Weekly Updates (Chelsea Taylor)

We’re officially on the road to New York as we make the last minute touches for the eighth round of the season. The registration ladies are busy packing the pre-registration packets, the track crew is working diligently to ensure you all will have a great course this weekend and I’m making phone calls to the local media inviting them out to the event. This weekend promises to be another great race for sure!

If you are a local fan who’s found your way onto Quick Fill we have an update just for you!  We’re excited to hang out with you this weekend, but unfortunately camping is reserved for competitors and their families only. We’re looking forward to seeing you out at the Tomahawk GNCC this weekend! 

As crazy as it sounds, we are only one round away from the Snowshoe GNCC and the ISDE Fundraiser Golf Tournament. This is a great way to see your favorite riders doing something other than, well racing! Majority of the top ATV and bike guys will be present and everyone is invited to participate. All proceeds will go toward funding the transportation for the ISDE trophy team’s trip to Spain. Registration is OPEN now!

On Wednesday Tim Cotter, Davey Coombs, Timmy Coombs and myself attended the Morgantown City Council Meeting to accept a proclamation for High Point Raceway. The track is technically located in Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, but Morgantown sits just across the state line in West Virginia where many competitors and fans stay during the various races held there throughout the year. This year marks the 40^th anniversary of racing at High Point Raceway and even though it’s been since 2002 since a GNCC event has been held there, off-road racing still plays a role on the property. The NECXC series travels their every year in addition to GP Moto-X Country racing as part of the DC Vet Homecoming, and of course the Pro Motocross, ATVMX, and PAMX races. On June 7, Morgantown was renamed “Moto-Town” to honor the 40 years that High Point Raceway has been hosting race enthusiast from all over the world.

We will be having a graduation commencement ceremony at Snowshoe Saturday evening beginning at 6 p.m. on the podium located in the center of the Village. Whether you have graduated from elementary, middle school, high school, college or a technical school, GNCC Racing wants to recognize you for your prestigious academic accomplishment. If you or your family member is part of the Class of 2016 (or 2015 if you graduated in December) simply fill out this form to register.

Update From The Woods of Tomahawk! (Jared Bolton)

For only the second time in the history of GNCC Racing, we make our way to the Seneca Highlands for the Dunlop Tomahawk GNCC. This was a fairly popular addition to the schedule last season and this year’s racecourse promises to deliver more of the same fun that everyone has come to expect after last year’s inaugural event. Our friends at WNYOA have had a couple of races here since we last visited, with the most recent happening just over a month ago.

While we all know multiple races on a single venue can make for some rough trails in places, we’ve really put in a big effort to avoid those spots and make some fresh trail where possible. We were able to add in a good bit of fresh trail, use some older trail that hadn’t been used in quite some time, and in a few places we also jumped onto some of the popular trails used in the WNYOA events. This makes for a pretty good mix of terrain that everyone should really enjoy.

I do have a little disclaimer on this upcoming description. As I’m writing this, the mile markers I’m mentioning are not 100% set in stone yet, so there could be some slight variations when you get here, but for the most part you’ll be able to read along and get a good idea of what to expect out of this weekend’s track regardless.

You’ll be starting a little way into the full lap, a little bit before the three-mile mark so your first lap will be slightly shorter than the rest. When you make your way into the woods, there will be a pretty fun downhill section before making your way back uphill into a section of fresh trail. The fresh section will lead you out past the three-mile mark into some fun existing trail, crossing the power line towards the four-mile mark.

Just after you go back into the woods after the power line, the 1PM races have a pretty good uphill section. It’s not overly steep, but it’s a long uphill. Once you’re up top, you’ll make your way across the top of the ridge and into a long, steep downhill section. This will be a brand new downhill that is going to be completely fresh when the 1PM quads hit it, so it’s going to be a section where you definitely want to pay attention to the arrows! At the bottom, you’ll tie back into the trail where the 10AM races bypass the uphill section.

From the four to five-mile mark has a good mix of open trail, some slower trail, uphill, downhill, some rocks, fresh trail, old trail and more. This is all really good stuff through here, all the way back up past the six-mile mark and towards the first section of grass track you’ll encounter. This will be a pretty fun grass track that will take you back to the woods and towards the seven-mile mark. Back in the woods you’ll make your way up some older trail before jumping off into a fresh pine section that will lead you to some more good woods sections back towards the finish. 

The final miles before the finish have a good mix of trail and a little bit of open trackside pitting as well. When you make your way through the finish, you’ll head back out to the other side of the main parking field to ride what you missed off the start. There’s a good grass track section that will take you to a small piece of woods behind the front gate. Last year the bike races crossed the main road and did an extra section over there. This year the 1PM quads will also make their way over there. It’s a little tighter in places with a few little technical spots, but also some more open field sections thrown in as well. Once you come back across the road, you’ll hit another big grass track section that leads you back to the start.

All-in-all, it’s going to be just over ten miles total for the 1PM races and just a little under ten miles for the 10AM races. I hope everyone has a great time this weekend because we really worked hard to find some sections of fresh trail to let some other trails take time to heal up. Mike “Lollipop” LaFollette and Bob “The Builder” Pierson have spent a lot of time the past couple of days clearing out some of these sections of new trail and Ryan Echols and myself can’t thank these guys enough for getting everything ready to roll while we’re getting the trails laid out. Hope to see everyone this weekend, it’s going to be a good one!

ATV Youth Breakdown (Rodney Tomblin)

As the 2016 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series presented by Maxxis began the season it, like every other year, held a lot of mystery. At the midway point of the series one may say there are still many mysteries that linger and though some are starting to become clearer others continue to mystify. Each race and each class has it’s own story that once completed will be told and relived for years to come.

This year has been a very busy one. It has been hard to keep up with everything going on really. If you follow pro class racing then you know that occupies a lot of time. So to keep up with all divisions has been a little harder this season for some reason and unfortunately it could be some of the greatest stories never being told. I look through the point standings and am truly amazed at the amount of rising talent and new names topping the charts.

A lot of the changes we see may be from what we recognize in the racing industry as the “turnover.” What it is basically is that about every five years or so the core group of riders cycle in and out. Though there are many that stick around consistently for many more years the average family can normally see a good five years of solid racing before things change in their lives. There are many contributing factors from finances due to job changes, time restrictions do to work, kids being involved other extra curricular activities at school, going to school, getting married, starting a family and the even just plain burned out.

I took a few moments to analyze what is going on right now in the youth ATV racing and it is a little surprising. The first few rounds it looked rather foreign. The obvious is that many of the competitors moved up onto the bigger quads and classes but still even those that did not seemed to have not so normal results. Then finally in round four at Big Buck it started to look a little familiar.

“Turbo Tim” Sroka’s start to the season left us wondering as he struggled the first three rounds with his best finish in Florida with a fourth place class finish and fifth overall. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but then an 11^th overall and 65^th overall it seemed like Timmy’s turbo had blown. Then in South Carolina at Big Buck we saw him wake up and begin his fury to four straight overall wins and moving into the class point lead by nine over Hayden Nicholson. Nicholson who was expected to excel this year has picked up a win and several other tops five finishes that put him in a great position to make a bid for the championship. Mikey Nichols who has had his ups and downs this years sits only one more point back with Dylan Walraven and Daulton Keys tied only another point back and behind them not so far in the points are names like Rhett Cox, Devin Corrothers, Joey Ocel and Bryce Husband whom all stand a chance at making a run for the title in the latter half of the year.

Turbo though may be rather tough to stop at this point. I am not real sure what his struggles were in the early part of the year but whatever they were he really seems to have overcome them and is on a path to claiming a youth division national championship. Being the No. 2 guy from last season it was expected he would be the one setting the pace this year and now that he is in the top position he may tough to stop.

As far as 125 Sr. (12-15) class goes, it is another tight battle. Brayland Secura holds an 11-point lead over Derrick Smith and each have three class wins apiece. Stanley Johnson who sits in third place in points and Ryan Meyer are a little further back from the point lead but separated by three points and within 25 points of the class lead. Another rider to watch closely in this class will be Joey Stewart. Stewart has had some impressive finishes winning in his opening round in Georgia. However missing round one and DNF’ing round five he is some 35 points from the class lead but good consistent finishes coupled with the drop system will put him squarely in the running if he continues at the pace he is riding at right now.

125 Jr. (8-11) is a rather impressive and fun class to watch as well. Layne McCormick who is the son of WXC contender Alicia McCormick has posted six class wins and three top five overalls so far this season. It wouldn’t be a big surprise if this young man ended up winning an overall from this class. He has shown major speeds and maturity over the past couple of seasons and it’s only a matter time before he becomes a big factor in the way things shape up. Equally as impressive in this class is Damien Hawkins whom we have been watching for several years since his days on the mini quads. Damien is only eight points behind McCormick and has the most consistent record this season with five second place class finishes with a third and fourth. The other factor for this class may very well be third place in this class, Parker Henderson who has a class win and has not finished out of the top five so far. Plus there is the young James Glauda who is only four points behind Henderson who has finished worse than fourth only once with a ninth place. All indications again this could get really exciting down the stretch.

The 90 (8-12) class has four different class winners so far with Ayden Konkler, Paxton Dickerson, Chance Hickey and Logan Carlisle. The points seem a little spread out but a closer look tells you that they are absolutely not. If anything it may be one of the tightest contest in the division with the diversity of class winners. The beauty of this class like the rest is that even though we have not mentioned some names things could change and even more could become a player by seasons end.

A look at the 90 Limited (8-12) is another class that has a lot going on. There have been three different class winners and the drop system in this one will certainly make this one tighten up. Alexis Keyes who has two class wins and a one point lead over second place Hayden Hunter seems to be on point after last rounds win which put her back in the point lead of the class. Hunter opened the season with a win and consistent top five finishes like Keyes has him right where he wants to be. Grayson Kuhn in third also has a win with Carlen Markoski in fourth. One to watch though may be Austin Bratcher. Bratcher missed the first couple of rounds but since his arrival he has posted three wins along with a second and third places.

Girls (8-15) have a six point spread between the top three positions. Marti Lantz has three wins and a four-point lead over Bella Burgess who has two wins herself. Paige Berryman is not out of the hunt in third either is only two points behind Burgess and claims two wins her. It’s another class with exciting battles for wins and the title. I have noticed a few great battles in this class and I expect that leading into summer break each one is going to want to be in control. So to say it is about to get good may be an understatement.

Even in the 70 CVT (6-11) class there is an dogfight for the championship brewing. William Witty and Levi Burkemper are only three points apart. Witty has three wins but has struggled a little in the ones he did not win. Burkemper has yet to post a win but consistent finishes have helped put him in a good position. Shayne Crull who sits another five points back in third is another riser and one to watch as he has posted two wins so far and a few class podiums. Then Aiden Moret who opened the season with the win in Florida has also ridden consistent to position himself down the stretch for a shot at this title. This class like all the rest is still up for grabs and the last six rounds will have to decide their championship fate.

The points alone in this division is enough to support all claims of a new era in our GNCC Racin’ Nation. The names are seem somewhat new simply because many are just starting to make their marks in the youth classes and the names seem new for obvious reasons. They are young and many are new but they are also some of the next generations coming. One day however, many of these riders will be ones making all the XC1 headlines. If you don’t believe me, think about 2005 when the youth ATV movement began and who led that is now your defending champion. 

The Unpredictable (Chelsea Taylor)

Much like the 1 p.m. pro races, the WXC classes have been unpredictable thus far this season. If you were at Florida it almost seemed as if this season was going to be a repeat of 2015 with Kacy Martinez coming out on top with Becca Sheets and Brooke Cosner behind her in second and third. However, at Steele Creek we witnessed Becca take her first win of the season where she battled with Kacy the entire race, ultimately proving that she isn’t ready to hand over the championship.

More recently Tayla Jones has been a fixed competitor on the podium. Unfortunately, The John Penton GNCC was Tayla’s last race before she headed back to her home country of Australia. With Tayla’s absence this opens the door for another lady such as Allie Spurgeon, Kendall LaFollette or Wendy Jaudas to move in and make a podium appearance.

Allie has shown that she has the speed needed to land on the podium and she’s actually just missed it at a few rounds, but her new Rocky Mountain ATV*MC/KR4 Arrive-N-Ride Team ride might just be what she needs for her first podium finish of the year. 

At The John Penton GNCC Kacy was able to work her way back into the middle of the podium and earn her fourth win of the season. Kacy will look for another win this season and gain valuable points needed toward the championship, but it won’t be easy with Becca who will also be leaving everything she has out on the track.

Both Brooke and Becca are having a successful season where they haven’t finished out of the top five as we move into the eighth round on the circuit. As if now, Becca leads the way in the points championship with Brooke and Kacy closely following. The top three ladies are actually within a ten point gap of each other which is one of the closest points races in the whole GNCC series this year. In the world of GNCC Racing anything is possible and we will see another chapter unfold this weekend at the Tomahawk GNCC. 

New Tomahawk Winner On The Rise (Jared Bolton)

While the Tomahawk GNCC is still in its infancy as part of the GNCC Racing schedule, this year will ultimately see a first-time Tomahawk winner. Now, I realize that’s not hard to come by since we only have one ATV winner and one bike winner thus far. But, it doesn’t look like we’ll have a repeat bike winner. It’s a huge bummer to hear that defending Tomahawk GNCC winner, Chris Bach ended up with a couple of broke vertebrae after a hard crash at The John Penton. At the time, Chris took a little break and went back to his pits under his own power, but a closer check out at the hospital saw that Chris was, in deed, pretty hurt! Thankfully he’s expected to make a full recovery, but it’s going to be a little while before we see Chris back on the track.

This means we’re looking at a first-time winner of the Tomahawk GNCC. All eyes will be on Kailub Russell as he hopes to make it six wins in a row, but he will definitely have his work cut out for him as everyone will be looking to claim a win of their own against him. Last year, Thad Duvall was incredibly fast in the opening stages of the Tomahawk GNCC until a little get-off ended his day early. Thad could be tough competition here as a course with varying terrain, but a lot of flowing, faster trail and a bit of rock throughout really seems to be something Thad excels in.

Of course, you absolutely can never count out the winner of the opening rounds, Josh Strang. Last year’s Tomahawk GNCC was a tough race for Strang as he suffered a shoulder injury before the race and used this event to see if he was healthy enough to race. Unfortunately for Josh, his shoulder wouldn’t allow him to ride to his full-potential, making for a tough day in the saddle. Strang will come into this round hungry to return to the center step of the podium for the first time since round two in Georgia.

You also have to keep Jordan Ashburn in mind. This year has been a different year for Jordan as he transitioned from the Yamaha he had been used to for a number of years, to KTM, which he seems to be adjusting to pretty well. Jordan is always pretty good in more technical type terrain, and with a bit of rock littered throughout the course, this will definitely play out to Jordan’s skills as well.

Ricky Russell is likely flying under many people’s radars, but after a fourth place finish at The John Penton, Ricky will be coming into round eight strong and looking to improve further. Ricky was used to being one of the top contenders in the XC2 class the past two years, and while the initial transition to the XC1 class has been tough, a fourth place finish at the previous round is pretty darn impressive, and now Ricky will be pushing towards a podium finish of his own.

It’s hard to pick a clear favorite for this weekend. While many will point their finger at the number one machine of Kailub Russell, there’s several others that hope to bring Russell’s win streak to an end. It’s not impossible, but these guys have their work cut out for them if they want to come out on top. However, if there’s one thing that’s sure about GNCC Racing, it’s that anything can and will happen. What will happen this weekend? Only time will tell.

Headlines

GNCC Graduation Ceremony to be Held at AMSOIL Snowshoe GNCC

Tuesday Toolbox: Alicia McCormick

Fowler Moves into Dunlop Tomahawk GNCC With Hopes of Earning His Fifth Win of the Season

Russell Strives to Earn Sixth Consecutive Win at Dunlop Tomahawk GNCC

Video Report: The John Penton ATVs

Video Report: The John Penton Bikes

What's New on RacerTV.com?

Don't miss GNCC LIVE from round 8, Dunlop Tomahawk, from Odessa, New York this Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. EST. Saturday catch the pro ATV racers in action, while the pro bike racers take to the course on Sunday!