Quick Fill #9: This Week in GNCC

Thursday, March 1, 2018 | 3:45 PM

by: Jared Bolton

Thursday, March 1, 2018 | 3:45 PM

Welcome to Quick Fill.

Wow. Round one of the 2018 GNCC Racing season is officially in the books. It seems like I say this every week, but time flies by and it seems like as soon as we closed the book on one season, we’ve already opened the pages on a new season. With that said though, how was that for a season opener? Big Buck definitely did not disappoint with great weather, a great track and some great racing as well. We really hope this is a sign of what to expect from the 2018 season because Big Buck was big fun for sure. We’ll talk more about Big Buck a little bit later.

After we finished cleaning up Big Buck, Jeff Russell, Ryan Echols, Bob “The Builder” Pierson, Terry Beck and myself headed a little further south and are currently at Aonia Pass MX, getting a jump start on some plans for when we head here for round three; The General. Things are going to be a bit different than when we last visited the property. The side we used to park, pit and start on (opposite of the motocross track) has changed a good bit. A road widening project has cut off a little bit of this side of the property, and big chunk of the fields that are left have been fenced in and converted to farm use.

So, with these changes we’ll now be basing the start, finish, pro pits, vendors and a chunk of parking on the motocross side. The racecourse will still continue onto the other side of the property and will include a good area of trackside pitting for those who are unable to pit on the motocross side. As for the track itself, well, if you enjoyed past courses at The General, then you’ll still enjoy this one. If you weren’t a big fan of The General in the past, I feel like we’ve made enough changes that it will feel like a different course to you. We’ve been working hard the past few days to hook things together a little bit different than we’ve ran in the past, and believe it or not, we’ve even managed to find some new trail in a few areas as well.

We’ll be rolling south to Florida soon, so be sure to check into next week’s edition of Quick Fill for all the details on the Wild Boar racecourse in Florida. We’re hoping to work in some different sections of trail there as well, which could make for a really fun course. That’s going to do it for the intro this week. Hope you enjoy all the Quick Fill fun and we’ll see you next week!

*Jarrod McClure came from behind at round 1, finishing fifth and earning valuable championship points.* Ken Hill

Four Wheeled Mayhem

Last weekend’s Big Buck GNCC was definitely one of the best starts to a season we’ve seen in quite some time. Walker Fowler seemed to just pick up where he left off last season, as he would lead the race wire to wire and claim the overall win. He pulled away from the pack early but the race was on for the final podium spots. Brycen Neal would be forced to work his way through the pack, coming from tenth place on lap one, all the way up to third place on lap two before eventually working his way into second place where he would finish.

After a dead last start, nearly starting behind the XC2 class, Chris Borich would put on a charge to come from behind, completing lap one in eighth place before moving up to fifth, fourth, then into third place on the final lap. One has to wonder if it had not been for the bad start, could Borich have kept Fowler honest and challenged for the win? It sure seems like a possibility because there’s no doubt that he was a man on a mission and while a podium finish is nothing to scoff at, the champion inside Borich was surely looking for something a little more.

Adam McGill was also in contention early, but a last lap pass by Borich would knock McGill out of podium contention. He was still able to finish the day with a solid fourth place finish just a mere three second behind Borich. Jarrod McClure would also be forced to work his way through the pack, coming from 12^th place on lap one to eventually finish fifth. That’s a solid ride and while McClure was surely hoping to contend for the win, a ride like that is very solid and staying consistently inside the top five will help his season points in the long run.

On the 4x4 side, it was business as usual for back-to-back 4x4 Pro class champ, Kevin Cunningham. He would lead the race from the opening lap all the way to the finish to claim the class win and finish second overall in the 10AM race. Former 4x4 Pro champ Bryan Buckhannon and 4x4 Pro newcomer Landon Wolfe would battle back and forth for the other podium positions for the early stages of the race. However, a couple of issues for both competitors would drop them out of podium contention.

Dwight Pollard would work his way from sixth place on lap one up to the second place position on lap three. He would end the day second place in the 4x4 Pro class and Michael Swift would show he still has what it takes as he worked his way through the 4x4 Pro pack. Swift would come all the way from ninth place on lap one to eventually finish third place in the 4x4 Pro class.

As for the UTV guys, well, they definitely had some excitement! Jamie McCoy would turn heads as he was able to lead the race wire to wire to claim the UXC1 Pro Turbo class win. Former UTV champ Kyle Chaney would keep McCoy in his sights early as he ran just a few seconds out of the lead for a few laps with Hunter Miller hot on his heels. Unfortunately a mechanical issue would end Chaney’s day after just two laps. Meanwhile, Walker Fowler was hanging tough and capitalizing on others issues. Fowler would break through for his first UTV podium and end the day second place in the UXC1 class while Hunter Miller would hang on and round out the podium in third.

So as exciting as the four-wheeled racing was on Saturday, it was pretty unique in that the winners of the aforementioned classes would all lead from the opening lap onward to claim the win in their respective classes. That doesn’t mean there was no close racing, because there still was some great battling but it’s pretty interesting to see all of these competitors leading the entire time in their respective classes. Overall, it was a great day full of great racing and hopefully this is a sign of what to expect for the rest of the 2018 season. Stay tuned because it very well could get even better from here on out!

*Kailub Russell and Thad Duvall had a great battle going all day at round one, Kailub would win by seconds.* Ken Hill

Fierce Competition Continues!

We’ve talked about the tight racing taking place on the ATV side, but the bike side had an excellent race as well! In fact, when you really break things down it is very impressive to think about what unfolded this past Sunday at Big Buck. After nearly three-hours of racing, the top two riders were separated by just a little over one second. Let’s take a look at how they got to that point.

When the green flag flew on Sunday’s motorcycle race, it would be Josh Strang snagging the holeshot. After a tough 2017 season, Strang is definitely looking to return to his previous form and a holeshot is a great start to get back to familiar territory. When they made their way through the finish at the completion of lap one, it would be Thad Duvall out front to the early lead. Behind him, however, was a big pack of riders battling wheel to wheel, looking to challenge for a win of their own. The second through tenth place riders were all separated by just around ten seconds! This means these guys all cycled through the finish and out onto lap two in just a matter of seconds.

Kailub Russell came through in seventh place on the first lap and would work all the way to third place behind Duvall and Steward Baylor on lap two. By lap three, Trevor Bollinger had made it a four-way battle as he moved into third place, dropping Russell to fourth. These four riders would battle back and forth for the next few laps but when the two-lap card came out, Duvall and Russell would put their heads down and begin to pull away from the rest of the pack.

Russell would find his way into the lead just before that two-lap card with Duvall hot on his heels. Steward Baylor and Trevor Bollinger would keep each other close as they spent the final two laps just a few seconds apart but in the end, Kailub Russell would take the win, marking just the second time he has won the season opening round. Thad Duvall kept him honest, finishing in second place a mere 1.290 seconds behind. Even after a rock chipped his front two teeth early in the race, Steward Baylor was able to hang on to a podium spot, ending the day in third while Trevor Bollinger and Josh Strang rounded out the top five, respectively.

As for the XC2 class, things were pretty interesting! The top three riders settled in on lap one and that’s basically where they stayed. For much of the race they were separated by just a few seconds, but in the end Josh Toth would claim the win ahead of Ben Kelley and Pascal Rauchenecker. These guys all stayed in their respective positions through the entire race, as did fourth place finisher, Austin Lee. Pretty impressive! In the XC3 ranks, Jesse Ansley would jump out to an early lead but an issue late in the race would drop him out of contention for the win. Alex Teagarden was able to hang on and claim the class win, even with a mangled finger he injured on the opening lap. Cody Barnes and local favorite Dustin Simpson would round out the XC3 podium in second and third, respectively.

Much like the four-wheeled side, the two-wheeled crowd was treated to some great racing at Big Buck. There’s no doubt that this will go down as one of the best opening rounds we’ve seen unfold in quite some time! Like I said earlier, hopefully this is sign of what to expect throughout this season. If the rest of the season is as good as round one, then we’re in for a real treat. Don’t miss out!