Also, since Ironman is the weekend before Halloween we’re bringing back GNCC Trick-or-Treat for the kids! And adults, if that’s what you’re into. Vendor row, as well as GNCC Registration, will have candy ready for anyone who shows up in costume on Saturday at 6 PM! And for those of you who would like to participate, we will provide orange balloons at registration so you can let everyone know you’re open for business! So bring your best costumes out and enjoy the festivities with the GNCC Racin’ Nation.

I wanted to give a quick shout out and apology to a few of our 10 a.m. bike racers as there was a mistake when calculating the top three overall for podium celebrations on Sunday at Powerline Park. We normally see riders from Master’s 50+, Super Senior A 45+ and even WXC finishing atop the overall podium but last round a couple of the younger riders stole the show from ten-plus rows behind! While usual suspect Vance Earl from the Masters A class took the overall win, it was actually 200 C Schoolboy (12-15) winner Hunter Shelton and 125 B/C winner Timmy Crosby who landed second and third with the adjusted time clock. Since the boys weren’t in yet, we mistakenly grabbed Rick Matteson and Brooke Cosner for the podium celebration when in fact, it was Shelton and Crosby. So we would like to apologize for that and also congratulate 2014 Super Mini (12-13) Champion Daniel Spurgeon for capturing fifth overall in his first two-hour morning race, as well as second in the 125 B/C class. 

Another quick note before I go, we’ll be going live with the GNCC Awards Banquet registration page soon but as you keep an eye out for that, you might want to think about booking your hotel room for the weekend of celebration. It’s going to take place November 21 (ATV) and 22 (bike) at the Waterfront Hotel and Convention Center in Morgantown, West Virginia and you can book online at www.waterfrontplacehotel.com using the code: 232299 or call

1-866-STAY-WPH and mention “GNCC Night of Champions” to get the discounted rate. 

If you’re looking for a place to race this weekend, you should think about heading to Big Buck Farm in Union, South Carolina for the first-ever Big Buck Sprint Enduro. Put on by RacerTV producer Jason Hooper, racers will compete on one grass track test and one enduro test each day, making multiple attempts on each of the tests guaranteeing at least one hour of seat time per day. Awards will be given based on the lowest overall time in each class for the entire weekend. Race entry fees are $60 for both days or $30 for one day, with a $5 fee to rent a transponder. Weekend admissions are $10 per person and children 5 and under are free. For more information on the Full Gas Sprint Enduro, check out www.fullgasenduro.com. 

Visiting ATV Champion to make GNCC Debut at Ironman (Rodney Tomblin

You may have already heard if you are an ATV racing fan. The Ironman GNCC will welcome Mtn. Dew AMA Pro ATV Motocross Champion Chad Wienen. Chad told me he has never really raced off-road but has been entertaining the idea of giving it a go at some point.

Last winter you may remember the now 3-Time AMA Pro ATV Motocross champion spent his off-season training with Chris Borich at the Borich Compound near Daytona Beach, Florida. Wienen and Borich have been friends for a few years but never really got to ride together. Wienen was very impressed by Chris’s dedication, hard work and drive and the two hit it off remarkably as training partners. Chad even said he was amazed how Chris could ride a moto track at full speed for an entire tank of fuel and never tire. He was also impressed by the off-roaders MX abilities.

The funny thing about this whole scenario is that Chad rides a factory back Yamaha. Walker Fowler rides a factory backed Yamaha. Chad is a great and a close friend with Chris Borich and though they know each other only from short meetings, Walker Fowler and Chad barely know each other at all. So the big conspiracy theory that some may begin to cook up does not exist. Even if Chad wanted to come and play spoiler of some sorts, he could not afford to do it from a professional or personal standpoint.

Russell Bobbitt To Race Ironman (Jared Bolton)

We got word this week that Four-time National Enduro Champion Russell Bobbitt will be making an appearance at Ironman. Bobbitt suffered a knee injury at the opening round of the National Enduro Series and underwent surgery to repair it back in March. It will be nice to have the addition of Bobbitt to the front row aboard his Factory Husqvarna-backed machine.

We've got a full-blown XC1 invasion going on now as we've got Aussie Dan Milner, Bobbitt, and a couple additional internationally recognized riders joining the front row for the season finale.

Milner raced Powerline Park as well and ended up with a seventh place. As I mentioned before, the long three-hour GNCC races are a lot different than what these guys are used to, so it'll take some time to adjust.

You also can’t forget the addition of newly crowned two-time XC2 Pro Lites Champion Grant Baylor to the front row. This could be the most stacked XC1 field we’ve seen in a long time!

This must be HUGE! (Rodney Tomblin)

I am not too sure if you realize it or not but we are living in something that is the biggest thing to happen in GNCC ATV history in over 20 years. If you watched last week’s GNCC Live on RacerTV.com then you may have heard the story. If not, then in a nutshell the Great Barry Hawk told the story of the last time he remembered the ATV championship coming down to the final round.

The year was 1993 and Barry Hawk and Bob “The Ironman” Sloan ended up in a “whichever” beat the other won the championship. Obviously Barry won that race and the rest is history but knowing it has taken 21 years to see it come down to this is nothing short of amazing for Barry, Bill Ballance and of course Chris Borich. Does this harken the coming of a new era in GNCC? I am not sure but I know it is getting a lot of attention for sure.

Just Tuesday I was in my hometown of Jackson, Ohio where there are a handful of off-road enthusiasts. On top of that there are very few ATV enthusiasts for sure. However I was kind of taken back when a couple folks I did and then even a couple of folks I don’t recognize stop me and want to talk about the big ATV championship showdown between Fowler and Borich. Everyone kept asking the same question, “Do you think Fowler can do it?” All I could answer is, “It’s going to be interesting no matter what.” A couple of folks even told me that they were even going to make special plans to be there because they had to see it for themselves.

An Angel Fought Quietly on the Battlefield (Rodney Tomblin)

You may recall reading in Quick Fill about the WXC battle in the Morning ATV race. The points race has been without a doubt a very tight battle all season. Defending WXC champ Kylie Ahart had her hands more than full coming into this season. Knowing how competitive the rest of the field was and could be was a lot to worry about. Not knowing what Angel Knox was capable of was possibly the biggest challenge. If she or anyone else didn’t know who Angel Knox was it wasn’t long before it was realized just who this lady really was. Angel Knox was actually former WXC champion Angel Atwell. Angel had sort of retired/took a break from GNCC for a few years. She would occasionally show up to a Pennsylvania or maybe a close race but I am not sure many saw this coming.

As the season began it was apparent that Angel was returning on a mission. She won the opening round in Florida but had some problems in Georgia. She rebounded back in North Carolina and kind of went up and down a couple of rounds. Then when the point race became obvious that it was going to be a battle, Angel buckled down to win three straight races and was able to gain a slight control of the points and should be looking at yet another title. If you look at the points right now you will probably be a little impressed yourself. There are only 15 points separating 1^st through 4^th places in the championship with Angel, Kylie, Kara Merritt and Quincy Cunningham all faced with the possibility of a title heading into the homestretch of the season.

KR and the 150 (Jared Bolton)

By now some of you are probably 150'ed out. Other of you 2-stroke fanatics are surely thinking, "hey, I'm ready for more!" And well, you've got a whole other race to listen to that puppy sing. KR's first outing on the 150 went pretty well. After leading a good portion of the race, Kailub lost some time in the pits fixing a brake issue that ultimately put Josh Strang a little too far ahead to catch.

Regardless, it's a good example of it being about the rider and not about the bike. There's that old saying that goes "it's __% rider and __% bike" (the percentages change dependent upon who's saying it, I usually say 70% rider and 30% bike myself) but that's a prime example that you can put a top level rider on an underpowered machine and he can still be competitive.

While Kailub may have come up a little short of the win, it was still an awesome ride and it was also awesome to see Strang back in the center of the podium (more on that later). Now let's jump to the what-if scenario.

What if KR takes the win on the 150 at Ironman? He's already proven it's not impossible. When's the last time an underpowered bike took an overall GNCC win? Well, you could count Thad Duvall grabbing last year's Mammoth win on a 250F as one, but when's the last time someone won on a small bore 2-stroke? 

I'm not 100% sure but if I were to guess, I would say you'd have to go back to one of Shane Watts’ wins in 2000 where he won aboard everything KTM made that year, including a 125 and a 200. If I'm forgetting something in between there, feel free to drop me a line at [email protected] and let me know. 

Strang Returns To Center Of The Podium (Jared Bolton)

In case you missed it, Josh Strang took the win at Powerline Park. I think by now, most of you already know that but who can recall the last time that Strang claimed a win?

You’d have to go all the way back to Snowshoe 2011 for Strang's last GNCC overall win. After claiming the 2010 title, Strang was on track early for a second title in 2011. However, after his Snowshoe win he ran into some bad luck. An early race crash at Unadilla left him with a mangled motorcycle that took time to fix and put him a lap down. To make matters worse, a broken leg at the final round of 2011 was the icing on the bad luck cake.

With Suzuki downsizing, Strang was left without a ride for the GNCC’s and he shifted his focus to the west coast with the RPM KTM team in 2012 and only made one GNCC appearance that season at the John Penton. Strang returned last season after putting together his own deal with Rocky Mountain ATV/MC and while he landed several podiums, he wasn’t able to pull off a win. With a few podiums this season as well, Strang was finally able to return to the center of the box last weekend.

It'll be interesting to watch the Ironman unfold. A confident and motivated racer is tough to beat and that's exactly what Strang is right now.

DC Vet National Championship Returns to High Point (Kayla Olliver) 

This weekend, October 11-12, High Point Raceway will host the 24^th Annual DC Vet National Championship. To honor Big Dave and bring out our veteran motocross community, Saturday’s Vet Motocross National will offer classes to riders age 25 and over, 30+, 35+, 40+, 45+, 50+ and 55+ with options for all different skill level riders, however the Vintage bike classes will more than likely be the most exciting part of the weekend. Riders over the age of 25 can race their vintage bikes in the following: pre-1995, pre-1990, pre-1985, and pre-1978. Also for all you ladies that love racing your dirt bike just like the guys, we’ve added a Women’s 25+ class to the list. 

The fun doesn’t stop on the racetrack though. The weekend will be full of entertainment for all members of the family. The vintage t-shirt contest will be back again this year, just bring your favorite old race tee and show it to the registration ladies Saturday morning and you’ll be entered to win some pretty cool prizes. Also new this year are some other pretty cool contests including the oldest race program, the furthest-traveled competitor, and the oldest competitor. Check with the registration ladies to get more information on how to enter these new contests. Then Saturday evening we will begin the evening festivities with a karaoke session at 6 p.m. There will also be a special showing of “The John Penton Story,” along with a camp fire, so make sure you bring your marshmallows!

After Saturday’s Vet Motocross National, High Point Raceway will serve as host to the PAMX Fly Racing PA State Championship on Sunday, which will also be round two of the “In the Blood Triple Crown.” Round seven of the New East Coast Cross Country Series (NECXC) will also be taking place on Sunday through the woods of High Point Raceway. 

So come out and enjoy all the motorcycle action this weekend at High Point Raceway with us! Admission is $10 per day and children under 6 are FREE. For more information on the entire race weekend, please visit www.racerproductions.com.

What’s New on RacerTV.com 

This week on The Racer X Show we have highlights from the first ever Red Bull Straight Rhythm, Motorcycle racing from the ITP Powerline Park GNCC, and Endurocross from Denver, Colorado. We also have a special interview with this past weekend's GNCC XC1 Pro winner Josh Strang, along with some interesting moto news and more! Check it out on www.RacerTV.com now.