by: Jared Bolton
Tuesday, April 7, 2015 | 10:05 AM
Randy Hamilton had an excellent start to the 2015 season, with a 4th place in Florida and landing on the podium in Georgia. A little bit of tough luck at Steele Creek dropped Randy out of the top 5 for the first time all season, but he looks to turn things back around at Big Buck. We caught up with Randy to hear more.
GNCCRacing.com: How's it going today?
Randy Hamilton: Today is going pretty good. I just got home from work and ready to get some things done around the house before it gets dark.
Are you ready for Big Buck this weekend?
Yeah, I’m ready for Big Buck this weekend. I've done a lot of riding since North Carolina and I’m ready to get back on the track.
How do you hope things go?
I would really like to have a good race battling with the top guys in our class and finish on the podium again. It was pretty awesome to be on the podium in Georgia, and I hope I can end up there again.
Backing up a little bit, how did you get started racing?
I grew up riding 4 wheelers and dirt bikes with my dad, but he never brought me to the races because he knew what it would turn into. He raced for Hodaka way back when so he knew what racing was all about. The summer before my freshman year of high school a couple older friends of mine that had their licenses brought me to my first race and now here I am! Thanks Joe, Garret and Steve!
And what brought you into the world of GNCC Racing?
I was doing local races here and there. You would always hear about the nationals, how crazy the tracks were and how fast the riders were, so I always wanted to go and race them. I got my dad to take me to some close ones and eventually started racing the whole series.
You've had a pretty good start to the 2015 season. Tell us how it's been.
The season has started awesome for me. I got 4th in Florida and 3rd in Georgia. Starting the season with those finishes has been a big confidence boost. Unfortunately Steele Creek didn’t go the way I had hoped. I was around 15th on the first lap and was able to work my way back up to 7th, which was a little disappointing.
Coming into this season, did you expect to have such good rides in the opening rounds?
Usually I don't do great in the beginning of the season but this year I put in the time to make sure I was ready to go. I still had no idea how I would end up since I haven't seen most of these guys since Ironman last year. So I was expecting to do pretty good, and I accomplished that.
What are your goals for the rest of the 2015 season?
My goals for the rest of the season are to be up on that podium and to battle it out with the top guys in my class every race.
What's it going to take to make it happen?
I definitely have to stay healthy, fit, keep riding and work on everything that I break.
You've got some tough competition too. What's it like racing against these XC2 guys?
Yeah these guys in XC2 are fast. It's a lot of fun when you get to race with them every other weekend.
What do you hope to accomplish in the future?
In the future I’d like to get a top ten number and keep going from there.
Alright before we wrap this up, who would you like to thank?
Well thank you Jared for this interview. I would like to thank JMR, DWT, Elka, Teixeira Tech, HMF, Bowers Motorcycle Supply, ATVRiders, Powermadd, KG Powers ports, Sunstar, Four Werx, Spider Graphics, Impact Solutions, Dirtworks Motorsports, PY Racing, and I can't thank my parents enough for giving me the opportunity to race. Jarrod McClure for putting this team together and helping me with everything. I have to thank Jarrod’s parents for everything they do for me. Our pit crew, whoever it is that weekend, my girlfriend Jenny, John Bowers, Harlen Foley, Big Air Bob, Kiote, Jordan and everyone else that has helped along the way!