GNCC Racing

Quick Fill #29: This Week in GNCC

Quick Fill #29: This Week in GNCC

Thursday, July 24, 2014 | 12:00 PM
Thursday, July 24, 2014 | 12:00 PM

Welcome to Quick Fill.

Well, I feel like I’m getting a little closer to the world of GNCC Racing this week as I type this week’s column from the passenger seat of the Mid-State Chevrolet, also known as “the official monster truck of RacerTV.com.” We’re headed down to Loretta Lynn’s Ranch for the second time this year as it’s time for the week long Amateur Motocross National to kick off in just a few short days. And even better is that I’m riding along with GNCC Live Producer Jeremy Saylor, so we’ve been bench racing and reminiscing on some of our favorite moments from the first part of the season. While most of our memorable moments aren’t exactly Quick Fill approved, we did throw together a top ten list of things we thought were pretty cool.

Photo: Ken Hill

15. Scott Kiger VS William Yokley dicing it out in the final stretch of the Sunday Creek Motocross track, where Yokley launched his SxS through the rhythm section to steal the final podium position.

14. Watching XC2 Pro Lites leader Grant Baylor nearly break history by finishing only four seconds behind Kailub Russell for the overall win in Georgia.

13. The time Lieutenant Trail Boss Barry Hawk got lost in the woods while doing an on-board camera op for RacerTV.com. That’s when he became “Junior Trail Boss.”

We were just kidding about the Junior Trail Boss comment. Barry is the man!
We were just kidding about the Junior Trail Boss comment. Barry is the man! Photo: Ken Hill

12. The intense last-lap battle between 4x4 Pro riders Rob Smith and Michael Swift at Loretta Lynn’s that resulted in an action-packed finale in the last turn.

11. Meeting Iron Horse Billy (founder of the Mud Muckers ATV Park) for the first time.

10. Meeting Iron Horse Billy’s pet cow and then watching him feed the cow its daily bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner.

9. Nick Davis’ podium speech after an impressive second place finish in Ohio, grabbing his first career podium in the XC2 Pro Lites Class.

8. The time Nick Davis’ younger brother Grant won the 65 7-9 class and then told me his favorite pro was Charlie Mullins on the podium.

Brian Wolf always puts on a great show at Snowshoe
Brian Wolf always puts on a great show at Snowshoe Photo: Ken Hill

7. Any time we were able to catch a lead pass live on RacerTV.com. Chyeah!

6. Witnessing Chris Borich break GNCC history as the most winningest GNCC Racer of all time.

5. Every single 50cc Micro podium speech. Even the silent ones.

4. Brian Wolf’s heartfelt podium speech at Snowshoe following an impressive second place finish.

3. The incredible crowd that hung out inside the Snowshoe Village on Saturday night. Their USA chants were top notch!

2. Sunday night at Snowshoe. I think.

1. Helplessly watching our buddy George Schell struggle for over an hour to make it up a slick hill climb at Snowshoe RIGHT in front of our #GNCCLIVE cameraman. It’s all good, after at least 20 attempts HE FINALLY MADE IT!!!!

Always good to see Bryan Buckhannon with a smile on his face
Always good to see Bryan Buckhannon with a smile on his face Photo: Ken HIll

Okay, so I lied. There are 15, and I probably could have added 20 more but maybe we’ll save those for another week. Actually, I would love it if you folks sent me YOUR most memorable GNCC moments from this season and I’ll compile a list in the coming weeks. It’s easy for us to reflect on the season from a series perspective but I would love to know what makes GNCC so memorable for you all as racers, fans and supporters of the sport. I think sometimes we forget about the little things that keep us going from race to race, and most of the time those are things that don’t even happen within 25 feet of the marked course (but then again..oh nevermind). So shoot over your top moments to [email protected] and I would be glad to share them!

Hey, while you're surfing the web this week, jump onto www.racertv.com and catch up on everything happening in the world of motorsports with The Racer X Show with Greg White presented by Chapparal Motorsports. Click HERE to view the latest show now.

July22

I’m going to pass it along to Jared now, who is patiently waiting for us to arrive at The Ranch. While Kentucky is a beautiful place to pass through on a nice July evening, I sure am ready to be there. Keep tabs on the @RacerTV social media this week as we’ll be following along with the racing action live on RacerTV.com Tuesday through Saturday. Bolton mentioned a couple GNCCers that will be racing so keep an eye on those guys and we’ll try to update as often as we can.

Take it away, Bolt-On!

@JaredBolton:

This week, I can officially say I’m bringing you my Quick Fill contribution from atop Boone Hill at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch. I made my way down to the ranch yesterday, and will be calling it home for a little while as I’m here to help out with some of the various RacerTV responsibilities, mostly running one of the live cameras this week.

I’ve had my fair share of visits to the ranch between several years worth of GNCCs and attending the Amateur National for the past few years, so it’s nothing new to me but I actually played tour guide this morning and it really reminded me of just how cool this place is. Yes, we’ve been coming here for GNCC and the Motocross for over 30 years now, but we’re still very fortunate to be able to race at the home of one of the biggest stars in the history of country music, and well, music as a whole really.

Moving on though, things are still a bit on the quiet side as far as juicy off-road news goes. However, I heard something through the grapevine that’s pretty interesting. Nothing is set in stone yet, but if you look back to a previous edition of Quick Fill where I mentioned someone parting in ways with the brand they’ve been racing for a while, that’s a pretty big hint there. There’s still a lot of details to be sorted out but there’s a chance we could see an extra addition to the XC1 row later this season.

Chris Borich poses with his fifth championship ring
Chris Borich poses with his fifth championship ring Photo: Ken Hill

While we’re here in Tennessee, some of the other off-road faithful are heading to Pennsylvania for the Rattlesnake National Enduro. I discussed this a bit last week but it could definitely be a barn burner with Charlie Mullins still on the sidelines. Andrew Delong won the previous round and with this race being in his home state of PA, he’s a strong favorite. Of course, there’s a deep field of talent that he’ll have to contend with. I’m pretty excited to see the results.

There’s also the infamous Harleywood Ironman in Bristol, Virginia going on this weekend. This is a tough team or single rider, 100 mile race. It’s always a popular event for those who have attended it over the years and it’s seen some top talent take the overall win on multiple occasions. They go all out with this event and have some fun motorcycle games Saturday night and much more. You can get more info on it at www.vchss.org or call the folks at Atlas Cycles at 276-669-666.

Another fun upcoming event will be the new North Wilkesboro Hare Scramble in, well, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. This event didn’t just get it’s name from the town, the property the race is on is actually owned by the Town of North Wilkesboro. It’s a large tract of land just down the road from our friends at RidePG. This event will be all new trail as the guys from the Unifour Trail Bike Club have been working extra hard over the past few months to get things ready. I scoped the property out a while back and it looks like it’ll be a good time. That event is August 17th and is part of the NCHSA series. If you’re interested in making a trip south for a good time, check out www.nchsa.org for more.

Check out this guy on this week's edition of Tuesday Toolbox!
Check out this guy on this week's edition of Tuesday Toolbox! Photo: Ken Hill

I’d also like to thank everyone who sent me emails on Tuesday Toolbox. If I haven’t replied, I’m not ignoring you! I’m actually kind of overwhelmed by them all and it’ll be a while before I get to some of them. Regardless, thanks to those who volunteered or recommended someone to interview. It’s always great to see folks who want to step up and put their name out there a little more.

Well, I hate to cut myself short again but there’s plenty to be done here at Loretta Lynn’s. So until next time, Bolt-On out!

@HotRodney22:

It’s finally summer time here in Southern Ohio. What seemed like an eternal Spring finally changed gears this week and I am reminded why GNCC takes a summer break. The heat, of course, and the fact that there are a million other things going on in the racing world.It makes it seem not so much like a break, but it is from GNCC. Now, as many of you know, and maybe even some are participating in, the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship Finals begin next week at Loretta Lynn’s. The racing begins next week but the Racer Productions crew has been busy working longer than that. So when you see Dean or Jeff or any of the guys, don’t say “How was your break? Did you get to fish any?” Because they may just look at you a little cross and move on. They have not had a break.

Continuing in our racing breakdown for the 2014 season, today we start looking at the morning ATV race. Sadly this is the only thing we have been able to come with as far as a “name” goes for this division. (At least the youth have the “Youth” race name.) Some refer to it at the 10 o’clock race but whatever you call it, call it exciting because where the kids leave off at the end of the race on Saturday morning, these folks pick up and ramp us up for the “afternoon”, “1 o’clock”, “Pro” race.

Jay Shadron made some waves at the beginning of his Pro debut. Lots more to come, we're sure of it.
Jay Shadron made some waves at the beginning of his Pro debut. Lots more to come, we're sure of it. Photo: Ken Hill

Looking first from an overall perspective in this GNCC Racing division may be the best place to start. Then we can start to look from an individual class standpoint. Number one this is the most diverse of GNCC divisions with classes starting as young as 13 years old with the Schoolboy classes. There is also the Sport 15+ class as well as a few senior A classes, Women, 4x4, 4x4 Pro, Novice, First Year Racers and Sportsman classes all on the track at the same time. And as we have learned, nearly anyone from nearly any class can make a run to win the overall.

A look at the overall points as composed by www.QuadZone.com tally man “Super Trapp” Mike Trapp:

2014 GNCC Morning National Numbers

 

* Numbers are estimated only, for final numbers see gnccracing.com 

                       
                                 

These numbers have been provided by Quadzone & are calculated by SuperTrapp, if any questions or errors caught please pm so they can be corrected.

Name

Tot Pts.

Place

RD 1

RD 2

RD 3

RD 4

RD 5

RD 6

RD 7

RD 8

RD 9

# Races

 

 

ROBERT M SMITH

4460

201

6

10

1

6

4

4

8

7

3

9

 

 

TANNER BOWLES

4400

202

9

13

8

14

18

16

11

13

7

9

 

 

BRYAN BUCKHANNON

4394

203

2

4

3

5

88

2

6

4

1

9

 

 

KEVIN TRANTHAM

4327

204

1

142

2

4

2

9

3

5

14

9

 

 

CODY COLLIER

4326

205

10

1

5

2

1

1

1

1

161

9

 

 

HUNTER HART

4265

206

7

6

22

9

170

3

5

3

19

9

 

 

KENNY RICH SR

4260

207

17

19

12

42

42

30

23

24

40

9

 

 

BLAKE CHIRDON

4224

208

53

12

26

68

21

31

21

18

35

9

 

 

KYLIE AHART

4198

209

142

72

13

12

6

12

34

8

12

9

 

 

RICHARD CECCO

4150

210

3

7

71

7

3

166

26

74

2

9

 

 

KRISTEN DELOACH

4135

211

20

35

39

51

54

47

32

59

37

9

 

 

NICK J TUSKI

4104

212

38

16

76

47

38

37

48

34

71

9

 

 

TANNER WALKER

4085

213

125

37

47

16

12

17

42

16

112

9

 

 

BRANDON BARNES

4078

214

28

160

43

23

11

18

44

26

78

9

 

 

CORY BARTLETT

4077

215

76

27

92

33

30

85

13

67

9

9

 

 

KARA MERRITT

4060

216

19

33

14

207

82

48

16

17

13

9

 

 

MICHAEL SWIFT

3994

217

75

125

4

103

22

5

4

76

101

9

 

 

DREW J MOORE

3990

218

33

15

9

190

8

13

79

10

162

9

 

 

JOHN GLAUDA JR

3950

219

21

12

40

106

71

91

18

75

125

9

 

 

WESTIN SCOTT

3919

220

67

39

44

15

72

66

56

92

139

9

 

 

                                       

**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.

DBC_3875It looks like the 4x4 Pro class seems to be dominating the overall point standings after 9 rounds of racing complete. You can see at this point that consistency is going to be key for whoever ends up taking the 201 plate. Cody Collier who is the defending overall morning champ sits 5th in the overall standings right now but I feel this may be a little deceiving at this point.

If you know anything about GNCC, you know that there are “throwaways” that riders can elect to use if they compete in more than 11 events over the season. With that being noted, take another look at the overall breakdown in points. Cody Collier has only two overall finishes out of the top 5. He also has five wins, one 2nd and 5th place finishes other than a 10th and a 161st place finish at Snowshoe. If he continues to do well in the final four rounds then it is going to be hard to beat him for the top honors. He can use the two bad races he has now as his throwaways and he is back on top in the points. So don’t be fooled at this point as to what the point situation appears to be and what really is.

So even though Collier may still have a big advantage heading into the closing rounds it is no guarantee he will be able to maintain the types of finishes he has produced so far. History will tell us the likelihood is high though and barring no major problems there is no reason to think he won’t be as strong as ever. But there is always that possibility and Cody even knows he must be on his toes the remaining rounds.

 The point race is tight in the overall but also in the 4x4 Pro Class and the 4x4 A/B Class. These are new classes that have brought 4x4 racing to the forefront. The battles as we can see by the results have been as relentless as anyone could have ever imagined and it has put them in a position where they may be for the first time in history the dominating morning class. It would make more sense to see it be like this last year given the weather conditions but even in the dry these riders have been consistently battling for overall finishes as well as class finishes.

As of now a 4x4 Pro racer and last year’s 4x4 Rider of the Year sits in the point lead of the overall. Strangely enough he is ranked 3rd in his class behind Bryan Buckhannon and Kevin Trantham. Odd I know but that’s the way the overall works. A bad class finish with a decent overall finish can switch things up in a wild way. So much so that a person could lose their class title but win the overall title and vice versa.

This was no doubt a memory of lifetime for Kacy Martinez
This was no doubt a memory of lifetime for Kacy Martinez Photo: Ken Hill

4x4 A/B point lead Tanner Bowles leads his class with eight wins and also sits 2nd overall with strong overall finishes. Though he and point overall point leader Smith have yet to win an overall race this season. Strong rides keep the duo on top overall but again these final four rounds are going to tell the tale and this is one story that is going to be fun to watch unfold.

Next week we will be at Loretta’s but I will try to begin to break the ATV Morning class battles down and see where we stand there. There are a lot of classes to cover and a lot of stories building. If you want to share yours, drop me a note on Facebook or email me at [email protected].

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