GNCCRacing.com: So Kevin, how did you first get started racing?
Kevin Trantham: I got started racing back in 2002. A friend of mine, Scott Kilby used to race utilities. I had just got a 4-wheeler, a Yamaha Raptor, and he kept on telling me that I had to come out and try this GNCC series he did. He kept on with it and finally I did. I went to The General that year - that was my first race and I’ve been doing it ever since.

You said that you had a Raptor, so I take it you didn’t start racing the utility quads until a little while later?
I did start out on a sport quad, and rode it for the first three years that I did the series. In 2005 I switched to the 4x4 class, and that’s when I really got involved in the racing. Those first few years it was kind of hit-and-miss, I’d do a round here, a round there. But when I got on to the utility quad I really got more serious. I ran more races and was running for championships.

And when did you start racing in the 4x4 pro class?
Back when I switched to utilities, the classes were different than they are now. I think it was utility stock and then it changed to utility limited … something like that, I don’t really remember. I ran that for a few years, and then I moved up into the lites class for another four or five years. Then 2014 was the inception of the 4x4 pro class, and that’s when I switched into it. I ran it for about 4 years. Finally this year I moved back into the senior class. I’m old enough to be the dad of most of those guys on the front row now, and it just gets harder and harder to keep up. 

Yeah, your wife told me that you were going to try and focus more on the UTV side of things this year anyway, right?
Yes, that is true. That’s where Polaris wanted us to put more of our focus. Since we race for Polaris, we do what they want us to. We are still racing the 4-wheelers, and having some fun with it, but we are trying to put most of our effort and focus into the UTVs. That was another reason for dropping back; I wanted to be able to devote as much time as I needed to it. So I stepped back from the pro class. It’s a great group of guys I’m racing with, and I’ve been having a lot of fun this season.

And how has your season gone so far?
It’s gone really well. This was our fifth race on the 4x4s. I’ve won all five races so far, so that’s been great! On the UTV side, this will be our third round today. The first round ….. Well, I didn’t have real good luck at Big Buck. I made a bonehead move and it cost me. Then we had some issues with the machine today, but had a surprisingly good finish, all things considered. I got the overall win last round in Florida though, so I was really excited about that! I would love to get another win, but I’ll be happy with just staying on the podium and being consistent.

Well, let’s focus on the positive then - can you tell me about how Florida went for you?
The Florida race for us was good. We race the 4-wheelers first of course, in the morning and that went really well. In the UTV race, we knew it was going to be rough because we went out and walked the course on Friday like we always do, and Florida is always rough anyway. You know, all the sand and palmetto roots and stuff. It definitely lived up to our expectations this year, it was super rough. Right from the beginning, all the guys were at 100%. I was afraid if we kept pushing the car that hard we wouldn’t get to see the checkered flag. So I backed off just a little bit, trying to drive conservatively and save the car. But when we made it to the last lap I told my co-pilot Nick, “We made it this far, we might as well go for it and see if we can put this thing up on the box.” It worked, and we were even able to get the win! It was a huge surprise too. Since we all take off on different rows and the race is ran on adjusted time, during the race it’s hard to tell exactly where you’re at. 

I personally don’t know much about UTV racing, and I’m guessing there are quite a few GNCC fans that aren’t familiar with the nuances of it as well. Can you explain why you guys take off on different rows and how the scoring works?
Yes. There’s like twelve or thirteen of us racing the turbos this year. They’re so big that it’s just too dangerous to line up and have that many UTVs taking off at once. So GNCC has it set up where like six or seven take off at one time, which means that for a big class like ours there have to be separate rows. And what row you get to start on depends on the series points. For those of you familiar with how Snowshoe works, it’s exactly the same format. At the end of the race they look at all the times and adjust for the fact that some people started further back than others - just like they do at Snowshoe, or when figuring out any of the overall positions for a race.

Got it! So back to Florida ……
Right, since we had issues at the first round I was actually far enough back in the points that we started on the second row at round two. But there is a benefit in taking off on the second row. Because of the adjusted time, you don’t necessarily have to make a pass on someone in order to beat them. As long as you have them in sight, or are pretty close, you know that you have them beat. And with the UTVs being so big, it can be a lot harder to make passes than it is on a 4-wheeler or a bike.

Are you a full-time racer, or do you work as well?
No, unfortunately I still have to work (laughs). I do carpentry work. Nothing huge, just remodeling, whatever I can find. I’ll do pretty much anything, as long as it’s not too big a job for me and a couple other people to handle. The racing does get tougher every year though, since I have to be a racer and a mechanic and work full-time too. I’m out wrenching on the utility quad and the UTV until the wee hours of the morning and then getting up and going to work first thing in the morning.