Thursday, July 17, 2014 | 12:50 PM
Welcome to Quick Fill.
Today’s entry comes to you from Millville, Minnesota as we gear up for another round of the Pro Motocross Championship and the Spring Creek National. We spent a majority of today at the track, which wasn’t such a bad time as we got to watch guys like Ryan Dungey, Ken Roczen, Jeremy Martin, Cooper Webb, Alex Martin and plenty of others take to the iconic Millville racetrack all afternoon. For anyone who has been there before, it’s a pretty gnarly place with tons of elevation, deep sand and of course, the whoop monster! But they actually added another feature this year, which has been dubbed “Mount Martin” because it’s a massive uphill obstacle that measures 350 feet in elevation! If you’re able to catch the racing on TV this Saturday, pay close attention to that uphill jump because it looks pretty sweet!
Okay, moving onto actual GNCC news. If you watched The Racer X Show on RacerTV.com this week then you will have noticed that GNCC announced the location for the round 11 TBA. That’s right, we’re going back to Somerset! Also known as Mountain Ridge, the September 20 and 21 race will cater to those who enjoy riding in the rocks. The last year we went to this venue was 2011 and things just didn’t work out scheduling wise since then but we’re excited to head back and make the Mountain Ridge ATV Park a stop on the GNCC schedule once again. You can find more details about this event on the GNCC website HERE. There are plenty of hotels in the area as well, so don’t wait until they’re all booked!
If you missed The Racer X Show with Greg White, no worries you can watch it now on RacerTV.com or HERE. There are also plenty of highlights and full race recaps on RacerTV.com if you’re in the need of a little GNCC fix to tide you over until September. Sometimes I find myself watching marathons on there all the time!
I’m going to have to cut it short again this week. If anyone has exciting summer break stories (keep it PG, please!) send them to me and I would love to share them in the coming weeks – [email protected]. Do it!
@JaredBolton:
I would venture to imagine that there may be a few folks who are already asking “is summer break over yet?” I believe folks have hit that point where they’re beginning to count down the days until Unadilla and why not? I, for one, can’t wait to get back to the swing of GNCC Racing. Of course, there’s still some stuff to keep us occupied in the coming weeks, including Loretta Lynn’s, which I’m pretty excited for myself.
Speaking of Loretta’s, I skimmed through the rider roster this week and in addition to some of the top amateur motocross talent in the world, I also saw some names with some ties to GNCC Racing. Obviously the big name is that of Aaron Plessinger who spent his fair share of time in the youth and A classes as well as even snagging an XC2 win at Steele Creek last year. And AP is GNCC royalty as his dad Scott won a couple of GNCC championships in his day.
There’s also Cole Mattison who has had a stellar 2014 season in the youth ranks, and barely lost last year’s Youth Overall title. Cole is also somewhat of racing royalty as his grandfather, Robby Neeley, has won his fair share of 30+ and 40+ titles at Loretta Lynn’s. Also scrolling through the list I noticed Andrew Matusek who ran up front in the A and XC2 classes several years ago, as well as Shane Obanion who made a name for himself grabbing some XC2 holeshots a few years back.
I’m sure there’s quite a few more I may have overlooked and I apologize if I missed you. Regardless, it’s always cool to see some GNCCers at Loretta’s showing just how well rounded off-road racers can be. And of course, you can catch all the action on RacerTV.com throughout the week. The tentative plan is that I’ll be back filming what Jeremy Saylor dubbed “Bolt-On Beach” last year (that’s the big sweeping sandy turn by the pond next to the road) which I really enjoyed shooting last year, so I’m pretty excited to get down there and soak up some sun on the beach.
I’ve had a couple of requests for Tuesday Toolbox interviews, but as always, I’d love to have some more. ATV and UTV folks, feel free to recommend some people for the Toolbox! I get quite a few requests for bike riders but not as many for ATVs. I’ve got a few more I want to catch in the coming weeks but if you’ve got someone you’d like to see on an upcoming Tuesday Toolbox, drop me at a line at [email protected] and let me know!
While we’ve got a little time before we return to GNCC Racing, the National Enduro Series will be back in action next weekend in Pennsylvania. Last round, Andrew Delong took his first overall win of the year just a week after landing his first GNCC podium of the year at Snowshoe. Delong will definitely be hungry for a win in his native land of PA, but he’s definitely got some tough competition.
Nick Fahringer took over the National Enduro points lead and he’s proven himself to be a contender but there’s also Steward Baylor who also had his best rides of the season at Snowshoe and the previous round of National Enduro. Could this be the time we see Stu return to the Stu we were used to seeing before injuring his wrist? You can never count him out!
And speaking of Baylors, what about little brother Grant? He could challenge those front-runners as well. Like I mentioned a few weeks ago, Grant has been running a 450 in the National Enduros, likely as a way to help him transition to the XC1 class in GNCC for 2015. Of course, with almost everyone else running a smaller bore machine (before injuring his wrists, even Charlie Mullins was riding a 350 in the National Enduros) what if Grant elected to ride the 350? Could that make a difference? It doesn’t seem like it, but there’s been quite a few riders who say they feel that the 450 is just a little too much to wrestle around in off-road racing, while the 350 is that perfect mix.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for this week. Until next time, Bolt-On out!
@HotRodney22
No fluff! No duff! It’s straight to the point in this continued saga of summer break – breakdowns. As I had mentioned in previous weeks I want to look deeper into the classes and divisions to get a good look at what the final four rounds of racing and championships are setting up. So this week I will just work my way down the list.
The 90cc Open (12-15) class in 2014 has produced some exciting racing throughout the whole year. Brandon Frazier had a stellar year in 2013 racing and chasing Hunter Hart, Seth Wilson, Kalab Hagan, John Glauda and several others that have moved up in ranks. It was no surprise that Brandon would have a good season ahead.
The surprise early on though may have been Brandon’s, what seemed to be, total domination in the early part of the championship. Sweeping the first 5 rounds of racing and winning 7 class and overall races so far this season, Frazier has been challenged by a host of riders. Riders like Cameron Abee, Carter Kerens, Dylan Walraven, Sadie Welch, “Turbo” Tim Sroka in his class and 125 Sr. (12-15) class riders like Jordan Digby, “Little” Ronnie Rusch and Rhett Cox. The battles for the Youth Overall have produced as epic racing and championship battles as any GNCC Racing has ever produced.
First I want to take a look at the “Unofficial” Youth Division Top 20 Overall. It comes from a list compiled by GNCC racer Mike Trapp (a.k.a. Super Trapp) for the website QuadZone.com which is a forum based website where folks can go and share information, stories and all the general forum related type stuff. The standings may be “unofficial” but it gives us an idea of how things are shaping up.
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* Numbers are estimated only, for final numbers see gnccracing.com |
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Numbers that are in are throwaways |
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|
Name |
Tot Pts. |
Place |
RD 1 |
RD 2 |
RD 3 |
RD 4 |
RD 5 |
RD 6 |
RD 7 |
RD 8 |
RD 9 |
|
|
1787 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
10 |
||
|
1758 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
6 |
11 |
6 |
3 |
7 |
6 |
3 |
||
|
1748 |
3 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
14 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
16 |
4 |
||
|
1700 |
4 |
8 |
19 |
14 |
16 |
9 |
11 |
6 |
19 |
7 |
||
|
1694 |
5 |
13 |
21 |
11 |
17 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
18 |
11 |
||
|
1680 |
6 |
46 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
21 |
20 |
3 |
7 |
21 |
||
|
1640 |
7 |
5 |
10 |
27 |
5 |
47 |
2 |
66 |
5 |
2 |
||
|
1586 |
8 |
24 |
18 |
33 |
25 |
64 |
13 |
18 |
20 |
8 |
||
|
1565 |
9 |
25 |
53 |
12 |
23 |
12 |
12 |
22 |
27 |
58 |
||
|
1541 |
10 |
16 |
41 |
39 |
32 |
19 |
22 |
36 |
44 |
19 |
||
|
1534 |
11 |
20 |
33 |
23 |
42 |
20 |
44 |
25 |
30 |
38 |
||
|
1529 |
12 |
35 |
43 |
28 |
31 |
24 |
25 |
32 |
37 |
25 |
||
|
1518 |
13 |
4 |
2 |
64 |
10 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|||
|
1507 |
14 |
18 |
5 |
7 |
13 |
26 |
10 |
17 |
5 |
|||
|
1503 |
15 |
3 |
3 |
65 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
11 |
DNF |
9 |
||
|
1496 |
16 |
33 |
40 |
34 |
39 |
31 |
34 |
30 |
42 |
30 |
||
|
1494 |
17 |
27 |
37 |
37 |
40 |
37 |
30 |
39 |
40 |
28 |
||
|
1480 |
18 |
28 |
17 |
71 |
21 |
15 |
65 |
45 |
32 |
35 |
||
|
1475 |
19 |
15 |
15 |
26 |
11 |
16 |
23 |
14 |
13 |
|||
|
1457 |
20 |
9 |
14 |
9 |
9 |
7 |
7 |
21 |
75 |
DNF |
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A look at the overall kind of puts it into perspective in my opinion and any one of the top seven could easily come away with a win at any given race given the right circumstances. Actually there may be more than seven and some may not even be in the top 20 overall. These kids are all talented and as much as a class championship means to them, it almost seems they are watching these numbers just as closely.
The “National Numbers” will be assigned based on overall finishes in a minimum of 9 events, with as many as 11 events counting. The minimum number of events does not have to be in the same class, but it must be in the same discipline. Many have met the minimum but there are some who may have another race or two to put in. Those that race more than the number races counted toward the championship will be able to use the extra races as a “throw away” and basically drop their worst finishes from the equation. Currently there are no throw away races calculated and this will start to change some once they are. However, I don’t think there will be anything too monumental unless something big happens once the break is over.
If you are wondering about “Class Championships” they will be determined by the rider’s best finishes in a minimum number of 9 events in the same discipline (i.e., Bike or ATV). A rider must enter a minimum of 9 events in order to be eligible for series awards and national class ranking. The entries do not have to be in the same class. However, a rider must compete in at least 5 events in the same class in order to be eligible for series awards in that class.
We know now who the key players are in these first two classes, now let’s look at the others:
The 125 Jr. (8-11) class is producing a dramatic championship itself. This class has only two different winners. Currently ranked 1st in points is Devin Corrothers who has 4 wins so far this season. Devin opened the year with a win in Florida at the Mud Mucker GNCC and then finished 4th in Georgia. He followed that with three 2nd place finishes, a 3rd and then he has won the last three races. This has put him 1st in the championship for this class heading into the break.
Corrothers main competition appears to be coming from the now 3rd place point holder Joey Ocel. Joey started the season strong finishing 2nd behind Corrothers at round 1. Then Ocel won five races in a row before Corrothers jumped back on top. Joey finished 3rd in Masontown but struggled in Ohio with a class 18th place finish and a DNF at Snowshoe. You know Joey hopes to use these two bad rounds as his “throw away” and when he does everything tightens right back up for this class title. The final four rounds for these two plus Layne McCormick who sits currently 2nd in the class will be critical toward this championship. The unexpected could be about to surprise this class and if McCormick comes back with the momentum he had the last three rounds, he could be a factor for a win and all of a sudden a class championship.
The 90 (8-12) Class has got its own rising talents. Names like Mike Meyers, Bryan Buckhannon (Nephew of 4x4 Pro Bryan Buckhannon,) Tayton Swift (Son of 4x4 Pro Michael Swift), Scotty Parsons and Coleton Stoneking sit top five in points right now and given how the last four rounds go, the position battles for this championship are sure to get even more intense. Three of the top five have all had wins and again any one of these riders a capable of pulling out some wins making this class one to watch as much as any.
The 90 Limited (8-12) Class has also produced three different winners this season as well as a heated three-way battle for the championship. Consistency is a key here as it could ever be. Mason Turner has 6 wins this season, which is huge but right now only 7 points lead over 2nd place in the class Damien Hawkins. Hawkins has two wins and a strong and consistent season, which could help him in the final stretch. Hawkins will also have to watch out for 3rd place in class Daulton Keyes. Daulton missed the first round but has since been a force to be reckoned with. He sits only 17 points behind Hawkins and once the “throw away” factor is put into effect things all of a sudden become a little tighter. Again, strong consistent finishes are going to be what keeps each rider hopes alive for this title.
The Girls (8-15) Class has produced another challenging championship run for this class. Hannah Hunter currently leads the class with five wins so far this season. She has finished 2nd twice as well as 7th in class twice. She sits only 10 points ahead of 2nd place point holder Marti Lantz and Sydney Sams who are tied at 156 points each. Lantz has not taken any wins but again consistency is a huge factor and if Marti finds the winners circle these final races the championship may get even more exciting. Sams who is tied with Lantz has four wins and four 2nd place finishes. She missed round 1 and we know with the “throw away” coming soon this championship will have a little different intensity for the championship in the closing races. Paige Berryman sits a little further back in 4th of points but could become a factor the latter part of the year.
Finally! The 70 CVT (6-11) class may already be clinched as we pointed out last week. GNCC legacy Parker Henderson leads has won seven of the first nine rounds and place 2nd in the two he did not win. Even though he has been the class dominator the battle in this class is for the 2nd place position in the championship. Logan Carlisle who has taken one class win this season is leading the battle for the runner up spot. 10 points behind Carlisle in 3rd is Paxton Dickerson. Dickerson missed the opener in Florida but has hit the top three in the class several times. Another rider to watch out for in the battle for 2nd in this class will be Karlie Martin. Martin missed the opening two rounds and sits only 21 points behind Carlisle for 2nd which could tighten up as the season progresses and if the strong finishes continue.
I know there is a lot to read here this week and unfortunately as much as there is here, I left out more. There are several different ways to look at things and for me looking at the point chase brings it all to life. The look at the entire season at a time like this break helps revive and refuel our fire for the approaching fall and continuation/wrap-up of the 2014 season.
I sometimes, like many, get kind of caught up in what happened the last race or two before and sometimes forget to slow down and look at the big picture that keeps us all going. The big picture isn’t about winning a race or even winning the championship. The big picture we are painting is one of comradery, companionship, compassion and above all the experiences we encounter as racers, families and friends. Winning a championship is just “icing on the cake.” Unfortunately we all don’t get that icing on our cakes but it doesn’t spoil the sweetness of our cake that is GNCC.
That’s it for now. Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.