by: Jared Bolton
Thursday, November 29, 2018 | 1:50 PM
Welcome to Quick Fill.
It seems like we just had one of these, right? Well in case you missed it earlier this week, this is actually a double Quick Fill week as we saved last week’s edition (which would’ve came on Thanksgiving Day) for Monday. That seems a little crazy because things are a little slow this time of the year as far as news is concerned but with the GNCC Banquets coming up this weekend, there’s still plenty to talk about. This is going to be a weekend full of fun and there’s a lot going on so we’ll give you a rundown of what to expect and when to expect it this weekend.
First off, a quick note on hotel check-in/check-out times. If you’re arriving Friday or Saturday, hotel check-in time is 4pm. Check out time for whatever day you’re checking out (Saturday or Sunday) is 12pm. That means you need to be out of the room entirely by 12pm. This is especially important if you’re checking out on Saturday. Please be courteous and check out on time so they can get the rooms flipped and ready for Saturday night. Plus, if you’re not out in time you’ll end up being charged for another night’s stay. The Salon ABC will be set up with fruit punch, cookies and a television for Saturday guests arriving early. The bars will also have late night concessions available this year.
As always, our Riders Meetings will be held throughout the weekend as well. Rules and Class Structure for the 2019 race season will be reviewed and discussed, as well as any other items deemed pertinent. The schedule is as follows:
Friday 2 pm: ATV Pro Riders Meeting (Includes WXC and 4x4 Pro)
Saturday 9 am: ATV Amateur Riders Meeting
Saturday 10 am: ATV Youth Riders Meeting
Saturday 2 pm: Bike Pro Riders Meeting (Includes WXC)
Sunday 9 am: Bike Amateur Riders Meeting
Sunday 10 am: Bike Youth Riders Meeting
Competitors and their families are encouraged to participate and/or submit proposals for changes in advance. You can forward your proposals to [email protected].
As for the banquets themselves, the nightly schedule will be as follows:
5 pm - Happy Hour & Seating
5:30 pm - Dinner
6:30 pm – Awards
10 pm - Nightly Entertainment
Rocky Mountain ATV/MC will be returning for the sixth year in a row with the Ticket to Ride giveaway. Two winners from each night will be chosen at random to experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity courtesy of Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, to a unique riding excursion in Moab, Utah. The top 10 riders in every afternoon class, select upper-level amateur classes, as well as the top 10 in the XC1, XC2 and XC3 UTV classes are eligible for the giveaway. Each winner will be invited to bring a guest on the exclusive trip in the spring of 2019. The winner must be present at their respective banquet night in order to claim the prize.
Local vendors and sponsors will also be onsite throughout the weekend to help celebrate our GNCC racers accomplishments. Lojak’s Cycle Sales will be present with STACYC electric bicycles on sale, the 12 inch for $649 and 16 inch for $699. Lojak’s will be accepting cash or credit. Gear Bicycles will be selling Fantic and Specialized bikes at discounted pricing. You can get a great Christmas gift at the Banquets or by calling their shop in Grove City, PA at 724-992-8180. Factory Connection will be on display, and you can also stop by and check out Mystical Crystal Jewelry for sale.
Activities for the kiddos attending the banquet will include Alien Invasion inflatable game, Life-Sized Jenga, video gaming station with multiple games available and an Adult-monitored kids’ zone. The Photo Booth will be back once again and setup outside of the main banquet room from 9 – 11 pm each night.
Our friends at Racer X will be rolling out the red carpet, literally! There will be a Hollywood-style red carpet set up with a special backdrop where the guys from Racer X will be giving you the opportunity to say a few words on camera why you love racing. (Note: When I say Hollywood-style, I mean the town and not Hollywood from the GNCC Track Crew) This will end up being a cool montage later, so don’t be camera shy and let those guys know what you love about racing. Also, you don’t even have to be attending the banquet to get in on this. If you’re just in the Morgantown area and love riding, stop by the Morgantown Mariott and give the Racer X guys a visit.
Now that you know what you’re in store for, now here are a few other things to keep in mind. Please remember that while we’re here to have fun, we’re not here to tear anything up. The Morgantown Mariott is a very nice facility and we should respect it as so. Treat it how you would want someone to treat your own home because hosting the banquet at a facility like this is definitely a privilege. At the same time, we do want everyone to have fun because this is a great opportunity for the GNCC family to come together and enjoy each other’s company away from the racetrack.
The banquets are also our yearly time to celebrate the accomplishments of GNCC racers. Everyone works so hard throughout the season to get to this point and whether you race just because you’re a top pro, are inspiring to be a top pro, or just because you enjoy riding and the competition, everyone gets to attend the same banquet and that’s pretty cool. I don’t know of any other sport in the world where the professional participants at the top tier of the sport are as accessible as what we see in GNCC Racing, and off-road racing in general. It’s pretty cool and it’s especially cool to get up close and personal with your heroes and realize they’re just regular guys and gals like everyone else… Except for the fact that they’re exceptionally talented on a dirt bike or ATV.
Next week, and the weeks moving forward through the off-season, we’ll begin taking a look back at the 2018 season and how everything unfolded. There’s no doubt that while the year flew by incredibly fast, it was a pretty exciting season while it lasted. That’s going to do it for this week’s edition of Quick Fill, but we’ll end with some awesome Throwback Thursday photos. We hope to see you this weekend at the banquet!
#ThrowbackThursday
