by: Jared Bolton
Thursday, December 8, 2016 | 1:05 PM
Welcome to Quick Fill.
Another week rolls by as the GNCC Racing off-season continues to tick away. We’re reaching that point of the off-season where some riders are starting to get ready for some seat time again and a number of off-season races start seeing their numbers begin to grow. Last week I mentioned the Zoo City GP event I put on in North Carolina and I’d like to thank everyone who came out to race. There were a number of folks who drove a pretty good distance to be there, so big thanks to those folks as well. Weather was great, everyone seemed to enjoy the track and it was a good day of racing minus some hiccups with scoring but those issues will be resolved before next year’s Zoo City GP.
There are plenty of other opportunities for off-season racing coming up as well. Our friends at SETRA, who return as a co-sanction partner in 2017, run through the winter with both hare scramble and enduro events. In fact, they have the Little Brown Jug Hare Scramble coming up this Saturday in Union, South Carolina. This year’s Little Brown Jug course is only about seven miles from Big Buck, so this would be a great opportunity for bike racers to prepare for round one of GNCC Racing! This is also the last SETRA event until January, so get that seat time in.
When SETRA picks back up on January 8th, they’ll be heading to Battery Park in Nesmith, South Carolina which is a good sand track not far from Myrtle Beach and would serve as a great opportunity to get ready for round two of GNCC Racing in Florida. The following weekend both bike and ATV racers have the opportunity to prepare for round three of GNCC Racing and what better place to do so than the exact location where round three will be held! The SORCS Winter Series will be racing in Sparta, Georgia at their location known as “The Spartan” but GNCC racers will know it as “Cannonball”. Last year SORCS raced there just a little over a month before GNCC did and it served as a good teaser of the course. While the GNCC course will be a bit different, its still a great opportunity to get a jump on your round three bike setup!
SETRA also has a couple more hare scramble and enduro events between these events and round one of GNCC, while the SORCS Winter Series has, well, exactly what the name says! They’ve got an entire series of winter events in Georgia that are for both the two-wheeled and four-wheeled crowd. You can get all the info you need on these events at www.setra.org and www.sorcs.net. Don’t miss out on some great off-season racing opportunities at some fun venues!
Weekly Updates (Chelsea Taylor)
With the banquet now over, it’s time to turn our attention to the next season. Just yesterday the 2017 Earned National Numbers were released. Please view the tentative numbers HERE. If you don’t see your name or think something is incorrect you can direct your comments to [email protected]. Public review is open until this Monday, December 12. Final National numbers will then be announced within seven days.
We are looking into having a featured special event at every round for 2017, much like we did with the dog show at Mountaineer Run, slip-n-slide at The John Penton, the band at Ironman, etc. If you have any ideas for upcoming special events, please send an email to [email protected] for consideration. Even if you think the idea is totally off-the-wall, please submit it because we want to hear!
I just received an email from Linda Zakowski last night with a final update on their breast cancer fundraiser. Please see below for Linda’s note.
Zakowski Motor Sports raised $21,853.74 for breast cancer awareness. We didn’t do it alone, we were only able to meet a total like this because of all the generous people out there giving to a great cause. We will be donating $853.74 to the American Cancer Society, and splitting up the remaining $21,000 between Pink Ribbon Riders (MN), Faith Alliance (IN) and the Spiering Cancer Foundation (WI). All of these foundations help people in the Midwest and select states, so please if you know of anyone going through a breast cancer diagnosis, please contact these foundations. I’ve witnessed people I know receive gifts from two of these foundations myself. If you need contact information, reach out to me and I’ll get you the information you need (Note - Linda’s email is [email protected]). Thank you EVERYONE for supporting this fundraiser, each year I am just amazed how many people so wonderfully support this.
This Saturday, December 10, the Powerline Park ATV feature show will air on NBCSN. While Walker was able to secure his second National Championship, McGill was able to rise to the occasion and earn his fifth victory of the season. You can watch it all unfold at 2:30 p.m. EST this Saturday.
The Rocky Mountain ATV*MC/KR4 Arrive-N-Ride team recently announced a new team member. Swedish rider Jesper Borjesson will race not only the entire 2017 season with the KR4 team in the XC2 Pro Lites class, but he is also slated to race the 2018 circuit as well. To read the full release, click HERE.
Head security man, “Big John,” recently sent me a quick update on how he’s spending his off-season, and it looks as if he’s having a great time hanging with the celebrities down in Florida. Most recently, Big John snagged a picture with GNCC racer and country music star Craig Morgan at one of his concerts in Homosassa Springs, Florida. The best part about the photo is Big John repping his GNCC Racing polo! Whatever your life brings you to do this winter, I hope you have a great time and enjoy this Holiday season. Until next week!
2017 XC2 Preview (Jared Bolton)
As the 2017 GNCC Racing season begins to creep towards us, one class that will be worth keeping an eye on is that of the XC2 bike class. With 2016 XC2 champion Trevor Bollinger making the move to the XC1 class, the door is being left wide open for someone to come in and claim the 2017 XC2 class championship. There will also be newcomers to the class as well, all of who will be hungry for excellent finishes. It’s hard to pick a clear favorite, but there are a few things we can be sure of.
One is that the Coastal duo of Craig Delong and Layne Michael will come into the season as the two favorites. Both of these guys claimed XC2 wins in 2016 as well as a number of podium finishes as well. Craig was easily the most consistent guy in the XC2 class and one of the most consistent in all of GNCC Racing. Layne also saw a good number of excellent finishes in 2016, thus making him another rider to keep an eye out. Both of these guys will end up being the two favorites to watch as the 2017 season unfolds but there are several others who may play spoiler to them throughout the season.
Outside of these guys and Trevor Bollinger, the only other rider to win an XC2 race in 2016 was that of Josh Toth. Josh started the season with limited GNCC experience but the departure of Nick Davis from the N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha team would leave Toth with a new ride when the series returned from summer break. This new ride proved to be the boost Toth needed as he came away with the XC2 class win at Unadilla and backed that up with a pair of podium finishes before the season ended. This also puts Toth in a position as a rider to keep an eye on when the 2017 season kicks off.
I’m sure there will be a number of riders moving into the XC2 ranks from the A classes, but one rider has been gaining a cool little piece of publicity on his move to XC2. This week MRader Films in conjunction with Fly Racing released part one of a three-part mini series on Braxton McGee’s transition to the XC2 class. It’s really well put together and part one will leave you hungry for the next chapter. You can check it out HERE. Braxton’s move to the XC2 ranks is another prime example of a GNCC racer transitioning through the ranks. Starting out in the North Carolina Hare Scramble Association, Braxton would start contesting the entire GNCC series full-time in 2010 on a 65, then transition to an 85 where he would claim the 85 (12-15) class championship in 2012 before taking the Youth Overall Championship in 2013.
From there, Braxton moved up to a big bike and claimed the 4-Stroke B Lites championship in 2014 and has been contesting the 4-Stroke A Lites class the past two seasons. Now he sets his sights on the XC2 class having made a full transition through the ranks for GNCC Racing. By doing so, he joins guys like Kailub Russell, Thad Duvall, both Baylor brothers, Cory Buttrick and others who have made this same transition. There’s no doubt that the move from the A ranks to XC2 is a tough one that will take a good bit of getting used to, but a young rider like Braxton should have no trouble working towards propelling himself to the next level. Stay tuned!
Christmas is Coming, Be Thankful! (Rodney Tomblin)
The Christmas Holiday approaches and things around the GNCC Racin’ Nation are settling down before the big push into the New Year. Many folks will be rolling out the day after Christmas to begin training for 2017. A number of things are keeping folks busy including family times but others are trying and experiencing new things. Its kind of inspiring watching social media and seeing the things people are enjoying. And some are even enjoying it to its fullest.
I know the story has been told many times but I felt that right now, this time of year might be a good time to check back in on one of the most inspiring people I have ever known. It's an ironically happy story that continues to unfold daily. When you are down sometimes it's hard to get up until you realize just how good you have it.
I have known Jesi Stracham since she was a young girl racing in the Youth ATV ranks. She was the first girl to accomplish a number of things in the sport and carried much of that momentum into the big quads. As life would have it in her late teens, she began to grow in a different direction and was rarely seen at the races.
An unfortunate street bike accident, in which she was riding passenger, left her paralyzed from the waist down. It was heartbreaking, but some hope was given with an experimental surgery to try and help her regain her feeling and ability to walk,. The amazing thing about the heartbreaking news is that instead letting it drag her down, Jesi embraced her disability and moved forward. She has made some major strides and works continuously to reach her goal but in the meantime she is living life to it’s fullest.
Jesi is most recently recognized as one of the Polaris Ace racers with a fully modified machine she can drive in competition. She will be racing with Team UXC next season and excited what the season holds. Jesi not only races GNCC but also competes in many different activities like creating her own clothing line, Miss USA and Miss America pageants, rock climbing, water skiing and is actually now training and hoping to make the 2019 Paralympics in of all things, Curling.
Olympic Curling? That's right. I asked her how this all came about and she said, “I went to our local adaptive sports coordinator during the summer and told her I wanted to be a Paralympic athlete. She said what better sport than curling. With the end of the GNCC season and my job I didn't join the local curling club until the middle of November.” She told me that they put a team together the week before the Utica, New York tournament recently. She went to get a better idea of the sport and to get noticed by the right people. She said “It was an incredible learning experience. Our current Paralympic team was very supportive and helpful in improving my game, along with the Canadian team. The coaches invited me to Wisconsin and Cape Cod for more training to prepare me for the 2019 Paralympic trials. I came home with a sense of accomplishment. I went into the tournament with three practice sessions on the ice and left a completely different curler.”
This past summer was a big one for Jesi as she also competed at the US Disabled Water Skiing Nationals. She said she just started in June and made the nationals in which she competed in this past October. I asked her how she did and she said “Not terrific. I'm not sure where I placed. It was pretty amazing to make it there with 4 months of training. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it.”
Jesi recently started working full-time again. She went back to work at a medical supply company and is loving life. She has said “I love being paralyzed” on more than one occasion. Although that sounds odd, what she means is that she is not letting it get her down. She said she has done and accomplished more since the accident because when she woke up and realized what was going on, she would not let it bring her down. That positive spirit carries her to this day. Sure, if you ask her if she wants to walk again she will tell you yes and that it wasn't easy to accept but says “I will not let this stop me!”
As far as her clothing line Jesi tells me, “Justified Cultures is a lifestyle clothing company out of Arizona who let me create my own line. The proceeds of each shirt purchased go to The Wheel With Me Foundation to help newly injured Spinal cord injury patients. If anyone wants a gift idea, it is a good time because now until Christmas, when people purchase two items from my line they get a free hat!”
The moral to all this is realize how great your life is and when it isn't, embrace the circumstances and make the best out of it. There are many obstacles popping up that are beyond our control but how we react defines who we are. Push forward and just live life to its fullest like Jesi is and see what tomorrow brings.
Even More Inspiration (Jared Bolton)
It’s tough to follow a great story like the one Rodney just spoke about, but when you look through the world of GNCC Racing, there’s even more inspiration out there much like that which Jesi gives off that Rodney just spoke of. While Jesi has been an inspiration to many people and has made great strides pushing forward with life after an injury, there are several others who have taken pretty similar routes and continued racing.
If you go back several years to the old Pilot class that used to exist in the UTV ranks, John Dains who is the creator of the Trackside software program that is the standard for most race series in the United States, competed in the class for several years and he himself is paralyzed. If you fast-forward a few years, we currently have another paralyzed racer competing in the UTV ranks. Clint Zentner has been racing in the UTV ranks for several years now. Originally a motocross racer, Clint got into the GNCC UTV racing world and has loved it.
Both of these gentlemen have shown that you can overcome just about anything and that once you’re a racer, you will always be a racer. The same can be said for Rory Mead. Things have been a little quiet from Rory lately as he’s settled into living the married life with his wife Courtney, who is the daughter of GNCC Track Crew member, Bill Allen. Rory has been staying incredibly fit, doing a ton of hand cycling and just simply enjoying his life.
These guys are all great inspirations and their stories are seldom heard because each tends to be very modest, humble and just tend to do their own thing. However, they absolutely deserve the recognition as they have achieved amazing things and have not let life keep them down. When they were handed lemons, they made lemonade, and they made a great big, delicious pitcher of it. Rodney gave his take on it and I guess my take is pretty similar. I look at it like this; a true champion, face to face with his darkest hour, will do whatever it takes to rise above. Even when life hands you the toughest moment of your life, you simply push ahead, keep your chin up and don’t let it get to you. This is tough to do but you can’t let the downtimes keep you down. This can apply to anything in life, even things that happen on the racetrack. That’s just my take on it. Thanks for reading.
Headlines
Competition Bulletin 2017-1: Tentative 2017 Earned National Numbers
2016 GNCC Banquet Award Shipping Information
Paul Whibley NZXC Round 6 Race Report
What's New on RacerTV.com?
This Saturday, December 10 at 2:30 p.m. ET round 12, Polaris ACE Powerline Park ATV Feature show will be on NBC Sports. Check your local listing, and set your DVR's if you won't be home!