Weekly Updates (Chelsea Taylor)

It’s hard to believe that by this time next month everyone will be putting the last-minute touches on your race machines and gearing up for the Big Buck. Last season we kept talking about how fast time was going, but thankfully this offseason is going by just as quick. Yamaha recently announced their contingency for Side-by-Sides and ATVs… get those details HERE.

As you prepare for the first race make sure to check out the updated supplemental rules and classes. They were announced as final last Friday, and you can view those HERE. If you have any questions please email [email protected] or call our office at (304) 284-0084 so we can help you.

We are excited to announce that FMF Racing will continue to sponsor the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class. Throughout the season there will be a $13,000 purse up for grabs. With the class now in its second year we are excited to see growth and continued racing action between the up-and-comers and former GNCC champs and competitors. 

Impact Solutions has CDL driver and sales representative job opening available with the Maxxis truck. Applicants must have a Class A CDL and will be responsible for driving and maintaining a motorhome and stack trailer, selling and mounting ATV and dirt bike tires, and more. Basic mechanic knowledge is mandatory, but also an eagerness to learn more! If you’re interested call (304) 916-3004 for more information, or send your resume to [email protected].

GNCC Event Director, Tim Cotter, and myself are looking forward to seeing those of you who will be attending the AMA Championship Banquet on Saturday. If you’re not attending, we will keep you up-to-date on the award winners on social media!

Big Excitement on Big Machines (Jared Bolton)

As we prepare to enter the 2018 season, there are a few classes that are looking to be highly competitive and very exciting. Coincidentally, this big excitement comes from some classes with some big machines. Those of course come from our 4x4 Pro and UXC1 classes where there are some manly men, manhandling some manly machines. These classes have some favorites entering the season, but those favorites also have some stiff competition to deal with as well. 

In the 4x4 Pro ranks, all eyes will be on back-to-back 4x4 Pro champ, Kevin Cunningham, as he guns for three in a row. There’s no doubt that Kevin is helping change the face of the 4x4 Pro class from a class made up of savvy veterans, to now being dominated by some younger names. However, at the same time the perennial 4x4 Pro favorites are still making a bid for race wins year after year. It’s been challenging with the likes of Kevin Cunningham at the forefront of the class, and it looks as if it could get even tougher.

4x4 Pro newcomer, Landon Wolfe, will make 2018 his first full 4x4 season after a successful 4x4 Pro try-out at Ironman where he claimed the win. However, Cunningham experienced a mechanical issue and dropped out of the race on the second lap. One has to wonder if it would have been a tight battle between these two for the class win. That also leads one to wonder what this could mean for the 2018 season. With Landon’s limited 4x4 experience, Cunningham may have the early advantage but as Wolfe better learns the 4x4 game, things could change as the 2018 season wears on. 

Of course, these two guys have their work cut out for them. The long-time favorites such as Kevin Trantham and former 4x4 Pro class champ, Bryan Buckhannon are still capable of grabbing wins, as both of these guys made it happen last season. Last year’s 4x4 Pro newcomer Robbie Pecorari is a strong contender having finished on the podium four times in 2017, and there’s also Michael Swift, Jordan Phillips, and Robert Smith, who all know what it takes to compete at the front of this highly competitive class and these guys still have what it takes to do so. This could be one of the best 4x4 Pro seasons in history. 

On the UTV front, it was a tight battle for the 2017 UTV National Championship between the Miller brothers, Cody and Hunter. It would come down to the final round where Cody would take the win and the UTV National Championship with Hunter finishing running up for the season, and former UTV National Champ, Kyle Chaney in third. All of these guys will definitely be making it a three-way battle for this year’s championship but they’re not alone. 

Kevin Trantham showed that not only can he win on a 4x4, but he can get it done in the UTV as well when he claimed the UTV overall win at Mountaineer Run in 2017. With one win under his belt, there no doubt that Kevin stands a chance to claim more wins in 2018. Interestingly enough, in six rounds of UTV racing in 2017, there were five different winners. Eventual champion Cody Miller only won the final race, and former champ Kyle Chaney was the only driver to win two races. The two other race winners were Cohl Secoy and of course Hunter Miller. 

With this kind of stiff competition, this leaves many folks wonder just exactly how competitive the UTV ranks will be in 2018. Only time will tell, but if last season was any indication, then we’re definitely in for a season of great racing. Don’t miss it! 

#ThrowbackThursday (Jared Bolton)

The fun thing about Throwback Thursday is there can be a theme each week, or there can be no theme at all and just share a collection of some really cool photos. Both approaches to this section of Quick Fill are really cool in their own way and while the possibilities aren’t endless due to the current archive available, there’s still a ton of possibilities for differently themes each week. So, to mix things up a little bit here’s this week’s theme… 

This week, we’ll go with the “fives” and take a look back at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years ago in the world of GNCC Racing. That means we’ve got a section FULL of cool throwback photos this week, so keep on reading to find out more. We’ll start with five years ago. The 2013 season doesn’t really seem like it was a whole five years but there’s been a bit of change in that time. When we rolled into 2013, Chris Borich entered the season as the defending champion on the ATV side and was looking to claim his fifth straight title. On the bike side, Paul Whibley was entering the season with the number one plate on his bike after a tight battle in 2012 with Kailub Russell. In the end, Borich would claim that fifth title and Russell would claim his first title in 2013 while Grant Baylor would edge out Jason Thomas for the XC2 class title. However, Andrew Delong claimed the most XC2 wins of the season with seven, but a couple of mechanical issues and an injury mid-season would kill his championship hopes. 

Ten years ago, Bill Ballance entered and finished the 2008 season as the ATV National Champion, while David Knight would do exactly the same on the bike side while the XC2 class would see Thad Duvall emerge as it’s second-ever champion with Dustin Gibson and Kailub Russell in a tight battle for second place in the XC2 class. Going back five more years to 2003, things seem vastly different than 2008! Back in 2003 there were no XC2 classes. Bill Ballance reigned as ATV champ, while Rodney Smith entered the 2003 season as champion, and Barry Hawk would leave the 2003 season as bike champion, becoming the only rider to hold titles on both ATV and bikes. 

1998 was twenty years ago when Barry Hawk was the “Quad God” entering and ending the 1998 season as ATV champion, while also racing a bike on Sunday. Scott Summers entered the 1998 season as champion, but it would be Rodney Smith claiming the 1998 championship; his first of five titles. 25 years ago Bob Sloan would enter the 1993 season as the number one guy, but Barry Hawk would finish the 1993 season as champion marking the first title of his career. On the bike side, Scott Summers was sporting the number one plate after claiming the 1992 title but Fast Freddy Andrews would give woods racing a try and claim the championship in his first season. 

Finally, 30 years ago would see Tom Tokay enter the 1988 season as the number one ATV rider and Chuck Dellulo finish with his first of three championships. On the bike side, Ed Lojak would enter and finish the season as the bike championship, claiming his penultimate championship. Oh, and our own Timmy Coombs would claim the Blackwater 100 win in 1988. 

The Greatful Dead famously said “what a long strange trip it’s been” and that is pretty fitting for the world of GNCC Racing. It’s been a long road to where we are now and it’s been littered with all sorts of wild stories and happenings. That continues on to this day and will into the future as well. GNCC Racing truly is special and we should all be proud to be a part of something so great.