From The Sands of Sumter (Jared Bolton)
Last week I mentioned the opening round of the National Enduro season would be kicking off in Sumter, South Carolina. Well, it was a pretty good race as expected. It was arguably one of the most stacked National Enduro fields in quite a while with Kailub Russell in for the first 2 National Enduros in addition to both Steward and Grant Baylor, Andrew Delong, Josh Strang and of course all the enduro regulars such as Russell Bobbitt, Brad Bakken, Jesse Groemm, Cory Buttrick and more.

Kailub Russell would start out the day strong by winning the first section with Steward Baylor and Russell Bobbitt in tow.

However, KR would run into some issues in the second section only logging 10^th place, with Stu Baylor grabbing the section win over Andrew Delong and Bobbitt. Stu would also win the third section but this time it would be Brad Bakken coming to life to claim 2^nd over Delong in third.

When section four rolled around, things begin to change a little as Bakken would take the section win while Kailub battled his way back to 2^nd, with Steward staying consistent in third. Bakken would also win the 5^th section over KR and Russell Bobbitt.

In the sixth and final section, Kailub Russell would find the speed he had in the first section to come away with the section win over Russell Bobbitt. 3^rd place would be a surprise, as Chris Bach would come away with third in the final section. Bach is the first to admit that he is not a strong enduro rider, however after chatting with a “wise old school enduro rider”, he put some advice to work and logged his best ever National Enduro section finish.

In the end, Steward Baylor would come away with the overall win ahead of Kailub Russell and Brand Bakken, respectively. After all the surgeries and wrist issues, it’s as if we’re seeing the same Stu we saw in 2012. While that’s when his wrist issues began and he lost out on his 2^nd XC2 title at the final round, he was still able to claim the National Enduro title that year.

It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out for the rest of the year. I caught up with Stu for this week’s Tuesday Toolbox; so if you haven’t checked it out yet, make sure to do so.

The Other Pro Class (Rodney Tomblin)
Oh my yes! Lest we forget GNCC’s other pro class? With all of the recent happenings from the afternoon’s front row of ATV racing it has diverted much of the attention away from other things going on in our GNCC Racin’ Nation. The class I refer to is, of course, the Pro 4x4 class.

A year ago it was the entire buzz and excitement as the off-season progressed as new teams and riders announced their commitments to the all-new and long anticipated class. It finally brought the best of the best together and presented some great battles. I was however, a little disappointed that the numbers were not as strong as they could have been. After its inaugural season, hopefully more will be inspired to make that step up from the 4x4 A/B class. Even if they are not, the players that already exist are going to keep it very interesting this year.  

A look at the season’s results alone show the depth of the class. A total of 5 different winners in the class throughout the season definitely proved the depth point. It also gives us hope of a more challenging championship. This feat will be tough to top last season as the class champ took 5 wins himself but it took him quite some time to reach the winning ways. Consistency as much as anything played a key role in Bryan Buckhannon’s historic first ever 4x4 Pro Championship.

The fire that lit last season in this class has only been building. The young Jordan Phillips may be one to keep an eye this season. If he gets it together this year like he did early in the season last year could prove to be a major force. Phillips won 2 of the first 4 rounds before suffering a DNF at the Limestone 100. After that, subpar finishes plagued the obviously ailing rider and a long off-season to regroup may put him right back in the game for 2015.

This like many classes has so many unanswered questions that will soon come. Who is doing their homework? Who is taking this serious? Who will the players be this year? Who is stepping up? Who is coming back? Who will be champion in 2015? Time will tell the tale and this story is poised to be a great one.

More Things to Ponder For 2015 (Jared Bolton)
Last week KTM announced that Kailub Russell would race the first two National Enduro rounds while Charlie Mullins is still on the mend. After the second round, depending on how Kailub sits in series points, they’ll decide if he’s going to continue racing the rest of the series or not. While Kailub had a couple of off-pace section scores at Sumter, he was still able to come away with 2^nd place.

The trails at Sumter are notoriously tight throughout most of the course, which aren’t really Kailub’s favorite kind of riding. However, logging a 2^nd place finish and a couple of section wins is a pretty strong start. Round 2 at Sandlapper in Salley, SC is a little less tight and have a few high-speed field crossings, and some of the other enduros open up even more.

Depending on how Sandlapper goes, the chances of seeing Kailub contest in all the enduros are currently looking pretty good. This has the potential to make for a historic season of racing in multiple ways. For one, no rider has ever claimed a GNCC and National Enduro title in the same year. Charlie Mullins came pretty close in 2013, but Kailub Russell edged him out for the GNCC title. If Kailub races the entire National Enduro season, he has a pretty solid shot to claim the GNCC and National Enduro titles.

The other way this could have a historical outcome is that if KR were to claim a National Enduro title, he and his dad Jeff would be the only father-son duo to have claimed National Enduro championships. They’re already the only father-son duo with GNCC Bike Overall wins (Thad Duvall’s dad Chad did have a few ATV overall wins) but adding a championship to the mix is something that has never been done.

However, if Steward Baylor continues to ride like he did at Sumter and maintains his consistency, he’ll be tough to beat. Of course, Kailub could also have his work cut out for him in the GNCCs this year as well. Josh Strang broke through at Powerline Park to claim his first win since 2011, and with a new ride on the Factory Rockstar Husqvarna team in 2015, Strang could continue to be a threat. While Charlie Mullins may still be on the mend, we all know that a healthy Mullins always has a chance to win anywhere, anytime. It could get interesting.

Zac Zak Attack! (Rodney Tomblin)
I guess it was supposed to be a hush-hush affair but, someone let the cat out of the bag and I am spilling the beans. Apparently one of the highly anticipated threats in the new Pro 4x4 class may be Zac Zakowski. Zac without a doubt has carved his way into the GNCC ranks without question. A true sportsman and contender that not only spent the better part of the last couple of season recovering from multiple knee surgeries but he has also been making a name for himself in the Side-by-Side races.

Zakowski has been reportedly seen hanging with the “Mafia”. The McGill Mafia is the actual report. If you remember we reported last week on Adam McGill and his early season dedication and commitment to challenging for this year’s XC1 Pro ATV title. It seems he may have left out one little detail about what was going on in his training regime. That was that apparently Zak Zakowski was back and training with a vengeance alongside him.  This may have been by design because Zak may have been trying to keep it on the “D-L”. Be careful where you park and ride Zac Zak! Someone spotted you out.

Recently released for full on training and recently graduating college this past December, Zakowski is fully focused and primed for the upcoming season in both Side-by-Side action and Pro 4x4. Zac is a factory sponsored Can-Am driver and pioneered the all-new Maverick program last season, which yielded huge results by seasons end. Zakowski Motorsports took an unproven machine and proved it by landing on the podium at one of the most challenging events last season for the Ironman GNCC. He now says with the injury behind him and school no longer a racing distraction that he is facing 2015 in full force and if all goes to plan, he will become very well known in 2015.

I asked Zac about the knee knowing that it is really unproven at this point and he said “The knee is OK. It’s not bugging me too bad. It’s good enough to win races.” (Laughing) If optimism alone wins races, Zac Zak has the championship locked up for 2015. However, we all know being positive is only the start to a good season. You have to finish with results. And like everyone else knows, Zac does too and that’s why he is working so hard to make dreams reality.

#ThrowbackThursday 

 

 

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Tuesday Toolbox: Steward Baylor