Catching Up With Ken (Ken Hill)

Another Camp Coker in the books and there sure are some stories that put this round to bed, not to mention the racing! As I scooted around Friday afternoon checking the track out, when strolling past the numerous ponds, I couldn't help but notice the constant throwing of a hook. Many people, and I do mean many, took full advantage of the fishing. I even saw a fishermen catch a swimmer! Thankfully it was just by the shorts but it happened and both parties laughed and smiled after a few seconds of stares, I really think the fishermen could have landed the swimmer but the hook was removed and the activities resumed. 

At last it was time for chow and I made my way to the lake house far removed from the hubbub of the main areas and broke out a fishing rod of my own. Mike Holbert was on the dock and informed me he had not caught a thing. I proceeded to catch 7 or 8 before we were called to supper and as I walked away from the water I could hear Mike mumbling about luck. It was an awesome evening for us and I know was also a great evening for so many of you that enjoy this setting for a GNCC event. A huge hats off goes to the Moree family, who owns the facility and receives us each season with open arms. 

The morning broke and before long, the day of ATV and UTV racing was underway. Race after race seemed to start and finish as the day’s champions were crowned. Layne McCormick was absolutely in the wind as he secured another Youth overall win. Seeing these hard charging kids compete and climb through the ranks is pretty awesome and bodes well for the future of this form of racing. The 10 am race had an epic battle between Kevin Cunningham and Landon Wolfe as they battled for the lead nearly all race. Cunningham would make his move and take the lead but was running out of fuel as he came through the last few turns to claim the morning overall and 4x4 Pro win. That makes five wins for Kevin and wouldn't you know the news broke that he will be expecting his first child come this November! Just more memories being made here at Camp Coker! The WXC win would go to Katelyn Osburn as she took the fight to Traci Pickens who would claim second. Pickens commented after the race that she was just happy to get second and the points so that says a lot about how things were going out on the course. 

The 1pm race was anyone’s guess as the riders took their positions on the line. Walker Fowler was hungry to get back to winning and others were quite content with him doing the opposite! Fowler pulled the holeshot and that was that; it was two hours of the Fowler show as others behind him suffered at what was becoming a very trying and brutal course. The win would go to blue and Walker’s smiles on the podium were huge. Sneaky Snake Jarrod McClure lived up to his name as he slithered his way through the sandy whoops and deep ruts to roll in claiming second after a very solid effort. In third, Brycen Neal was back on the box and expressed how tough this race was and how fortunate he was to be able to claim a podium spot. Some big names were missing as mechanical misfortune and breakage took out the likes of Adam McGill, Chris Borich and Cole Richardson. To say Camp Coker looks peaceful is leaving out the fact that lurking just out of sight lays a beast of a track ready to do its very best to make it one tough round! 

The UTV race was equally brutal and demanding. The new speed zones seemed to do their job and the request for spectators to stay out of the woods and off the course was for the most part followed. The dust was another matter and made seeing things difficult. Being out front had huge benefits in the vision department and this race would see mechanical issues take out some heavy hitters as well. The big plum of smoke everyone saw was Matt Zeiler’s UTV burning to the ground. It was toast before anyone could even try to save it and we wish him the best at getting a new rig built. I understand that a few companies are already offering parts to lend him a hand so kudos to them. Kyle Chaney would drive to the win followed by Hunter Miller in second with Jamie McCoy claiming the third spot. 

The evening would die down to a peaceful after race pace and then it was time to fire up the band brought to you by Monster Energy. I hung around and grabbed some images, then headed out to the land of Internet to get my work done. All in all, it was a solid event with a few surprises thrown in there, which kept things interesting. We all catch a bit of a break before heading to Peru, Indiana for round six, so enjoy your down time! That is all from me this week, be safe in all you do and may God bless you all. 

Another One Down to the Wire! (Jared Bolton)

The likelihood of two racers being separated by just one second at the end of a three-hour GNCC event has to be astronomical. There are so many factors that come into play from line selection to pit strategy, passing opportunities and so much more that after three hours, it just doesn’t seem likely that two riders could be less than a second apart. However, time and time again, Kailub Russell and Thad Duvall continue to defy this likelihood and round five would be no different. After two hours, 57 minutes and 19 seconds of racing, these two would finish just 0.620 second apart. 

Equally impressive is that they were able to pull away from third place rider, Ricky Russell, by more than five minutes! When two riders begin pushing each other faster and faster to the point that each of them must ride nearly flawless, the gap they can pull on the rest of the field can become pretty impressive. However, just because they pulled that kind of gap doesn’t mean anyone should take anything away from Ricky. He rode a great race as well and there have been plenty of times in the history of GNCC Racing where the overall leader has claimed the win by more than five minutes. There have been numerous ten-minute wins in the past. 

Ricky rode extremely well too but he also had to stay on top of his game as he would finish less than a minute ahead of Trevor Bollinger in fourth place, who was a mere ten seconds a head of fifth place rider, Steward Baylor. All of these guys rode exceptionally well, but the duo of K Russell and Duvall simply had one of those days where they were on top of their game and were able to sprint from beginning to end. With this happening in previous two rounds, it leaves one to wonder what this means for the rest of the season. 

Will these guys continue to do this? Or will we begin to see the scenario we saw earlier in the season where guys like Steward Baylor and Trevor Bollinger would jump out front early to set the pace, while Russell and Duvall would charge a little later in the race. Both have their advantages and disadvantages but the one thing for sure is, we don’t really know until the green flag flies. Of course, these guys aren’t the only ones with some tight racing on their hands. The XC2 and XC3 classes have been packed full of it as well. 

A crash off the start would leave XC2 points leader, Ben Kelley, trapped back in the pack and forced to work his way through the field. Meanwhile, his buddy Josh Toth would take over the lead on lap two and never look back as he would take the win. However, take a look at Kelley’s performance. He came from fourteenth on the opening lap to charge through the pack and work his way into second place by lap four. Kelley would be over a minute behind Toth on the fifth and sixth laps, but put his head down and charged. When the checkered flag flew, Toth would come away with the win but Kelley had ridden well enough to finish just eleven seconds behind Toth. Austin Lee would put together another excellent ride to finish out the day on the podium in third place. 

As for the XC3 class, it would be another barnburner as the top three positions would be switched back and forth numerous times throughout the day. Jesse Ansley would control the majority of the race but Chris Venditti was able to sneak in to lead a lap as well. Jason Raines, Cody Barnes and Jason Langenback were also running in podium contention as some point or another, but when it comes to sand, it’s tough to beat the native Floridian, Jesse Ansley, who would ride on to another XC3 class win. Jason Raines would end the day in second place while Cody Barnes landed on the podium for the third time this season. 

Former XC1 competitor, Garrett Edmisten, was the last native Floridian to find success at the front of a premier bike class in GNCC Racing, earning him the moniker of “The Sandman” and while Garrett still stands out at The Sandman to many, Jesse Ansley sure is looking to become the modern day Sandman in GNCC Racing. Garrett has been doing a lot of motocross recently, qualifying for Loretta Lynn’s the past few years. However, Garrett is no stranger to a two-stroke and it would be pretty cool to see him break out a Kawasaki KX125 and take a crack at the XC3 class. So Garrett, if you’re reading this, take that as a challenge to keep your “Sandman” moniker!

#ThrowbackThursday (Jared Bolton)

It's been a few weeks since we dug into the GNCC Archives for some great Throwback Thursday photos, so with some extra time off before the next round of GNCC Racing, what could be better than jumping back into those archives for some cool Throwback Thursday photos. Enjoy!