. Perfect for a mom, girlfriend, or sister that’s already at the event supporting a family member! 

For more details and to apply, please email Rachel Mullins at [email protected].

Before I go, I want to send a HUGE congrats to the Paul and Katherine Whibley on their newest addition! Colton Teoti Whibley was born on February 17 at 8 lbs. 17 oz. and according to a Facebook post by Katherine this morning, mom and baby are doing great. I am looking forward to meeting the little guy soon!

And here’s @JaredBolton:

Time is running out, folks. We’re starting to see final prep for the opening round of GNCC Racing beginning to take place and it’ll be here before we know it. There are a number of riders getting in their fair share of seat time down south already, and it seems like there’s going to be more heading that way soon.

This weekend presents a pretty good opportunity in Georgia. You can go watch the Atlanta Supercross on Saturday night, then make the relatively short drive over to Greensboro, Georgia to race the Cherokee Enduro on Sunday. It sounds like there’s going to be a pretty good turnout of racers for Cherokee, as there always is. I got a note from Shane Watts saying that his riders Jesse Groemm and Rory Mead were heading to Cherokee to get in some seat time.

While a lot of riders are focused on getting seat time in the sand, Cherokee is actually a great opportunity as well. You’ve got a ton of time to train in the sand for Florida, but a lot of people tend to overlook the transition back to the clay of Georgia. Maybe it’s because the Georgia clay is a more familiar type terrain for some than the sands of Florida. However, that Georgia red clay is a slightly different than the clay up north.

The Cherokee Enduro is only about 30 minutes from Aonia Pass where The General GNCC is held, so if you want to get a head start on training for the clay in Georgia, make the trip down. The race is not only good practice but it’s also a really fun course, and don’t worry, it’s not all single track like some people tend to think enduro’s are. They still have plenty of room left as well since it’s not a National Enduro round this year. So come watch some Supercross and make the drive over. Sounds like a great weekend to me!

Speaking of Enduro’s, we’ve also got the first round of the National Enduro Series coming up next weekend with the Sandlapper Enduro in Salley, South Carolina. This event can give a little bit of a preview of what to expect when we drop the green flag at the Mud Mucker, and of course, it’s a fun course too, and I’m not just saying that!

Last season, Charlie Mullins snagged his second National Enduro title with Nick Fahringer taking second place in the final standings ahead of Russell Bobbitt, Mike Lafferty and Jesse Groemm rounding out the top five. It promises to be a pretty interesting season of racing with Mike Lafferty returning to the FMF KTM team for his 20^th and final season of racing. Lafferty still has the speed, but was winless in 2013, although he did snag a few secondc o places. But Bobbitt is always a challenge and Nick Fahringer has come into his own the past few seasons. Of course, the clear favorite is Charlie Mullins. Charlie has the chance to be the first rider to win a GNCC and National Enduro title in the same year, but he’s got stiff competition on both sides as the aforementioned guys can all win on the National Enduro side.

On the GNCC side, Charlie has to deal with the defending GNCC champ Kailub Russell in addition to Chris Bach who is aboard a full factory ride this season, which could provide him with that little something extra he’s been needing. There’s also Thad Duvall and Josh Strang. With Strang aboard a new ride for 2014, it could prove to be an advantage for him as well being able to put to use the knowledge and experience of the Am-Pro Yamaha team he’ll be receiving support from. Of course, the one guy you should never count out is Paul Whibley. Paul suffered through an injury for most of 2013 but is returning healthy in 2014 and is hungry for championship number 3.

Well, I hate to cut myself short but it’s still a little on the quiet side this week. However, the good news is that’s all coming to a close as things are about to heat up big time. I’ll be heading to Atlanta for some Supercross action this weekend, so if you see me roaming around there, feel free to say hi. Until next time, Bolt-On out!

@HotRodney22:

It’s hard to believe that my journey south begins in a little over a week. I honestly did not even realize that was the case and now I am feeling a little panic stricken. I haven’t even done my taxes yet! I guess it is “crunch time” for me as well. I know the office is buzzing and everyone is busy trying to get ready for the coming new season. It’s almost like the North Pole getting ready for Christmas and the Racer crew is the elves. (Minus the holiday cheer, of course).

Even though taxes and prepping for the new season have not been on my plate as of late, I have been busier than a one-armed-paper-hanger and I really don’t know where the time has gone. I have used this time off this season to become more involved with the kids at home and I have kind of lost touch in the last week or so.

I spoke with Rick Proctor a few weeks ago and he told me of the coming press release about the great things going on with the Vigilant Vet program and he told me that Vigilant Vet Racing will be fielding nine racers this year, six of which will be doing at least the nine race minimum for GNCC’s end of the year ranking. All the racers are Veterans of course, and two of them just returned home from deployment to Kuwait this past month. Rick also said that Lonestar Racing has come onboard with them as a title sponsor in 2014 and they recently signed with FLY Racing, PowerMadd and are waiting to hear back from several other companies.

Rick says new for this year at the track will be what they are currently calling the Veteran's Pit Stop. This will be a trackside area where the team will pit, their families can gather to cheer them on and basically just a place for everyone to come together and have fun. He also said that they found that there were some Veterans and active duty personnel who decided not to participate in a GNCC event because they had no one to come along and support them. We're hoping that this new pit area will alleviate that problem and get more competitors to the track. ANY Veteran or Active Duty Personnel are welcome to use the Veteran's Pit Area as long as they agree to stay and assist the racers in the opposite race, i.e. AM/PM.

They are going to have 10 riders, including Ricks at the races with quads decked out in patriotic team graphics designed by Kylie Ahart from the GNCC WXC Class. They’re “pretty stoked about it” and you can check them out on Facebook by clicking here or the Vigilant Vet website by clicking here. Also there is a lot of support for the program this year and we will talk more about those great folks next week.

In other GNCC affairs, I spoke with Scott Grills earlier this morning and you may have heard he had a pretty major accident riding at TNT MX Park in South Carolina only three days before Christmas. The former JWR rider was looking forward to racing his own program in 2014 when the incident occurred. He said he tore his ACL and just had surgery only few days ago. He expects to be back for Unadilla and says so far everything is going as hoped.

I also spoke with former GNCC Vet rider Ryan Robey. You may remember Ryan and his brother Ken Robey, who graced the GNCC circuit for many seasons. Ken raced GNCC for over 10 years and last raced in 2010. He was the 2005 4x4 Stock champion and finished top three nearly every year after that. It was job and time that took him away for little while. The Robey’s do not plan to race in 2014 but 2015 may be another story.

According to Ryan who was the Vet C class champion in 2009 as well as a top Vet B rider after that says he turns 39 on Monday and hopes to come back in 2015 racing the 4x4 Senior 40+ class with Mike Penland and the boys. He says that he and Ken competed with Mike at the Baja in 2011 and won class 26. He says he was hooked on the Can-Am machines and can’t wait to tear up a GNCC trail after a year of training prepping himself to go for the championship.