Thursday, January 8, 2015 | 10:20 AM
Welcome to Quick Fill.
And welcome to the start of the 2015 season! The first week in January seems to be full of energy as we hit the “reset” button and attempt to showcase the best version of ourselves we possibly can. This is the best time because everyone is positive, full of energy and ready to rule the world! Now check back with me in another six months or so, and we’ll see how that’s all going, jusssst kidding. I’m excited to begin my fifth season with the GNCC Racing family in 2015 and I’m looking forward to this one being the best yet. And I’m not just saying that because it’s “resolution time” either.
We announced the full 2015 schedule last month and hopefully everyone is just as excited as we are about the minor changes taking place for the upcoming season. If you want to hear more about the return to Palatka, as well as the decision to not go to Loretta Lynn’s in 2015, listen to the Pit Pass Radio segment with Jeff Russell. He sheds some great insight on those topics and more.
National Numbers have been rolling in, so kudos to you all for staying on top of that and getting them in on time. If you sent your reservation in and haven’t heard back, check the 2015 Confirmed Numbers list to see if your information has been processed. Please allow at least a week for processing.
We’ve gotten a few good updates from off-season training, etc. but we want more! Send in what you all are up to this off-season so we can share with the rest of the GNCC Racin’ Nation.
Before I go, I want to ask the entire GNCC family to keep Rodney Tomblin and his family in your thoughts and prayers as they’ve recently lost a special person in their lives. Rodney’s father, Willis Tomblin, passed away on Tuesday, January 6. He was 85.
Friends may call at the Lewis & Gillum Funeral Home of Jackson, Ohio on Friday, January 9, 2015 from 4-7:30pm with a Masonic Service conducted by Jackson Trowel Lodge #132, Free and Accepted Masons beginning at 7:30pm. Additional calling hours will be held on Saturday, January 10, 2015 from 11-Noon at Paul’s Chapel Church. A funeral service will begin at noon with Rev. Rex Maynard officiating. Burial will follow at Paul’s Chapel Church Cemetery. Online condolences may be sent to www.lewisgillumfuneralhomes.com.
2015 Is Here! (Jared Bolton)
We’re officially into 2015 and many of us will spend the next couple of months inadvertently writing “2014” then scribbling over the 4 to make it into a 5. To top it off, it’s also time to make sure you refer to 2014 as “last year” when telling all your race stories. I know both of these tend to me a struggle for me to get used to in the early parts of the New Year but it will all work out.
Speaking of things working out, it seems like most everyone’s rides are pretty well set in stone and are public info now. There are still some exact details on a few riders that haven’t been officially released but by and far we at least know what everyone will be riding. So, for anyone who may have missed anything, here is a quick recap.
The FMF/KTM team returns with Kailub Russell and Charlie Mullins doing battle once again in the XC1 class, while Kacy Martinez returns to go over her 2nd WXC title. Steward Baylor will not be with the factory team this year but he’ll still be aboard the orange machine, as he and Trevor Bollinger will be fielding their own KTM supported effort.
The Factory Husqvarna team returns with Andrew Delong and has also picked up Josh Strang for 2015. It’s a pretty cool addition not only because Strang proved to be the only person able to top the KTM duo of Russell and Mullins in 2014 but he also grew up around Huskys at his dad’s shop back in Australia.
The Husky love doesn’t end there either as the KR4 crew will be aboard Husqvarna’s with their biggest addition being that of Thad Duvall in XC1. After spending the past few seasons aboard Hondas, Thad will transition to the Husky while KR4 will also be backing Nick Davis in the XC2 class. Also aboard a Husqvarna for 2015 will be Ryan Sipes who capped off his 2014 season with a podium at The Ironman.
Chris Bach will be back once again aboard a JCR Honda while Jordan Ashburn returns with the AmPro Yamaha team. A new addition to AmPro will be that of the back-to-back XC2 champ, Grant Baylor who will be making the move to XC1 aboard an YZ450.
Teasers Coming Soon For 2015! (Jared Bolton)
Pretty soon we’re going to start getting a few teasers of the 2015 season. What exactly do I mean? Well, the next couple of months are full of various off-season races in the southeast, which traditionally draw pretty big turnouts of GNCC regulars. Mid-East and SORCS have both held a few winter races with Steward and Grant Baylor both grabbing some wins.
Of course, coming up is arguably one of the biggest races of the winter. Wedgefield, SC will play host to the Burnt Gin Hare Scramble, which usually sees one of the largest pro rows, all year as GNCC and National Enduro regulars as well as a slew of top local pro riders all give it a go. This event is always held the week before the Sumter Enduro, just about a mile up the road from where the enduro is held. With Sumter being a National Enduro round for 2015, I’d say the hare scramble is going to see another huge turnout.
To top all of that off, there’s always the various Florida Trail Riders events that happen all throughout the winter across Florida and serve as a good opportunity to get in some training for GNCC round 1 in Florida.
I can’t wait to start seeing some videos, photos and other info start coming up from these races. It’s always pretty cool to see all of these various pro riders go head-to-head and it’s also a good way to see who’s going to be gunning for top amateur finishes in the coming season.
#ThrowbackThursday (Jared Bolton)
Continuing on with what I started a while back, here’s a few photos for this week. Keep an eye out for more of this kind of stuff in 2015 as I’ve got some great things planned for the coming months. Of course, if you have any cool old photos to share just drop me a line at [email protected] or even on Instagram/Twitter (@JaredBolton) or if you have a carrier pigeon I could try to accept photos that way but with the frigid temperatures in Morgantown right now, I’d imagine the poor bird would probably turn around and head south.
Headlines
This week's Tuesday Toolbox featured Sarah Baldwin. Find out how her 2014 season went and what she is looking forward to in 2015.
If you haven't checked out the 2015 GNCC Schedule make sure you do!
Also, check the 2015 Confirmed Numbers list to see if your information has been processed.
Husqvarna also announced their 2015 Off-Road Team in late December.
What's new on RacerTV.com?
The Racer X Show returns with highlights from the highly anticipated opening round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship from Anaheim, as well as results from the Superprestigio Dirt Track race in Spain. Also, the finalized 2015 schedules are announced from the AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series, an AMA National Championship, Mtn. Dew ATV Motocross National Championship and Women's Motocross Championship. Catch it now, only on RacerTV.com.
News from GNCC, Riders and Sponsors
As most of us know, Florida has become the go-to training spot for GNCC’s ATV racers through the cold winter months and lucky for us we’ve got some pretty awesome Florida natives that keep us up-to-date with who’s doing what in the sunshine state. Big thanks to Shannon Parks for this quick update, and photos, from the recent Brooksville FTR race.
“I got some shots of some of the top GNCC racers getting it done down in Florida yesterday. These pictures were taken at the Brooksville FTR race and include Hunter Hart (318), Cole Richardson, Walker Fowler, Brandon Frazier (784), and Cody Collier. The top two finishers were Walker and then Cody. Hunter won the Jr. class with Brandon coming in second. Cole had a tire issue but was able to get back out there and get some laps in.”
As if ending the 2014 GNCC season with a championship title wasn’t enough, Slightly Bent Racing’s Donnie Pruett recently signed a deal with ATV manufacturer Kymco USA to become a factory rider for the 2015 season. This year Donnie will find himself on the seat of a 2015 Kymco Maxxer 450i and will be lining up with the 4x4 Senior 40+ class. “I just can’t tell you how blessed I feel to be given this opportunity at my age,” Donnie said.
The 56-year-old Pruett is no stranger to the ATV racing world. With a career dating back to 1990, Donnie has taken home championships in MX/TT, GNCC, local hare scramble series, and was a support rider for Suzuki in 2004. He’s even appeared in publications such as Dirt Wheels and ATV Action magazine being honored as one of the top privateer support riders in the country. Donnie’s passion for racing can be seen off the track as well while he manages the parts department for United Cycle in Beckley, WV.