Weekly Updates (Chelsea Taylor)

We had an eventful weekend to say the least between the racing action and everything that the beautiful Moree’s Sportsman’s Preserve had to offer. As soon as we pulled in it was obvious that the facility was a perfect fit for GNCC. Between the fishing ponds and rope swing there were plenty of activities going on for some post-race fun. I have to admit it was pretty funny seeing everyone jump in the pond after their race, but it was perfect! We hope if you were in attendance that you will go tell all your friends what they missed out on and we can continue to keep this venue on the schedule and build it up to be a staple stop on the schedule.

Besides the activities, the racing was great too! Being at the podium enables me to speak to everyone right after they get off the track and here what they have to say about it, and the majority of the racers I spoke with really liked the track. This past weekend marked the first time that an off-road race has been held on the property, and of course with a new track the conditions will always be pretty tough. We can’t forget about the rain that occurred on Sunday right before the 10 a.m. race. When we were standing at the finish line helping everyone exit I think we heard a little “heck yeah!” out of everyone as they crossed the line.

Speaking of track conditions, one racer who quickly adjusted to the new track was Cody Miller. This week’s Tuesday Toolbox features Cody, but we just wanted to take a second to give him a shout out. Cody made history this past Saturday becoming the first person to win a 4x4 Pro and Overall UTV race in the same day!

The third NBCSN show of the year featuring the Steele Creek GNCC will air this Sunday at 6 p.m. This round focuses on the bike race where Kailub Russell took his first win of the season. If you haven’t watch a show this year then you’re missing out. We’ve added a new staff member to RacerTV who creates these shows and the episodes have been nothing but impressive this year. 

That concludes the updates this week. Make sure to check out the photo reports and team race reports on the homepages. I’m going to hop off and continue the drive to Ironman Raceway for this weekend’s ATVMX race!

Quiet Start To Something Big (Rodney Tomblin)

As the weekend began, the all new Camp Coker Bullet GNCC at the Moree’s Sportsman Reserve was set to be an instant classic. The unexpected beauty of the facility seemed to take everyone by surprise. Camp Coker’s motocross track was well known as one the South’s premier facilities hosting many local amateur, area and regional competitions. Possibly most noted as the training grounds for former top motocross stars Larry Ward and Damon Bradshaw.

Camp Coker was also a proving ground for young rising starts like Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart and Travis Pastrana. The landowner Henry Moree’s son, Hank Moree, was also a top amateur rider for Kawasaki’s Team Green. “Hammerin’ Hank” as he was known, was the first rider to ever win a national championship at Ponca City on a KX 60 and was one of the first to even own one. The laps carved in at Camp Coker by this youngster were some that are etched in history and forever helped shaped the face of American motocross.

The facility even hosted ATV Motocross nationals in the early 90s and even XC1 Pro icon Johnny Gallagher raced on mini quads “back in the day.” I was even at Camp Coker back in the mid 90s working with  Sam Gammon of Victory Sports Racing at a motocross event there. The funny thing is, it never dawned on me or even registered until I was driving in and I said, “I have been here before.” It was a sudden overwhelming recollection when at an intersection, I saw a store and thought to myself "this seems awfully familiar" but I didn’t remember being there or for what reason. It was kind of a tumultuous mental moment before it all came back to me. And then I was more intrigued.

As I rolled through the gate late on Thursday night, it was hard to see but I knew it looked different at the gates and where we were going for the race. I was surprised, even at dark, as to what the place looked like. Then the sun came up on Friday morning and I was blown away. I could not believe how majestic that the place looked. There were cabins and ponds everywhere with rolling grass fields and a beautiful woods line that was so tempting to just go ride through. Then I took a quick ride around, saw more beauty and of course, the big swimming area and rope swing that seemed to be a very popular place for a number of families. Everyone I spoke to and saw were smiling and saying how much they love this place.

That night I went into town for some supplies and when I rolled back in the gate I was ever more impressed at the sights I saw. Rolling through the front gate and looking out into the pits and all around it looked like everyone there brought out their best and rose to the occasion. The pits of most everyone looked like they were professionals and were there for business. The setting with motorhomes parked right on the ponds edges and the lights reflecting on the water was a spectacular sight and honestly gave me goosebumps. It’s a long way from the Wilderness 100 in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The Wilderness was without a doubt one the greatest places for GNCC and it hosted spectacles of its ow, but seeing it all at this level made me feel like I am part of something special.

The racing was amazing. The turnout was not the turnout I would expect and was actually kind of surprised about. Not that it was a disaster by any stretch, but I really expected a lot of riders to hit this one just to see what it was. I can imagine that many were disappointed they opted out for whatever reason but I have a strong suspicion that this may just be the beginning of something big and if it is then those who were there will share a bond over this place that will connect them forever.

I realize that I have not really said anything about the racing but I think if you were watching the ATV racing you saw some big things happen. The new trails offered some very exciting twists and the results. Adam McGill had a rather dominating performance in the XC1 Pro class taking the win over Walker Fowler and Chris Borich.

We saw Borich back on the podium and back to the early season speeds we saw from him at in Florida. Now whether or not the sand has anything to do with it, that is debatable at the moment, but it may herald the coming rise back to the top for the six time champ. It certainly means he is going to be there and will be a key player in how this championship is decided.

Adam McGill will be a player in that as well as with recent rides has proven he could a strong contender for the title. His early season finishes may not have been where they were expected coming off last season but it looks like he has found the old magic from last season. He even said he was going back to last season set ups and that already he could tell a big difference.

Walker Fowler came up a little short and was trying to reel McGill in the closing moments but it wasn’t to be. A chink in the armor of the defending champ, or just another great salvage to another not so great day? This, too, may be debatable depending on which side of the fence you are standing on, but will give much fodder for bench racing as the coming rounds approach.

The conclusion in my mindset is that all three of these riders have really done some amazing things when the chips are down. We don’t know the whole story and sometimes they don’t tell it but there is usually more to it than “I had a bad day” when these riders fall short of challenging for the win. The big picture is that each one has held on and salvaged what they could and have held on to respectable finishes to keep themselves still in the game a while longer.

The “Cobra” Jarrod McClure also held on for another strong finish. Had it not been for his bad day at Steele Creek GNCC, he may be a little further up in the standings. He finished forty first overall which scored no points for the championship and set him quite a big hole from the big picture standpoint. Other than that he has finished at least top five and even on the podium at the Big Buck.

The young Brycen Neal may have been the biggest surprise of the weekend finishing fifth but again a very respectable ride considering the company. Brycen told me during pre race interviews that he basically choked a little and let the win slip away two weeks ago. He said that he may still be a little nervous after that and just hoped to get through the weekend with a good score. That was exactly what he did, and now that he has that out of his system he should be ready to go at Limestone.

The point gap now between Adam McGill and Walker Fowler is only twelve points and Brycen Neal is another eleven points back, which should let McGill focus on trying to reel the points in on Fowler to begin the midseason points race that should really heat things up.

The racing at Camp Coker Bullet GNCC was an amazing event with everything going right to welcome the new event. The owner’s loved it and pledge to bring more for next year to help entice folks to come out and not only race, but enjoy the action. The idea calling this race an instant classic may be little drastic by some standards but the idea of what the potential of the facility from a racing standpoint could be is exciting beyond belief and to me personally holds a title of instant classic which I hope proves to be true for everyone.

The Race is On! (Jared Bolton)

As the 2016 GNCC Racing season continues to roll on, the championship battles continue to roll on as well. The racing on both the ATV and Bike sides have been pretty interesting as of late and the championship contenders have established themselves as the ones to beat. On the ATV side, Walker Fowler still controls the lead, but Adam McGill has come on strong claiming two wins in the previous two rounds. However, Walker Fowler still stands strong as the one to beat with a solid 12-point lead over McGill.

While Walker definitely stands out to many as the championship favorite, there’s still a lot that can happen between now and the end of the season. Historically, once a rider claims an ATV championship, he goes on a roll and continues to click off title after title after title. It’s been this way since Barry Hawk’s first championship in 1993. Barry would go seven in a row, followed by Bill Ballance’s nine titles, then Chris Borich’s six consecutive titles. This means that Fowler should follow in these guys’ footsteps and continue to click off titles.

Walker is still young, and it’s not impossible to think that he very well could claim a high number of championships in the coming years, however, it’s not an easy feat and breaking the historical chain of championships could definitely happen. Right now, it looks like if anyone could step up to challenge Walker to a championship chase, it would be Adam McGill. While McGill has what it takes to win, he also has his work cut out for him to topple the defending champ. Then there’s another rider who could prove to be a thorn in both of these riders’ sides, Brycen Neal. There’s no doubt that Brycen is having a stellar 2016 season, finishing on the podium at every race except last weekend’s Camp Coker Bullet. At this point, it’s only a matter of time until Brycen sneaks in and claims his first overall win.

On the bike side, defending champion Kailub Russell has dominated the previous three rounds, claiming three wins in a row. By no means did Kailub have a “bad” start to the season with a third and second place in the first two rounds, but those aren’t good enough for KR, and back-to-back-to-back wins show that Kailub is here to win championship number four in 2016.  However, much like Fowler on the ATV side, there’s still a lot of racing left and number of riders who want the same thing that Russell wants. Last weekend’s Camp Coker Bullet win marked Kailub’s third win of the 2016 season, and 33^rd career win. This ties Kailub with Rodney Smith as the number two riders on the GNCC All-Time Bike Wins list. Scott Summers still holds the top spot with 46 wins.

Josh Strang started the season strong with two wins in the first two rounds. He followed those up with two more podium finishes, but round five proved to be a tough race for Strang who finished tenth place overall. Strang won’t give up that easy and we’ll likely see him putting in a solid challenge at round six in Indiana. On the flip side, a rider that had an excellent race at round five was Jordan Ashburn. It’s been said time and time again that Jordan likes the mud, and it’s true. Ashburn absolutely excels when the going gets tough and this weekend was no different as he came away with a solid second place. Thad Duvall overcame the streak of bad luck he suffered early in the season to claim his first podium finish of the season in third. Hopefully this means Thad’s bad luck streak has come to a permanent end for 2016 and we see him back up front contending for wins like we know he can. 

Another rider who has been riding consistently well in 2016 is Chris Bach. While a tough race in Georgia put a damper on Chris’ early season, he rebounded with two podium finished and a fourth place in the previous three rounds. Last year we saw Chris break through for his first ever GNCC overall win, will we see him come away with win number two in 2016? With the way Chris has been riding, anything is possible!

The 10 a.m. ATV Bombshell (Chelsea Taylor)

A few weeks ago I talked about how we’ve seen a shift in the amount people are following the 10 a.m. race than ever before due to the WXC classes. Well the ladies aren’t the only ones turning heads this year. Schoolboy Sr. competitor John Glauda Jr. has quickly became a familiar face on the overall podium.

After this past round, John has a clean sweep in his respective class with five wins, but has also made quite a few podium appearances where he’s taken the overall win over the WXC and 4x4 Pro class. Compared to last year, this only happened a handful of times, but this year it seems to be just part of the normal program.

The coolest part about winning the amateur overall in the 10 a.m. race is that GT Thunder sponsors it and each race the winner gets to take home an extra $125. I’m sure John Sr. is excited about that because the Glauda Family is fully dedicated to racing. In addition to John Jr. racing so does his dad, John Sr. (Senior A/B 38+), and his brother, James (125 Jr. 8-11).

The Glauda Family is just one example of the many people who dedicate to their lives to this awesome sport. It’s a sport few understand, but the ones who do are some of the most passionate enthusiasts there are. They’re also the classic example of the benefits of hard work, because before this year very few people would have every thought that a Schoolboy Sr. racer could land a spot on the overall podium. However, we now know that it is possible and that the efford that John puts forth is paying off. If the rest of the season is anything like the first half we are in for a treat! 

Thanks, Charlie! (Jared Bolton)

Late last week news broke that Charlie Mullins has officially retired from racing. The wrist injury that Charlie suffered in 2014 ended up having much more of an impact than originally thought. It completely changed Charlie’s style of riding to the point that he no longer felt safe racing at a competitive speed. Obviously this decision does not come easy, and while it’s a bummer to see Charlie go, its also good to see him make the right decision instead of trying to push himself and possibly regretting it later. 

There’s no doubt that Charlie had a very successful career. In 2005, Charlie transitioned into the pro ranks of GNCC Racing. Back in 2005, there was no XC2 class. After wrapping up the 250-A class championship early, Charlie moved to the Pro class at the Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC and found immediate success, finishing second place just behind Barry Hawk. Charlie would find his way onto the podium two more times in the final four rounds, establishing himself as a true up and comer in the world of GNCC Racing.

2006 would be a slightly up and down season for Charlie. He was a consistent podium threat, landing nine podium finishes that season, but also had a few tough races as well. It wouldn’t be until the 2007 John Penton GNCC that Charlie would break through for his first-ever overall win and he would back that up with a second win later that season at the Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC; the same place he earned his first-ever Pro podium.

2008 would see big changes for Charlie as he made the move from the Am-Pro Yamaha team to the FMF Suzuki team that existed during this time. A win at round two in Georgia would be the highlight of the season while Charlie would unfortunately see an up and down season once again, but six podium finishes that season was still nothing to scoff at! 2009 would see Charlie on the Suzuki once again with a pretty successful season landing nine podium finishes, including a win at the opening round in Florida.

2010 would see another big change for Charlie as he would land back on a Yamaha, finding good success throughout the season claiming three wins in a row and finishing the season second overall in GNCC, while also claiming the AMA National Enduro title. The successful 2010 season aboard a nearly privateer effort would gain the attention of KTM who would offer Charlie a spot on the FMF/KTM Factory Racing Team in 2011 and things really began to come together.

At the first round of 2011, Charlie would engage in a race-long battle with Mike Brown, eventually emerging with the victory and early season points lead. A season-long championship battle would ensue between Charlie and Paul Whibley. That was also the season where the bikes were dealt a double-header in the final round at Loretta Lynns, with a makeup bike race on Friday after the Indy 100 GNCC bike race had to be cancelled due to weather earlier that season, and a traditional bike race on Sunday.

The championship would come down to that final round, and on Friday Charlie looked to be in control to lock up the championship early. Then the unthinkable happened. A mechanical problem would knock Charlie out of the race, bringing the battle for the 2011 GNCC title down to the final day. Sunday’s race would decide it all, and Charlie would put together the race of his life to come away with the overall win and the 2011 GNCC National Championship. This was what Charlie had worked so hard for since he was a kid, and not only did Charlie accomplish that, but he also did so as the first racer to work their way from the Youth ranks of GNCC Racing, to claim the GNCC National Championship.

2012 would be a tough season for the defending champ and while some mechanical issues and a slight injury kept him out of championship contention, Charlie was still able to land several podium finishes and a win in 2012. It would be 2013 that would see Charlie turn into the fierce competitor we’ll always remember him as. That season, Mullins would challenge his FMF/KTM teammate Kailub Russell all the way to the final round at Ironman for the GNCC National Championship. Charlie would land on the podium every race, except for one, and claim five wins that season on the way to finishing second overall on the season, just seven points behind Russell.

2014 would start out very similar for Mullins as he and Russell would once again engage in a number of early season battles, swapping the championship points lead through the early rounds. Then mid-way through the season, Charlie would suffer a hard practice crash, resulting in the wrist injury that has plagued him the past two years. Charlie would claim his final GNCC overall win at the 2014 Loretta Lynn’s GNCC.

While nobody wants to see one of the sport’s all-time greatest competitors retire earlier than they should, it’s ultimately what is best for Charlie and he should be commended for keeping a level head on his shoulders. Thank you, Charlie, for all your years of racing. You’ve always stood out as a true professional and an excellent role model for today’s youth. 

Our buddy Jason Weigandt caught up with Charlie for an awesome interview on Racer X. Be sure to check it out at http://racerxonline.com/2016/05/04/between-the-motos-charlie-mullins

Schools In!

Check out this week’s great riding tip from our ol mate, Shane Watts with a special guest appearance by Jason Weigandt!