We’re finally starting to see some activity on social media that lets us know we’re getting closer and closer to race season. Most of the top pro riders have figured out some way to get seat time in whether it’s down south in Florida, out west in the desert, or heck, I’ve even seen guys posting about riding in the snow! Nick Davis had a good one the other day on his new KR4 Arrive-N-Ride Husky with studded tires and all. I talked to 2013 Women’s ATV champ Kylie Ahart recently and she told me she sucks it up, bundles up and rides outside in the cold Ohio winters because she doesn’t have the opportunity to miss work in the off-season. I told her I would think about sucking it up and join her sometime, but we all know that probably won’t happen!

In housekeeping news, there has been a change in the rules for 2015 that we would like to bring to your attention. The addition of the Side-by-Side Single Seat class, will be a (30-45) minute race following the Youth ATV race, or as soon thereafter as possible. So please note that it will take place on Saturday morning!

The rest of the 2015 Supplemental Rules and National Classes are finalized following a period of public comment last month. Hopefully each of you had the chance to look over the tentative rules, submit questions, comments and concerns before this point. I can tell you that people inside the RP offices worked really hard to accommodate the proposed changes by taking everyone’s comments into account.

We’re excited to kick off this new season of racing and I can’t wait to see what everyone has going on for 2015! If you have team announcements, please send them to [email protected] and myself, at [email protected] so we can post them on the website and include in Quick Fill.

Yay For Winter…Not Really (Jared Bolton)

I feel like this is that point in the off-season where things get pretty boring. In fact, it seems like it’s really boring. There’s little to no off-road racing happening and everyone is glued to their TV’s to watch Supercross to help combat the lack of riding. Everyone is jonesing to ride their trusty steeds again and for some, it might be a while before that time comes.

Personally, I haven’t ridden a motorcycle in basically 2 months and I know every time I look out the window I see something that I think would be so much fun to ride on/through/over/beside/near/thinking-of-while-riding-somewhere-else. Surely there are more of you out there who are thinking the exact same thing and just want to get back into the swing of riding your bike/quad/UTV.

The good news is, the time for that to happen is actually fast approaching rather it seems like it or not. I discussed some of the upcoming off-season races last week and those are literally just around the corner. I spoke with Johnny McCoy who is one of the guys in charge of making the Burnt Gin Hare Scramble and Sumter Enduro happen and they’re going to be doing a benefit raffle at the Sumter National Enduro for injured rider, Kim Watson. Kim has been a long-time racer and is one of the guys behind the club that makes the Little Brown Jug Enduro happen.

Kim was injured in a practice accident back in early December, which initially left him with no movement from the neck down. Kim had his C4/C5 fused, which has luckily returned mobility to his arms and legs. However, he still has a long road of recovery ahead and SERMA has put together a raffle to help their friend out.

You can get all the details on prizes and also donate online at www.sermaclub.com

Humbled (Rodney Tomblin)

As many of you know the last month or so has been a rather trying month in my personal life with my father’s illness and recent passing. I would like to say thank you to each and every one of you that sent condolences and prayers during this time. I honestly feel that with the collective efforts of so many positive thoughts and prayers for my family that all of those really helped us to be strong through the entire ordeal. 

I may get a little off the path but will soon be on course and tie it together for you. When faced with something like the death of a friend or loved one there are many things that go through a persons mind, and I am no exception. The one thing that plagued my mind as I watched my father slip away was, am I the man he hoped I would be? I know he had a lot of hopes and dreams for me as I have for my children. Would he be proud of what I have done?

My father was born at the very beginning of the "Great Depression" in a time when life was to say the least, different. He grew up in the hills and mountains of West Virginia and like many from that era, and region, he ended up working in the coal mines shoveling coal 16 hours a day to keep food on the table. The house he and my mother bought was from the "The Company" and we shopped at the "The Company Store,” even when I was a child. "The Company" was the mines my dad worked for and much of his pay went straight to them.

During his time as a young man working in the mines, he became a Christian and began preaching the word of God at churches all around. He would minister for the church and he also would work the mines. To say the least he didn't get much rest and was constantly on the run. When I was four years old my father was elected pastor at Paul's Chapel Church in Jackson, Ohio, mind you my father never received any payment or compensations preaching and visiting and doing all he did so he continued to work at the mines. After moving to Ohio he was hired as the training coordinator and safety instructor for A.E.P.s coal mining division. I am proud to say my father barely had an eighth grade education and it took two college graduates to fill his position when he retired. 

Obviously that is a lot to live up to. I struggled with the questions of why couldn't I work as hard as my father and be some sort of influence or positive light as he has been. My answers came over the next few days. The answers to my questions, of would my Pops be proud and is what I am doing something positive, were all answered. It came in the form of hundreds and hundreds of posts and personal messages. It came in the form of phone calls and notes. It came in the form of handshakes and hugs.  

The answer came and it was what I hoped. I was somehow doing something good, otherwise folks wouldn't support me the way they did. Friends, acquaintances and even strangers to me were there to support in any way they could. My racing family was there and let me know that somehow, someway I have touched their lives and the evidence was in the moments it took for them to send their encouragement sand support. The best way I can describe how it makes me feel is simply, humble. Thank you all. 

Off-Road Racing in the Modern Era (Jared Bolton)

Everything is constantly evolving and the sport of off-road racing is no different. It’s amazing to see the growth the sport has made over time and especially in the last 10 years. There’s more media exposure now than there has ever been, and that’s huge for the sport. The races themselves have undergone huge changes over the years.

Back in the day when the races were 100 miles long, they often took over 5 hours to complete. This left a select group of hardcore individuals willing to try. Over time it’s been pared down to the 2-3 hour formats we know now, which not long opens it up to more people willing to race but it also creates more interesting racing for the pro riders.

With the Internet, social media and live TV coverage, you can immediately know who won. It wasn’t that long ago that you had to wait a couple of days for results to show up online, and it really wasn’t that much longer before that that there was no results online to find.

While the super tough and technical races of the past are cool, and that type of terrain is often really fun to ride on, with the amount of riders wanting to give off-road racing a try these days, that type of racing just doesn’t really work anymore. While social media is a great tool for sharing info, photos, and more from the races, it also allows everyone to voice their opinions. Which is both good and bad thing. While the majority of people are capable of voicing their opinions in a respectable manner, there’s always the number of “keyboard jockeys” who like to post disrespectful things and thrive on starting an online argument with other people, but that’s a whole other can of worms!

Overall, I feel like the sport is making great strides in moving forward in the world. I know many of you will agree that it would be great to see the sport keep moving forward and see the sport grow even more. There could come a day where we could see even bigger name sponsors and more support come our way. We just have to keep pushing forward in the way that we are with the hopes that time comes soon!

Compounds Buzzing (Rodney Tomblin)

As of most recently before the entire holiday hubbub there had been a few announcements and rumors that were starting to gain some momentum. The Chris Borich Yamaha/Suzuki question plagued us all, and yes Chris does own a YFZ 450, and yes this thing has been blinged out and modified to Chris's liking. However, is he going to race it come March? 

I spoke with Johnny G and he said "nothing really earth shattering down here. We have Borich, Wienen, myself; Landon Wolfe, Kenny Shick and Chad's new teammate, Brett Musik, riding down here since after Christmas. Just putting some miles in on the road bikes and seat time on the quads." That's' a great group of riders and I for one am excited to see what they can accomplish this winter.

It seems when questioned about what's going on, Chris is giving the same answers. He says he is just playing around a little bit. We have seen it before but this year things really seems different about the whole deal. All I know and all I can say is that Chris has not made a brand decision yet. So this will leave room for plenty of speculation. One has to think with present company that he may be looking a little blue but who knows what the six-time champ has up his sleeve. Is it a ploy to mess with the Walker Fowler or is honest to goodness looking at a possible change. It would make sense and as far as r and d is concerned, it's has all been done for him and even chad Wienen put together a solid machine for the Ironman when he visited last season.

Regardless Borich's final decision it will be big news. He will be back to battle for championship number 7 and he will most likely continue to add to most wins record and become that much more difficult to best for future GNCC generations. Right now it's the time of year that Chris will push to raise him to a new level and set himself apart from the rest of the GNCC racing world.

#ThrowbackThursday

Headlines

The 2015 Supplemental Rules: Pro, Amateur, UTV and Classes are finalized, be sure to check them out and take note on the changes for this upcoming season!

Check out Digitaloffroad.com’s video of Josh Strang getting some pre-season practice at HRD Motorsports Complex in Gaston, SC

Check out this week’s Tuesday Toolbox that went to Greg Covert, who finished 3^rd in last year’s ultra-competitive College class.