Weekly Updates (Chelsea Taylor)

The 2016 race season is actually starting to become a reality for those of us here in Morgantown as we had our conference call yesterday and realized we are just about a month away from the first round. A lot of people ask, “What do you actually do all winter?” Well, that’s a simple question, we get ready for the upcoming season! We’ve spent these past few months doing various projects such as making changes to the website, creating the souvenir program, updating equipment and making sales pitches to potential sponsors. One of the projects I’ve been working on just landed itself on the website.

Chances are if you’re reading this you are probably a GNCC regular, but if not check out our new GNCC101 feature. This webpage is the ultimate guide to your first GNCC race, so if you have any buddies that you’ve been trying to talk into racing a GNCC event, then forward them to this page! At first thought, a GNCC race may seem daunting, but hopefully this page will help explain the process of event weekend.

Also, we recently updated our Get Press section of the website. You don’t have to be like Walker Fowler or Kailub Russell to get the spotlight, and majority of the time local newspapers and news stations care more about their local racers. This webpage provides a simple fill-in-the-blank press release and steps on how to get an article published on you.

The season credential application just opened up as well. For the first time ever these credentials are available to anyone. If you plan on coming to all 13 rounds, we highly recommend that you purchase a credential. Not only are they super cool to have because they are customized for ATVs, bikes and other things, but they also save time and money! With your hard card you’ll sign an annual release so when you pull up to the gate at the event you don’t have to sign the release every weekend. Also, you won’t have to wear an armband all weekend and instead you’ll just wear your lanyard with the hard card. That may be the biggest deal to the racers, because a lot of people don’t like wearing armbands while racing. Click HERE for more information and the application form.

There’s just a few days left to request your trophy and contingency if you weren’t able to make it to the banquet. You’ll be responsible for shipping, which has been running about $15-$20. Just click HERE to submit your information before February 1.

Don’t forget to keep us updated on what your plans are for the upcoming season. Please send any updates to my direct email [email protected]. We’ll make sure to include them in Quick Fill and possibly the website!

Randomness With Rodney! (Rodney Tomblin)

The days speed by and we are yet another step closer to the new season and what can be viewed as a new era in GNCC. The excitement continues to build on all fronts from the youth and amateur to the pro ranks on both two and four wheels. The upcoming season holds so many possibilities that I personally am in overload. You may call it hype and it may be just that, but the truth is that the realm of possibility is so big right now that it may take an entire season to sort it all out.

The realm includes everything from Kailub Russell’s return from last season’s knee injury to Charlie Mullins’ return from his long road of recovery of multiple wrist injuries and surgeries, to the rise in confidence and speed of Josh Strang, Thad Duvall, Chris Bach and the truly unknown variables of the young Grant Baylor and one of off-road’s fastest rising stars. Ryan Sipes.

The four-wheeled side has its own set of possibilities starting from Chris Borich and his inevitable return with a fury to try to slow Fowler’s fire from waging on, and Adam McGill’s continued dedication and passion to winning a championship. Add to that mixture the recent and solid rise of Jarrod McClure as well as the advancement of Brycen Neal who is making another big step to work under the “Quad God” himself, Barry Hawk. Also Cole Richardson, who proved to be a big threat in his early debut to the XC1 class and you find yourself imagining what could happen. At this point it can be anything so expect nothing and enjoy show.

One of the expected factors in 2016 we mentioned was Brycen Neal. If you recall the big news was out a year ago about his move to work with Broc Booth on a Yamaha with not only a totally different bike, but totally different program. A program instrumented by Booth and similarly successful like his early days with Walker Fowler. If that is any indication, then Booth may be a bit of talent prophet as well as coach and guide. It also may be an indication that Neal is (at the risk of sounding cliché) the “real deal!” Neal has made another move this off-season and again he steps up. This time to Team Coastal, who has been a big player in the UTV side of things but now branching out with a full GNCC effort in bikes, quads and UTVs. It will feature Barry Hawk as the team manager, Ryan Sipes on motorcycles and Brycen Neal on the quad. There is plenty of other talent going to be a part of the team but in a nutshell that is the front line of this new team.

Last week I had a chance to catch up with Brycen and he told me training is going great and he is on the Coastal Ranch and training is going great. Brycen said “As of now I'm alone. The team is really starting to come together nicely and the program we have is getting stronger every day.” Of course one the biggest things you may wonder about is what it would be like working under Barry Hawk and he told me “I think it's a privilege to work with a legend, this past weekend we went riding and it's pretty awesome when your team manager jumps in there with you, pounds some laps, shares his knowledge and his years of experience are worth more than money can buy.”  Brycen said that he was counting down to the opening round and “Barry, Eli, TK, and I on the quad side talk almost every single day and we've all developed a great relationship. Six weeks and counting! We'll be ready for 2016." 

Also, last week I had a chance to attend the WNYOA awards banquet in Auburn, New York and I must say a thank you to all those there. It was my third year hosting the awards presentation and it was a true honor. There were many names there you would recognize as a fellow GNCC competitors and with the numbers in attendance the hotel and banquet hall were at full capacity. If the number of riders that were in attendance is any indication of the state of our sport, then we should not be worried except about running out of room when events are held.

That’s it for now from me. Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.

Off-Season Racing in Full-Swing! (Jared Bolton)

I’ve talked for weeks now on some of the off-season races that have been happening down south. Well, the action continues this weekend with the ever-popular Burnt Gin Hare Scramble in Wedgefield, SC. I’ve mentioned this event a few times over the past few weeks as it always stands out as one of the more popular events of the winter.

Actually, it’s been pretty fun looking through old social media posts and seeing where I’ve been at that same event for multiple years, and there’s always been some pretty tight racing going on with some big names. The folks from the Sumter Enduro Riders always do a great job with this event, and between the fun course and a good pro purse they’re offering up this weekend, it should be another great year of racing at Burnt Gin.

I’m heading down this weekend to catch the AMA Arenacross race in Greensboro, NC and then head down to the Burnt Gin on Sunday. The plan is to ride around and catch the racing action on video for some special GNCC pre-season features, so stay tuned to see what kind of goodies come from the weekend. Oh, and if you’re thinking about heading down to race, I’d definitely recommend it, it’s always a fun course! If you’re looking for more info on the race check out www.setra.org or for any piece of information you could possibly need on this event or next weekend’s Sumter National Enduro, check out the SERMA website at www.sermaclub.com

Now, next weekend the same folks will be hosting round one of the 2016 AMA National Enduro Series, so that should be a great event as well. It always gives a pretty good teaser of who to keep an eye on throughout the 2016 season and a lot of times can give a first look at everyone’s new bikes and graphics for the new season. However, that’s not the only race happening next weekend!

I’ve mentioned this one as well for several weeks but the SORCS Winter Series will be in action in Sparta, Georgia at the same venue we’ll be racing for round two. This is a pretty unique chance to get a sneak peek at one of the new GNCC venues for 2016. BUT! Don’t expect to gain much advantage because our GNCC course will be a bit different than the SORCS course. Regardless, it’s still a great chance to get down and check out the new track.

These SORCS Winter Series events have become a pretty popular stop for racers who may not be able to travel all the way to Florida for a weekend. There’s been a good crop of talent to race these events in the past and each week continues to deliver. Last weekend’s race in Sparta, Georgia was just a few miles down the road from where we’ll be racing and it seems like it was a great race as well.

Jesse Groemm jumped out to the early lead but Georgia natives Russell Bobbitt and Evan Smith were hot on his heels in the opening laps. Bobbitt would work his way into the lead on lap three and control the rest of the race to take the win. However, it didn’t come easy! When the checkered flag flew, Bobbitt’s win came just one second ahead of Groemm. It’s always great to see a battle down to the wire, and hopefully the next races coming up are equally as awesome!

GNCC Racers Wins Big (Chelsea Taylor)

In last week’s edition of Quick Fill we talked about the various GNCC racers who were nominated for the prestigious AMA Racer of the Year Awards. You can get all the details HERE, but if you don’t feel like reading the official press release I’ll break it down here.

Kailub Russell and Ryan Sipes were both nominated for the most esteemed award, the Athlete of the Year Award: National Championship Series. One of the coolest things about this banquet is that the AMA staff nominates the different racers for each category, but actual AMA members have the final say when voting.

In the end, AMA members voted Sipes as the 2015 AMA Athlete of the Year Award: National Championship Series. The 2015 season has served as a stepping stone for Sipes, he’s learned a lot whether it be from racing the entire GNCC series or heading to Slovakia for the ISDE where he became the first American to win the individual overall. And of course we can’t forget about the infamous Sipes double header where he raced a Pro Motocross National and then headed to the GNCC the very next day. With all that being said and now the added Athlete of the Year Award, Sipes just may have the added confidence to make it happen and be a top contender in 2016.

The ATV Overall National Champion, Walker Fowler added another piece of hardware to his collection, as he was selected as the AMA ATV Athlete of the Year. But Walker wasn’t the only Fowler up on the stage. His mom, Vickie, was also recognized for her third place finish in the UTV Amateur Modified class. Now if that’s just not cool, then I don’t know what is! If you have ever talked to Vickie, then you know you’ll feel like a much better person just from your conversation. It’s just neat to witness a mother son bond like Walker and Vickie have.

The AMA Female Racer of the Year went to bike WXC racer and three-time GNCC champion Kacy Martinez. Kacy will be participating not only in the GNCC series this year, but will also be competing in the full AMA National Enduro Series, proving that she is the ultimate female racer and living up to her award title.

In addition to these select names, there were numerous GNCC racers in attendance at the banquet. The top three finishers in each class were recognized and the class champion received their National AMA No. 1 plates. Mark Batson, Logan and Lucas Grounds, Ayden Konkler, Ronnie Rusch and Robert Kirchner were just a few of the familiar faces at the AMA Championship Banquet.