When the green flag flew for the XC1 ATVs for the first time in 2014, Chris Bithell jumped out to an early lead but a mistake on the first lap would cost him the early lead briefly. However, by the end of the first lap, Bithell worked his way back into the lead, which he would hold all the way up until the final lap. What did happen on the final lap was a spectacular battle between Chris Borich and Chris Bithell heading into the final field section.

With Borich's machine smoking and questionable if he could even make it to the finish, Borich pulled through to start the 2014 season with a win over Bithell. Walker Fowler came away with third after working his way up through the pack as the race wore on. 

On the bike side, hype surrounded the FMF/KTM duo of Kailub Russell and Charlie Mullins coming into the 2014 season as the two riders took the 2013 championship down to the wire at the season finale in Indiana. However, a first turn crash would end up collecting both of these riders, giving the early lead to Paul Whibley. However, it didn't take Mullins long to find it way through the pack as he worked his way into the lead by the 2nd lap. 

Mechanical issues stuck Kailub Russell as he struggled to keep the bike running in the closing portions of the race. This left the door wide open for Mullins who came away with the win over Whibley. The battle was for 3rd, however, as Josh Strang and Thad Duvall battled down to the final turn with Strang coming away with the final podium spot.

The opening round served as an excellent teaser of the season to come. With close battles and fierce competition just in the opening round, things would heat up even more as the season wore on. 

The General GNCC in Georgia saw a welcome relief for the ATV racers as they were greeted with near perfect conditions after the mud in Florida. After taking third in Florida, the Georgia clay proved to be kind to Walker Fowler as he led wire-to-wire to take the win over Adam McGill while Chris Borich rounded out the podium. This was the beginning of a back an forth battle that had raged all season (more on that soon).

Overnight those near-perfect conditions changed to the polar opposite as the racers on the bike side were treated to a torrential downpour, which made for one of the sloppiest GNCC events in recent memory. After dealing with mechanical issues in Florida, Kailub Russell came from fifth place on the first lap to take the win in the muddy Georgia clay with Jordan Ashburn returning to the podium, which is to be expected because Jordan likes the mud. His Yamaha teammate Paul Whibley would round out the podium in third.

With round 3 approaching, the buzz was that surely we couldn’t have another mudder. Well, think again. Steele Creek has seen it's fair share of nasty conditions and 2014 was one of those times as well. This time Chris Borich proved once again why he bears the number one plate as he came away with the overall win. We also saw Jarrod McClure return to the podium while Adam McGill charged from deep in the back to take 3rd.

The mud did it's bidding on a few of the front runners as Chris Bithell's machine quit on the final lap and bad luck struck Walker Fowler as well who could only salvage an 11th place.

The course dried out slightly for the motorcycles but it was still wet and rutty enough to make it a tough race. On this day though, it was all about Kailub Russell who was absolutely on rails and came away with a dominating win. The focus at the finish was the battle for 2nd between Charlie Mullins and Josh Strang. Ironically, these two battled down through the final corners for the overall win at Steele Creek in 2011 with Mullins falling just feet from the finish thus handing the win to Strang. It was a different story this time as Mullins edged out Strang for 2nd.

Things finally returned to normal with the Big Buck GNCC and in a classic scenario we saw Walker Fowler out front with an early lead, controlling the race until the final lap when Chris Borich would make his signature last lap pass for the win over Fowler with Bithell rounding out the podium.

Kailub Russell knows his way around the Big Buck course pretty well, as does Charlie Mullins. These two kept each other honest throughout the 3 hour race but when all was said and done, it would be Russell taking the win over Mullins while Josh Strang proved to be Mr. Consistent and snagged another podium finish in 3rd.

As the series began it's northward trek, it would be yet again be Chris Borich taking the win, this time at the Limestone 100 with Walker Fowler and Chris Bithell in tow, and it was once again another signature Borich last lap pass as he came from 4th to 3rd to 1st in the final laps.

Lots of excitement surrounded the bike race as well. After controlling the race early Kailub Russell had a hard crash, which resulted in a mangled motorcycle. Once the FMF/KTM crew got it fixed, KR had lost a considerable amount of time. Charlie Mullins came away with the win while Russell fought his way from as far back as 7th to challenge Thad Duvall through the final turns of the race. However, Duvall would hold him off to take the final podium spot.

When the series made its stop at Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Tennessee, we were once again treated to a fierce battle. Adam McGill controlled most of the race but Chris Borich would once again make a last lap pass to secure the win. McGill still had his work cut out for him though as he and Walker Fowler battled through the final portions of the race, and most notable the final turns before McGill was able to edge Fowler out for 2nd place by less than 1 second.

The bikes shook out to be a similar story to what we had seen all year with Russell and Mullins doing battle throughout the race. It looked as if it was Kailub Russell's day once again but Mullins was able to put on a charge and not only pass KR, but hold him off for the win. Josh Strang once again rounded out the podium in 3rd. 

From there it was off to Masontown, WV for the Mountaineer Run GNCC and we once again saw a close race down to the wire. However, things shook out a little bit different. This time Chris Borich wasn't able to make a last lap pass stick to Walker Fowler. The duo would battle through the final grass track before a last turn crash took Borich out. Fowler came away with the win over Borich while Adam McGill landed his 4th podium of the season with a 3rd place finish. 

After a loss in Tennessee, Kailub Russell was on a mission to return to the center of the podium. He did that exactly and did it in convincing fashion with another strong finish with Mullins right behind him and Strang once again rounding out the podium. It was at this point that the battle for the championship was beginning to heat up. Mullins had a strong lead thanks to Russell's early misfortune in Florida. However, things were about to shake up even more.

Things also really shook up on the ATV side at the next round. The John Penton GNCC has seen it's fair share of battles and great racing. This year was no different. Walker Fowler controlled the race wire-to-wire to take the win. Another story was that of Chris Borich who ran into mechanical issues and was out of the race a lap early. Fowler took the win over Adam McGill while Jarrod McClure returned to the podium in 3rd.

Remember when I said Kailub Russell knows his way around Big Buck? Well, he also really knows his way around The Penton as well. KR would end up taking another dominating win by 2 minutes 42 seconds over Josh Strang in second place. Jordan Ashburn also put in an excellent performance to return to the podium once again.

Absent from this round was Charlie Mullins who suffered a practice crash the week before the Penton. Ending up with a badly broken wrist, he later found out the other wrist was also broken. This ended Mullins' 2014 championship hopes but Charlie is already close to being ready to race again so we could see him challenging for wins again before the season ends. 

Then it was on to the mack-daddy of them all with The Snowshoe GNCC. The rough, rugged terrain is either your best friend, or worst enemy. Things were shaken up once again as it was the local hero, Adam McGill, taking the overall win ahead of former Snowshoe winner Brian Wolf while Jarrod McClure proved that his previous podiums were no fluke as he rounded it out in third. 

The bikes saw a similar story to the previous rounds with Kailub Russell once again pulling out a big win but this time it was Jordan Ashburn taking 2nd place while Andrew Delong finally landed the podium finish he had been trying for all season.

If the last part of the 2014 season is anywhere near as exciting as what we experienced before the summer break, then we're in for a big treat. Walker Fowler will definitely be looking to return to the center of the podium but Chris Borich will be standing in his way in addition to other contenders in the form of Adam McGill, Chris Bithell, Jarrod McClure and others.

Kailub Russell may have a strong lead now but it's not over until it's over. He's also got strong competition from Josh Strang, Jordan Ashburn, and now that Andrew Delong has found his groove, he could be a threat as well.