Looking Back On Another Great Season (Jared Bolton/Rodney Tomblin)

With the banquets coming up this weekend, it serves as a pretty good opportunity to take a look back on the 2014 season and see how we got to today. Personally, 2014 has been one of my (Jareds) favorite seasons of GNCC Racing. I’ve said for a while that 2010 was my favorite as that’s when I transitioned into shooting with the RacerTV crew, which led me to where I am now, but I feel like 2014 has come pretty close to topping that. 

In some ways, 2014 has definitely topped many other seasons of racing. We saw one of the greatest battles for the ATV championship in over 20 years, and we saw an impressive feat on the bike side with Kailub Russell wrapping up the championship early (which hadn’t been done since Josh Strang’s 2010 title) and then not just racing, but winning aboard an under-powered KTM 150 2-stroke.

In the beginning of 2014 the bike side of the championship was as stacked as ever. Kailub Russell and Charlie Mullins quickly proved to be the top contenders once more and the rest of the field was left to try and find the combination that has lofted those two to the level they have reached. Then Mullins sustained what was nearly a season ending injury and there was really no one left to battle with Russell.

As the season progressed, the rest of the field shifted and Russell started to feel a little more heat. The final rounds saw a rise in the level of competition from Jordan Ashburn and former champion Josh Strang. At one point it looked like Ashburn may take a win late in the season before letting it slip away. Strang took this as a cue and put together his own charges and pulled from way behind in the final rounds to win in Ohio and challenge for another in Indiana. 

We also saw a battle down to the wire for the XC2 Pro-Am title in the ATV ranks, while at the same time we saw only the 2^nd ever back-to-back XC2 champion on the bike side. Even with all of this great racing, we still saw some of the fewest numbers of overall winners on both the bike and quad sides, but more on that later.

Then of course we cannot forget the amazing championship bid that Kailub Russell put together. Winning 9 total rounds throughout the season may be one of the biggest feats in history of our sport. Add to that fact that one of those monumental wins came in the final round aboard a heavily underpowered 150cc KTM. This same bike was then a part of a history making fundraising effort taking in over $50,000.00 to help fund Rory Meads recovery expenses and help with ISDE expenses for Kailub. 

Even without having a bunch of different riders taking overall wins, the 2014 season was definitely one for the history books. We broke the all-time single event attendance record, not once but twice. If that’s not a good example that GNCC Racing is for everyone, then I don’t know what is!

No Big Surprise (Rodney Tomblin)

As much hype and hope that goes into any race season, 2014 may have had more than ever, especially on the four-wheeled side of things. The year was destined to be historical but no one really saw this one coming.

Beginning the season, the then 5-Time GNCC champ Chris Borich sat tied on the all time wins list with former nemesis Bill Ballance for the most ATV wins. Two things could happen for Chris historically to start the year and we saw that all unfold. Early in the season Chris would take the tie-breaking win with Ballance and then tie himself with Barry Hawk at 68 wins for the All Time Wins record. Win number 69 would make him the man. It would tie him with Barry Hawk and would put him in a league all his own. Wins 69 through 72 came like clock work and all was good.

It was win 73 that became the obstacle that soon became tougher and tougher to overcome. Chris Borich fell victim to things not so ordinary in his program but competition levels he has never felt before. In the past he has always been the aggressor and all of a sudden circumstances made him the prey.  

As the questions loomed of whether or not Chris had reached the end his era, it was the final round that the champ was able to reclaim certainty that he was not going anywhere anytime soon. Then final round with Walker Fowler proved this point and at the same time sent the message that there is work still to be done for everyone but there is light at the end of the tunnel and the 2015 championship battle may be even more fierce than what we just witnessed.

History Keeps Writing New Pages (Rodney Tomblin) 

2014 is quite possibly the most historical season to date. As it has been mentioned a million times this season, the all time wins record was shattered and continues to rise with each win Chris Borich posts. The record with the final win at the Ironman GNCC was paused at 73 till 2015. Where it stops is still left to be answered and each time he wins he sets a new record.

Another historic happening this season was the amazing turnout of riders the season saw. There were a few rounds that left a little to be desired but by all accounts the numbers were bigger than we have seen in our sport ever. With just under 2,100 riders participating at Unadilla a new record was set for attendance there and for the all time records for GNCC. 

Heading into the final round there was a couple historical factors. First the colossal championship battle point wise between Fowler and Borich was the first time in over 20 years the championship had come down to the final round with a winner take all scenario. This itself brought more attention to GNCC than anyone thought possible. Second, The record crowds at the final rounds brought the largest crowd ever at the ironman spectator and rider wise. The Ironman not only broke it's own entries record but also smashed the all time entries record set only weeks before in New York. The Ironman GNCC hosted just fewer than 2,300 riders throughout the weekend.

With all the attention on the championship battle, perfect weather and celebrating the 20th running of the Ironman GNCC, one expected to see some great things happen but the energy the fans brought this season fueled the most historical year of GNCC to one the greatest finishes of all time. Congratulations to all competitors and congratulations to all those that staked their claim. In some way all have helped achieve the level of greatness our series is experiencing and in doing so each has become a part of GNCC history. 

More Off-Season Racing (Jared Bolton)

Last weekend I hosted the annual Zoo City GP I do every year. Unfortunately it seems like the cold weather, and a local hare scramble race the following day scared a lot of people off from a really great event. I know my opinion is bias on that but I’m pretty disappointed that there weren’t more people who wanted to come out and give it a shot. Regardless, everything else ran great and I have to give a big thanks to everyone who did come out.

Local favorites Trevor Barrett, Trevor Connell and Trey Edwards came away as the top 3 pro riders. Takeshi Koikeda and Trevor Bollinger were also in attendance but a crash in the log section ended both of their days early. They both came away a little banged up but thankfully they’re both going to be fine and back on the bike soon. 

As for the rest of the winter, there are some opportunities to do some racing down south. As always for the bike riders, SETRA will be racing all through the winter with various hare scramble and enduro events. Of course, a lot of riders will start heading to Florida and trying out various rounds of the Florida Trail Riders hare scrambles, which are always a popular stop.

Big news out of the Carolinas though is that our former Lieutenant Trail Boss, Buren Hamrick, is doing a winter series with his Mid-East Hare Scramble Series. What’s even cooler is that if you race the 3 winter race rounds, you can race the first round of their 2015 season for free. That’s a pretty good bargain to get to do some off-season racing and then get a free round of racing on top of that. What’s even better is that the first Mid-East round is the weekend before GNCC Racing starts back too.

#ThrowbackThursday Continues (Jared Bolton)

 

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Tuesday Toolbox: Bob Dunlap 

What’s New on RacerTV?

This week the Racer X Show is brand new with highlights from the 2014 ISDE, Endurocross from Idaho, Team Harscramble Championship of the World from Ohio, and an interview with the current Endurocross Championship points leader Cody Webb. Check it out online now.

At Noon EST tomorrow there will be a special episode of The Racer X Show to make a 2015 Loretta Lynn Amateur National Championship Announcement. Be sure to head to RacerTV.com around lunchtime to check it out!