Also, what other person can say they get to hang out with their friends on the podium and talk about racing? Or be allowed to ask multi-time champions like Chris Borich and Kailub Russell questions that many others would love to ask those guys. Not many people can say their job is to travel and talk to students about racing dirt bikes and ATVs, setting goals and having fun with a positive lifestyle, or write cool stories about, you guessed it, racing! So what I’m trying to say is that I couldn’t be more thankful for the great opportunities I’ve been given with Racer Productions and the amount of growth its awarded me as both a person and a professional in the field. With that being said, I need a replacement! Racer Productions is now hiring a Media Relations Coordinator to do a whole bunch of things…seriously…but with great responsibility comes great reward for the right person who is up for the challenge. If you love racing, love talking to people and love working hard, this opportunity might be the one for you. Check out the job description posted on the GNCC Homepage, which spells out the position a little more in depth. Since I’m headed out after this week, the position will need to be filled ASAP and the candidate must be willing to live in Morgantown, West Virginia. It’s a cool place, so if you’re worried about that, don’t be!

I want to wish everyone the best of luck for the rest of the season and I’m going to be watching #GNCCLIVE on RacerTV.com every chance I can get! Hopefully I get chosen for the $250 AMSOIL Twitter contest, but if not, I’ll understand. Either way, I’ll see you all at the races soon I’m sure!

Big Buck Is In The Books! (Jared Bolton)

It was a little warm and dry at Big Buck, which can make the three-hour race feel even longer and more grueling. It had to feel even longer for Senior-B rider Tony Snyder, who finished the race at the 03:46 mark, making him the racer who had been out there the longest (not counting our Sweepmaster, Tommy Harris).

Even for the XC1 and XC2 guys, it was still a long race as “superman” Kailub Russell came in around the three-hour and seven-minute mark. As everyone already knows, KR once again led wire-to-wire and came away with the win. Of course, it was interesting to see his lead fluctuate some throughout the race. There were times where he would start to pull a lead of more than 50 seconds over Josh Strang in second, and then it would seem to drop a little bit, and next time by it would go back up.

That could mean a few different things. One, Kailub could’ve been settling into a cruising speed at times, which let Strang start to catch up. Two, Kailub could’ve pushed too hard at certain times and made mistakes which let Strang catch up. Or three, Kailub could’ve just been teasing the rest of the XC1 pack by slowing down enough for their crews to notice they were catching up.

If I were going to guess, I’d lean more towards scenario one myself. By no means am I, nor have I ever been, a super-fast rider but I’ve settled into cruising speed plenty of times (last few times I’ve raced I was forced into it because I’m out of shape) and it allows you to catch a break before pushing forward once again. Regardless, Superman Russell is now four-for-four and the question is, how many can he rack up?

Who Are You? (Rodney Tomblin)

As most of you who read Quick Fill know, I also announce at the GNCC races. My job entails a number of things throughout the weekend but most importantly I am to keep everyone informed. I also have help from “Mega Watt” Matt Watson who calls the morning race action. We are not just announcers, we do a lot more, and my point is not to try and convince you to go to our bosses and tell them we need a raise (you can if you want), or that we are overwhelmed, but that we are very busy.

The point I am trying to make is that our job can be tough sometimes and we are kind of hoping for a little help from the GNCC Racin’ Nation. It is a little petty to some, maybe, but the request we have may help make things more interesting in the future.

Many of you that race GNCC on a regular basis know that you are assigned a GNCC racing number. It is the number that is assigned to your transponder and how you are scored. Many of you also know that you can reserve your number for the entire season and use it at every race (if you meet the requirements). And if you are racing the entire (or majority) of the season you know that each class has their own color backgrounds and numbers to help distinguish the riders.

As someone who works as an announcer at the races and on RacerTV.com, I encourage you to follow these guidelines and wear your assigned numbers on your bike as well as your helmet tag. This will help you gain more attention and to become more recognizable to myself and Matt, as well as fans. It will also make it easier for everyone to pick you out of a group of riders on RacerTV.com’s GNCC Live for the afternoon race and give the commentators a chance to notice who you are and possibly talk about you and your race. 

If for some reason you do not contest the series or do not want to change your numbers and backgrounds for whatever reason, at least please cover your number plates so there is no confusion. There are many riders who never get credit for holeshots because they do not “X” the number out on their bike if it is not their assigned number, and many times we do not have enough time to catch the number on the helmet tag if the bike number is not crossed out. 

In the near future you will begin to be instructed to “X” your numbers out if it is not your assigned numbers at tech inspection. You may also be asked to do this on the line as well by GNCC staff. It is not only a good practice for announcing purposes, but it will also aid the track crew when they see certain things happen. They can better relay information that is accurate. Often times it gets confusing for them too and it would be a big help. Get your numbers on your bikes if you can or get some duct tape or electrical tape and cover them up in they are not assigned numbers for GNCC.

More Front-Runners (Jared Bolton)

While Kailub Russell has been running away with the wins this season, Josh Strang has undoubtedly been the other Mr. Consistent as he’s now four-for-four on second-place finishes. Now, every racer will tell you that second place isn’t good enough because every racer wants to win. However, that kind of consistency is definitely nothing to scoff at!

Strang has definitely adjusted to the Husqvarna very well, and there’s no doubt that if anyone is going to step up and dethrone KR, it's Strang who has the best shot. Last season, he and Charlie Mullins were the only riders to grab wins against Kailub, so there’s no doubt that Strang has the ability to do so.

However, there have also been a few other faces to work their way into podium finishes thus far. Chris Bach landed on the podium in Florida, while Thad Duvall rounded out the podium in Georgia and North Carolina. At Big Buck, there was another new face to the XC1 podium - Grant Baylor, who broke through for his first career XC1 podium. I mentioned last week that Grant would be one to keep an eye on, not only as one of the “hometown” riders (the Baylor’s aren’t far from Big Buck) but also because Grant has seen success at Big Buck before.

Grant came away with his first-ever National Enduro win at last year’s Little Brown Jug National Enduro, part of which was held at Big Buck. He had also been creeping up through the XC1 ranks through the first three rounds, so the mixture was right for Grant to put together a solid ride at Big Buck.

While Chris Bach didn’t have a very good race at Steele Creek, he rebounded to come away with fourth place at Big Buck. Like I said before, while racers ultimately want to be on the top step of the podium, putting in good, consistent rides is something to be proud of as well. Aside from the crash at Steele Creek, Bach has consistently placed himself inside the top five the rest of the season.

XC2 Update (Jared Bolton)

The boys of the XC2 class had a little of a shake-up at Big Buck with Ricky Russell returning to action after sitting out the previous two rounds with a broken collarbone, and what a return it was as Ricky would come away with the XC2 class win in his first race back. Things shook up even more as the only other riders to come away with race wins this season - Nick Davis and Jason Thomas - both ran into issues during the race. With Layne Michael continuing to have the solid season he’s had, he would come away with second, and Trevor Bollinger in third.

What does this mean for the XC2 points? Well, Thomas still holds onto the points lead but that lead has now shrunk to eight points over Layne Michael. As I mentioned last week, Craig Delong continues to be the consistent rider in the XC2 class as he came away with another fourth place finish at Big Buck and moved himself into third place in the XC2 points. It’s only a matter of time before we see that guy on the podium!

After a tough race in Florida, Trevor Bollinger has gone 3-3-3 in the previous three rounds. I don’t believe there’s any sort of secret puzzle to that combination of numbers but if Trevor keeps putting in rides like that, he’s eventually going to work his way back up through the XC2 points.

The real question is, now that Ricky Russell is back and injury-free, what does the mean for the rest of the XC2 class? There’s no doubt that he came away with a pretty convincing win in his first race back, but how many points can he make up after missing two rounds? Only time will tell, and it’s going to be a pretty good battle to watch unfold!

The Plot Thickens (Rodney Tomblin)

An author could not script anything better than the story being told before our very eyes in the 2015 AMSOIL GNCC Championship. It was expected we would see twists and turns, but did we really expect the twists that have been occurring? The plot gets deeper each week and as everyone continues to scramble to take control the action only gets more interesting. Last week I said there would be many unanswered questions when the VP Racing Fuels Big Buck GNCC concluded, but even I never imagined some of the occurrences that took place this past weekend.

First off, congratulations to Walker Fowler with another come from behind victory. Adam McGill grabbed the early lead and the lead the first two laps. On lap three, Fowler made a pass, but he never fully pulled away from McGill. Lap three saw only a four second margin, and at the checkers McGill crossed only 3.469 seconds behind. Fowler was able to gain five points in the championship but Adam still maintains a 15-point lead heading into round five for the Limestone 100 GNCC. At this point in the season it is not a comfortable margin but it shaping up to be a true showdown and Adam McGill seems very comfortable where things are right now.

Second, Jarrod McClure lived up to his nickname “sneaky snake” once again this weekend. Joking before the race he said he felt ready to “strike” and felt that it was going to be a good day. He started the day in fifth and made his moves on the final two laps. He snuck right in to position on the final lap and finished his best of the year so far. Each race he sees a progression and if it continues then it won’t be long before he is going for wins.

Another thing I want to point out is the ride that Brycen Neal put in for fourth. He battled for third place with Chris Bithell in the early part of the race, and then with McClure the last half. It was without a doubt a good learning experience for the young sophomore. The relationship between he and his mechanic, Broc Booth seems to be flourishing. Brycen has so far done a good job of riding his quad the best he can and Broc has somehow helped channel his energies right where they need to be. Neal is still certainly a factor in this year’s championship. He may not find himself in the title hunt but in his bid for achieving his best championship finish yet. And who knows? With a little luck and a few wins he could be as big of a player as any.

Lastly, I would like to mention the champ Chris Borich. Not a lot was said about Chris this past weekend, but I for one am can say that I am satisfied with how things are going for Chris. I realize results have not been typical Chris Borich results but at the same time they have been championship caliber rides. As everyone knows and may now accept, the brand switch has been a bigger challenge than expected. Some bad advice coupled with some bad set ups have thrown his bid for title number seven in a bit of rough waters but now is when we are seeing his true colors. 

Chris Borich has handled things so far it seems remarkably. He knew there would be growing pains and expected some. A solid sixth place is where Chris finished the Big Buck. It was not where he wanted to be, but for us as race fans we may be about to be treated to the greatest comeback in GNCC history. Don’t doubt me, I haven’t been far off mark so far.

#ThrowbackThursday (Jared Bolton)