If you’re interested in attending the memorial service, information has been posted online through www.spidellfuneralhome.com and there’s also a link on the GNCC website HERE.

As stated on Spidell Funderal Home’s website: “A memorial life celebration will be held on Saturday at 2:00 PM at Mennonite Christian Assembly, 10664 Fryburg Road, Fredericksburg, with Pastor Chuck Lemaster from Team Faith officiating. The family will receive friends following the service until 6:00 PM at the church. Spidell Funeral Home in Mount Eaton is assisting the family with arrangements."

As we continue to pray for the families of those we have recently lost, and others who are going through a hard time, please keep GNCC Racer Randy Riggs and his wife Kathy in your thoughts and prayers as well. Randy was severely injured at the Limestone 100 GNCC in 2013 and is currently fighting through the rehabilitation process where he has made big strides. Randy’s wife Kathy sent over this update:

“We came home from Kessler Institute for Rehab on January 9. Since then we have been doing Home Health Rehab - PT & OT. We have each of them twice a week for an hour. Randy's has 3 awesome friends David Redman, Ray Tighe and AW Demott who come in and work him out several times a week too. Randy does have movement in his arms and legs. He has a very little in his hands. He just cannot use his limbs to do anything as of yet. He has started being able to sit up - balance on the edge of a mat for sometimes as long as 30 minutes. This varies depending on the day. He is getting stronger every day, but has a very long way to go. I am taking care of Randy and dedicated to him 100%.

There is not an Out Patient facility close to us so we hope to go to Kennedy Kraiger in Baltimore.  He cannot go there until the wound on his sacrum is totally healed.  We will most likely go for a 2 week boot camp and then come home and work out for 6 months then go back to boot camp. This has not been confirmed as of yet. 

We are busy keeping Hillegas Construction going, as well as Cumberland Cycles. I am keeping Randy involved with work the best that I can.

Our address is 1032 Harding Avenue, Cumberland, MD  21502. I am sorry I have not been able to post on the "Believing in Randy Riggs" Facebook page. I am just very busy with Randy, our dogs, our cats and work.

We would like to wish all the racers good luck this year at the races!”

Thank you so much for the update, Kathy. Most of you know who Randy Riggs is, but if you don’t, he’s the guy who wears the #201 plate in the morning bike division. It’s almost as if that #201 has just become Randy’s number because he has possessed it ever since I’ve been in GNCC Racing and well before. He’s also been a multi-time recipient of GNCC’s “Bad Ass Award” not only because of his skills on a dirtbike but the man has been doing this from the Masters A (50+) class and beating out riders who are at least half his age! Randy and his wife have devoted their lives to racing, not just GNCC, but the National Hare Scramble Series and many others. The GNCC family knows Randy as a badass guy and we will continue to have faith and pray for his strength during the long road to recovery.

Through hard times it can be easy to question why it is that we do what we do. Why do we race dirtbikes, ATVs, Side-by-Sides, why do we build engines for them, why do we report on the racing, why do we spectate, why do we support our loved ones who are involved in the sport? Trust me, I’ve thought about it. But at the end of the day the answer isn’t because we all make millions, or because it’s a glamorous gig that we just can’t pass up. It’s because we’re passionate about it for one reason or another and that’s enough to keep us here. There are so many things that go far beyond the racing and for me, it’s the people involved that keep me going. I wasn’t able to conduct the Youth ATV podium on Saturday morning and I felt like I had missed out on a huge chunk of the weekend because it is such a pleasure to talk to the younger kids about their race. There is a certain amount of pure joy that you can see when talking to those guys and gals and it just reminds you why our sport is such a wonderful thing. Or after the 10 a.m. race to be able to talk to the riders and their families about racing, or maybe something outside of racing. It’s just invaluable to have friends from all over the country who are such genuine people who would do anything for a friend, competitor or even a stranger.

I have to give a special shout out to Rick Zhorne, whom I had never met before the Big Buck GNCC. Rick saw me by the finish line just before I gave a live update on RacerTV.com and he told me that he had got my dog a toy. I was in a hurry and had to run but the next morning there was a box in the RacerTV trailer with my name on it. I opened it up and sure enough, it was this amazing Tuggo toy that my 6-month-old Blue Heeler is in love with! But the point is, Rick doesn’t know me, but he went an extra mile to do something so nice just because. And I can’t thank him enough for that.

I’m going to end my portion here. Here’s to hoping that all those folks that we’re praying for find strength to keep on pushing and that we can begin reporting on the good news in our community once again. I just want to end by saying thank you to all the amazing racers, family members and supporters that make my job, and many others, that much more enjoyable.

@JaredBolton:

Round 4 is in the books! I know I say this kind of stuff a lot but it seems like we were just heading to Florida a couple of days ago and now we’re gearing up for Round 5. Time is flying by and other than Loretta’s; the “southern stint” of the series is now over. Which for those of us who live in the southern part of the country, is a bit of a bummer. We now get to trade drive times with you guys up north. So those of you who were hating on me for being home from Steele Creek in 50 minutes, or home from Big Buck in 2.5 hours, just remember, now I’m looking at a minimum of 5 hours (and that’s not until Snowshoe!)

Things are starting to heat up as well. There’s still a lot of racing left to do but we’re now approaching the point where you start to see guys focusing even more on the points situation. On the bike side, we came into Big Buck with Charlie Mullins holding the white backgrounds and leading the overall points. However, after Big Buck, we’ve got a new points leader! Kailub Russell has now pulled out to a 2-point lead in the overall point standings. Charlie is still close though, but the KTM duo has opened up a little bit of breathing room over Josh Strang in third place. However, it’s only 16 points, so you definitely can’t count Strang out either.

Looking down through the rest of the points, the man on the move right now is Andrew Delong. Andrew logged a solid fifth place in Florida, but had mechanical issues in the mud in Georgia, he salvaged a seventh place in North Carolina, then logged his best finish of the season at Big Buck with a fourth place. Delong is no stranger to the podium as he came away with multiple wins in his XC2 career. Next up is Limestone, and if you remember correctly, Delong nearly snagged the overall win there 2 years ago from the XC2 class. So, definitely keep an eye on Delong at the Limestone next weekend.

In the XC2 class, Grant Baylor has jumped back into the points lead by 3 points over Ricky Russell, while Trevor Bollinger dropped to third another 3 points back and 6 out of the lead. Those top 3 guys are all super close in the points chase and it will definitely be a heck of a race to watch the rest of the season. I really think that any of those guys could come away with the class championship. Kailub Russell still stands as the only guy to repeat as an XC2 champion when he did it in 2009 and 2010. Since then, Steward Baylor and Jason Thomas both came close but weren’t able to make it happen. I’m sure that could be a little extra motivation for Grant Baylor but he’s definitely got his hands full with the likes of Ricky Russell and Bollinger. Ricky hasn’t snagged an XC2 win just yet but he’s only been off the podium at 1 race. Bollinger has been on the podium for the past 3 races, including the win at Steele Creek, so both of these guys are extra consistent, as well as Baylor, who is the only one to have gotten 2 XC2 wins this season.

Looking through some of the A classes, some of those battles I mentioned previously are starting to stretch out. I mentioned the Open-A class, with Hunter Williams leading the points without winning a race. Well, he finally snagged that first win of the year at Big Buck and has a 5-point lead over Timmy Murphy. Bob Dunlap and Zack Hayes are in a tight battle for third place at the moment, separated by just 1 point. Hayes snagged the win in Florida but had a couple of tough rounds in Georgia and North Carolina before rebounding with a second at Big Buck.

Austin Lee is proving that consistency is key in the 250-A class points. With a pair of wins and a pair of second places in the first 4 rounds, Austin holds onto the points lead over Craig Delong who also has a pair of wins and a third, but a 22^nd in Georgia has put a hurting on his points race at the moment. However, the amateur classes do get 4 drops, so this could definitely be the class to watch with the Husqvarna duo of Lee and Delong battling it out for the class championship and overall amateur honors.

The WXC class saw what was probably their most exciting race of the season. While I was out patrolling the woods, every time they came by me it seemed like somewhere in the top 5, there were positions swapping around. Jessica Patterson and Kacy Martinez battled for the class win and ended up opening up a little bit of a lead over the rest of the pack while Ashley Copeland, Sarah Baldwin, Becca Sheets, Rachel Gutish and Mandi Mastin all battled it out for the third place spot. Sarah Baldwin and Rachel Gutish would end up coming together resulting in a crash that took both of them out of the race while Copeland, Sheets and Mastin all 3 battled down to the final corner for the third place spot. In the end, Jessica Patterson came out on top to take her first win of the season, and actually, her first GNCC win since Florida 2013, with Kacy Martinez in second and Ashley Copeland rounding out the podium.

I went back and watched some of the RacerTV live coverage from Big Buck and I really hope everyone is enjoying that. On a personal note, I just want everyone to know that I’ve been trying to get out and ride more, and basically just whip myself back into shape (other than round). So hopefully I can go a little faster in those helmet cam clips you see during Barry Hawk’s track description. I really enjoying going out and taking a lap on the bike with the helmet cam on Fridays, but sometimes I feel like I’m going so slow due to the trail still being covered in leaves, pine needles, etc. Oh and a general lack of talent to begin with!

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

@HotRodney22:

The 2014 Big Buck GNCC was once again a weekend of monumental proportions as we celebrated the 18^th running in Union, South Carolina. I know last week I said 17^th and I was mistaken. I missed a little piggy or something while I was counting. (I knew I should have taken both socks off, dang it!)

Luckily my mistake didn’t take anything away from the racing (Which kind of concerned me at first) and the Youth racing on Saturday morning went off without a hitch. It was such a beautiful morning with the way springtime was really starting to feel like spring and what a race we had. It was the second dry race for the ATV racers this season but probably the best of conditions they have seen thus far. The young Brandon Frazier out of Florida once again dominated the race but West Virginia’s Carter Kerens executed another impressive ride. Brandon blasted the hole shot and lead wire to wire while Carter struggled the first two laps before stopping to pit and speak with his father. No one knows what was exchanged between him and his pops but when Carter took off he rode like a man a mission. As if he was holding back and his dad turned the governor off and said “go get’em!”

Frazier has four wins in a row right now and even Carter said, “I just can’t catch him. I am pushing like 11 h.p. and he looks like he is pushing like 20 h.p. and he’s a heck of good rider.” Brandon travels from Florida each round and has really stepped up his game since last season where he earned the number 4 overall. As good as it seems for these two, though, we cannot count out the rising level of competition behind them.

Dylan Walraven has not had the best of luck in consistency but watching him ride and seeing the results of his three rounds he has raced scoring 4-3-4 in class puts him theoretically in position to threaten. Walraven, along with Tim Sroka, who opened the season with two class second place finishes has struggled the past two rounds in the mud of North Carolina and then in South Carolina. It must be a “Carolina Curse” for little Timmy but don’t be shocked if he rides back with a vengeance in Indiana next weekend.

Jordan Digby took a hard fought win in the competitive 125 Sr class. Digby scored fifth overall, which matched his season best overall finish but first win in the class. That was the first step to the podium and with the struggles this young ATV MX/GNCC racer has had the last couple of seasons is a welcomed change in the results column. Along with “Little Ronnie Rusch”, Rhett Cox and Blaise Cooke, this could be a more action packed class than we may have ever envisioned.

As far as the morning’s 10 a.m. race goes, the premier 4x4 Pro class was as exciting as ever. It was the second class-win for the young Jordan Phillips but this time he netted a most impressive third place overall in the driest conditions the series has seen in quite some time. The class win didn’t shock me but the intensity that the 4x4 guys must have been racing under must have been incredible. It only goes to show that this class is only scratching the tip of the iceberg with what we have seen so far.

Impressive though was the return to the racing and winner’s circle after a one-race hiatus. Westley Wolfe completely missed the mud fest in North Carolina but showed up with one thing on his mind in South Carolina and that was to win and win convincingly. Wolfe took a 45 second win over defending class and overall champ Cody Collier who was on a two race win streak looking for number three. Though Wolfe sits fifth in class points right now it may be a little deceiving if things continue to go well for him. When the season wears on the drops will begin to be considered into the equation and a look at that right now would have Collier and Wolfe tied for the class championship.

I will say don’t count out the new class arrival of Hunter Hart. Hunter a 3-Time Youth National Champion is a rookie to the 10 a.m. race and Schoolboy A/B but seems to have adapted quite well to the class. Though Hart’s overall finishes have not been where he would like them, he is actually in contention for the class title at this moment sitting only 5 points behind class leader Collier after four rounds.

There is a lot more to talk about and I will try to highlight some of that next week. I said at the end of last season that we were on the threshold of a new era of GNCC heading into 2014 and I am quite certain the season’s events so far may be agreeing with that prediction. How big and how much will be answered in its due time and until then all we can do is sit, wonder and wait.