Another Round In The Books (Jared Bolton)

So that puts another round in the books for the 2015 GNCC Racing season, and now we’ve got a little bit of a break before heading back into the woods of North Carolina next weekend at the Steele Creek GNCC, which is always a popular race for racers and spectators alike. With its long and steep hills (both up and down because once you go up one, you have to come back down and vice-versa) and of course the infamous Steele Creek Bridge, it’s a race that has a little something for everyone.

A lot of folks also kind of look at it like the first “normal” GNCC of the year. The back-to-back opening rounds put a unique spin on the beginning of the season, so some feel like Steele Creek is the first race of the year that really feels like a typical GNCC event. Of course, the mountainous Steele Creek track is a good bit different than a lot of the other GNCC events.

Actually, Steele Creek itself is very unique. I grew up racing the North Carolina and Mid-East Hare Scramble Series’ and while North Carolina has become a hotbed for off-road racing, I don’t really recall many opportunities to race at a place like Steele Creek, other than the final years of the Brown Mountain Lights Enduro where the race started behind Steele Creek.

What also makes Steele Creek unique is that the property is surrounded by the Pisgah National Forest. Of course, we stay on the Steele Creek property but if you know where to look, you can find the National Forest boundary markers and even signs that designate an area as a Bear Sanctuary. Just a few miles up the road from Steele Creek is Table Rock Mountain, a popular hiking destination, and the backside of Table Rock drops into the Linville Gorge, which is considered to be among some of the most rugged terrain on the east coast.

So big thanks to Dick from Steele Creek for allowing us to come out and race. Another big thanks has to go out to a long-time racer who is well known across the southeast, Ron Miller, who has also played a big part in making Steele Creek happen.

Who Saw That Coming? (Rodney Tomblin)

As the 2015 ATV GNCC championship gets underway there have been a lot of jaws dropping at what took place in the first two rounds. Not many expected to see 6-time champ Chris Borich so far behind in points. Round one didn’t leave too many surprises, as everyone knew that even though Chris is king in sand, and anything can happen so the opening third place finish was not much of a shock. The occurrences that happened at round two though left a lot of folks stunned, surprised and excited.

Chris Borich may have been stunned, but fans were surprised and Adam McGill and Walker Fowler are excited. So now begins the speculation of what’s going on with the champ? However, one cannot begin to go there as much as some may want. If you look at the big picture these things have happened in the past and Chris has been able to pull through. The difference of his first bad race of 2015 is that it came early and on a new brand. There are bound to be growing pains and in reality we have seen the same thing happen in the past, on his former brand. Plus, if you look at the big picture no other Yamahas had problems so it was just circumstantial, chance or even luck.

Adam McGill may have been one that saw part of the picture developing before the race even began. It was not that Chris had problems, but he claimed to have the win that day before the race ever started. Adam was noticeably agitated still from round one’s last moment loss to Walker Fowler, so he did not come to play around in Georgia. Adam said in a prerace interview, “I’m done being friends on the race track. I came here to win and that’s what I am going to do. I haven’t won a championship in 10 years and its time,” Adam was referencing his Pro Am title and was able to back up his claims that day. If he was as serious about winning the championship as he was winning the race, he is off to a good start. When the #521 rolls to the start at the FMF Steele Creek GNCC he will have first choice on the start with a four point lead over Walker Fowler and 12 points ahead of young sophomore Brycen Neal.

Things Could Get Interesting! (Jared Bolton)

With two rounds down, it gives us a little bit of a preview of what to expect for the rest of the season. However, if there’s one thing that GNCC racers known, it’s that it’s not over until it’s over, and bad luck can strike in an instant. There’s been many times that a rider has held the points lead, only to watch it slip away.

Kailub Russell put together two stellar rides in the first two rounds, coming away with two overall wins in two dominating finishes. Obviously this leaves a lot of people wondering what could happen in the coming races because if those two races are any indication of what KR can do this season, then a lot eyes will be on the battle for 2^nd and 3^rd place.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a rider come dominate the opening rounds. Last to do so was Josh Strang, who swept the first 4 rounds in 2010. However, Strang only claimed 1 more win that season but stayed consistent enough to claim the 2010 GNCC championship. Of course, the longest winning streak of the past 10 years goes back to 2006 where Juha Salminen claimed the win at the first 6 races, along with 2 more wins that season.

After sweeping those first 6 rounds, people began questioning if Juha could go for a perfect season. That streak ended up coming to an end when Barry Hawk was able to break through for the win at The John Penton GNCC that year. What’s interesting is, I’ve heard a few people comparing KR’s domination to that of Juha Salminen. So the question is, how many races can KR win in a row?

Is It Harvest Season? (Rodney Tomblin)

A look at the top 20 overall in standings right now yields at least 7 riders that began their GNCC Racing careers in the youth ranks. Those riders consist of Walker Fowler in 2nd, Brycen Neal in 3rd, Jay Shadron in 5th, Landon Wolfe in 13th, Cody Collier in 15th, Josh Merritt in 18th and Braden Henthorn in 19th. According to my calculation that is roughly one third of the prestigious Top 20 Overall, and again though it may be early in the season it’s beginning to look like a new in GNCC Racing.

It can’t be that the youngsters will be as consistent as some of the veterans, but if history is any indication then these kids know nothing but pure fight and determination. They know how to win and they know how to contend for titles. Yes the XC1 class is a different beast and each racer in it or against it knows this all too well. But like in times past, they are rising to the occasion and some are already becoming fast contenders.

The obvious is Walker Fowler, but even now to the likes of Braden Henthorn, Brycen Neal and Jay Shadron he is kind of a veteran. Walker knows what it takes to win and he also knows how to fight for the title. He knows what it takes and he knows it’s not easy. He has paved a path for those coming behind him and may be seeing the monsters he helped create by doing so. Now not only does he have Chris Borich, Adam McGill and Chris Bithell to fight for wins with, he has to think about so many others. It’s a new game in GNCC and the stakes are getting higher. The new blood in GNCC is making its first real challenge and the face of GNCC ATV racing is about to change forever.

The history of GNCC since the early days have been that there is one dominating rider with one dominating challenger. Usually the defender wins out as we have only seen three different champions in over 20 years. That may very well change soon, and what we have witnessed so far is only the tip of the iceberg of what the future of GNCC looks like. Hot on the heels of this young field of riders is a fresh new crop that is as, or maybe even more determined to win than even they were. Winning is what they know and winning is what they figure out on every level. It looks like harvest season is almost here.

Some More Interesting Stuff (Jared Bolton)

Something else interesting is that the National Enduro Series continues this weekend. It looks like Russell is officially in for the rest of the National Enduro season. While he hasn’t claimed a win yet, his two 2^nd place finishes in the first two rounds are good enough to give him the National Enduro points lead.

Another interesting tidbit is that those first two rounds have a lot of notoriously tight single track. I didn’t make it to either one this year but I recall a section at Sandlapper every year I’ve raced there that I know I never made it out of 2^nd gear in. That’s definitely not Kailub’s type of track, but the Texas round has some more open sections, so it’s going to be interesting to see what KR can do.

Steward Baylor won the opening National Enduro round, raced the 2^nd round with a freshly plated broken collarbone, then sat out the opening GNCCs to let it heal more and is apparently planning racing in Texas. There’s no doubt that Stu has an incredible tolerance for pain but one has to wonder exactly how Stu will be riding.

Andrew Delong won the 2^nd National Enduro round but after suffering a broken collarbone at the Wild Boar GNCC, it doesn’t look like he’ll be racing in Texas. So the two riders who won the first two National Enduro rounds are both recovering from broken collarbones.

That leaves some questions open such as; can KR claim his first National Enduro win? Can Russell Bobbitt return to the top step of the National Enduro podium? Could Josh Strang breakthrough for his first ever National Enduro win? Or is it going to be someone else? No doubt, it’s going to be one to watch unfold!

#ThrowbackThursday (Jared Bolton)

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What's New on RacerTV.com?

This week The Racer X Show with Greg White features the eleventh round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, from Indianapolis, where Ryan Dungey extended his points lead. The ninth round of AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross in Southaven, Mississippi will also be featured.

A muddy round two of the 2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series presented by Maxxis, an AMA National Championship took place in Washington, Georgia over the weekend and this week’s show features highlights from motorcycle and ATV racing. Host Greg White also highlights rounds one and two of AMA Pro Flat Track from Daytona Beach, Florida. Catch The Racer X Show Tuesday evenings, only on RacerTV.com.