Christmas is upon us, and with Quick Fill taking a slight break this week, what better way to fill the spot than with a special GNCC edition of The Night Before Christmas...

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all across the land,
Not a creature was stirring, not even at Ironman;
Every machine sitting in the garage with care,
In hopes that next season soon would be there. 

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of 2-strokes danced in their heads;
Mamma in her PJ’s, and I in my Snowshoe shirt,
Had just settled down to dream about the dirt.

When out on the lawn I thought I heard an ACE
I sprang from the bed and yelled “there’s a race?”
Running to the garage I got very siked,
Threw on my boots and jumped on my bike.

The moon on the breast of the newly lighted track,
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects out back;
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a full row of riders, dressed out in fresh gear.

With that striped shirt flagman whom I always see,
I knew right away that it was Ricky Towery.
Suddenly over the loudspeaker Rodney came,
And he yelled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Russell and Baylor, Fowler and McGill, Strang and Bach, McClure and Neal”
To the first turn, it shall be a great day,
TEEEEEEEEENN SECONDS and we’ll be underway!"

Ripping up the wet dirt beneath the sky,
I thought to myself, “man these guys can really fly”,
So up the steepest hill each rider flew,
Throwing roost all the way, with help from mud fleas too.

And then with a splash going through the deepest creek
I told myself “I’m going to do this every week!”
Drawing my hand to pull a tear off from my goggle lens,
I realized that I was in a position to win.

So I hammered down, and began to pull away
My confidence told me that today was my day.
I grabbed the hose and took a sip from my Camelbak,
Right before climbing the biggest hill on the track.

As I crested the hill I realized the track was rough
To finish this race, I’ve got to be tough.
I kept it together, not one single stall,
Next thing I knew, I was leading the overall!

I wonder to myself, “how could it be,
An amateur like me has somehow taken the lead?”
Even though my mind nearly filled with doubt,
These kinds of things are what GNCC Racing is all about.

I just had to keep things up for one more lap,
A win like this would put me on the map!
Through pro pits with a twist of the throttle,
Stopping for gas and a fresh water bottle.

My crew spoke not a word, but went straight to work,
And filled up the gas tank; then turned with a jerk.
I asked about 2nd place, my voice filled with doubt,
They gave me a nod and said “man, you checked out!”

Crossing the finish I took the checkered flag
I jumped on the podium, and tossed out some swag.
I grabbed the mic from Rodney and yelled with all my might,
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOODNIGHT!