by: Jared Bolton
Thursday, April 18, 2019 | 12:55 PM
Welcome to Quick Fill.
Another week has flown by and we’ve officially logged four rounds of GNCC Racing through the 2019 season. It’s kind of hard to believe we’re already this far along as it seems like we just got started yesterday. Time flies when you’re having fun and next thing you know we’ll be rolling into the summer break. Speaking of which, we did get the schedule changes all set in stone a couple of weeks ago, so let’s discuss that real quick.
First off, we will not be returning to Big Buck in 2019 but will be back in 2020. It unfortunately just wasn’t feasible to fit the trip south into our schedule and work with landowner Henry Turner’s schedule as well. We’ll be back in 2020 and ready to have another great Big Buck event. Obviously we love Big Buck, but our schedule goes much deeper than just GNCC Racing and as much as we’d love to host a Big Buck event in 2019, it’s just not feasible.
Instead we’ll be headed to a new venue in Dilliner, PA for the High Voltage GNCC. This event will be held on property owned by long-time GNCC supporter, Warren Lilly. If you dig through old results, you’ll see Warren’s name throughout a ton of the races back in the day, and he’s got a great piece of property for a race. So, we’re excited to try out a new venue July 6th and 7th. We know that date isn’t the most ideal date but the only other options would’ve created back-to-back events, which we know is tough for a lot of GNCC competitors. Regardless, this should be a really fun event and we’re working to come up with some great off-track activities to make the weekend even better.
As for the October TBA event we’ve been working on for a while, we finally got everything set in stone and will be headed to Beckley, WV for The Summit GNCC. This event will be hosted at the Summit Bechtel Reserve, which is a large Scout Camp that hosts the National Scout Jamboree and will host the World Scout Jamboree in 2019. The facility is over 14,000 acres and has some pretty diverse terrain in the woods, so we expect a lot of woods with some ups, downs, off cambers and a few rocks as well.
We’re excited for the rest of the GNCC Racing season. If the racing we saw last weekend in South Carolina is any indication of what the rest of the season will be like, then we’re definitely in for a treat. We’ve got a couple of weekends off now before returning to action in Indiana for the X-Factor GNCC. This event definitely has the potential to produce some close racing, as there are a number of riders on both ATVs and bikes who are motivated to take a win.
If you want to check out some additional reading this week, our buddies from the Racer X side of the office tasked me with writing this quick piece of Things We Learned At The Camp Coker Bullet GNCC. These types of stories are always pretty cool, so make sure to check it out HERE. That’s going to do it for the intro this week. Enjoy your Easter Weekend and if you do some riding or racing, be safe and have fun!
Open House at Lojak's Cycle Sales!
Our friends at Lojak's Cycle Sales are hosting their annual open house this Friday April 19th from 12-8pm. This a pretty cool event and is definitely worth stopping by. They'll have food and drinks throughout the day, tons of door prizes from a lot of different sponsors, Yamaha Power Assist bicycle demos, other Yamaha demos and much, much more!
In addition to all of that, y108 out of Pittsburgh will be there from 6-7pm giving away 25 pairs of tickets to the "8 Man Jam" which is a big concert at The Rivers Casino in May featuring Justin Moore, David Lee Murphy, Morgan Wallen, Jimmie Allen, Riley Green, Devin Dawson, Brandon Lay and Stoney Richards.
As you know, the Lojaks have a long history with GNCC Racing as pretty much the entire family has found some success in GNCC Racing. If you're in the area, be sure to swing by the shop and check it out. It sounds like they're planning a great event, and who knows; maybe a new motorcycle or ATV will spark your interest while you're there.
Lojak's Cycle Sales is located at 9030 State Round 908 Tarentum, PA. You can check out their website at lojaks.com and be sure to check them out on Facebook for the most up to date info!
Catching Up With Ken (Ken Hill)
I think it is very safe to say we dodged a huge bullet at Camp Coker! Those menacing storms stayed just west of us to allow a really great weekend of GNCC Racing and the fun times at this venue seem never ending. I was able to watch a kid catch his first fish and another young man catch the largest fish in his life, all in the span of a few hours. So suffice to say, another very memorable weekend at Camp Coker! Racing aside, one has to be at this event to understand fully all the hubbub that one can enjoy here. Swimming, fishing, zip lines and the general laid back feel to it all.
Sometimes during the weekend it is hard to slow down enough to realize this is a big event and some intense racing is going on all around you. Saturday made for a very long day with five races on tap along with the ePeeWee and fishing tourney, as well as the concert! I slept well and from the looks of some of you and the kids I know I wasn’t the only one. If one round really sums up the family vibe of GNCC racing, it is this one in my humble opinion.
The action was at a fever pitch throughout the weekend as all the heavy hitters were back in action. Landon Wolfe grabbed another win along with Traci Pickens and then came the afternoon pro race where everyone had their game face on as they were turned loose to give us all a show. Once again it was Walker Fowler out front however this round, Chris Borich seemed to be dialed and on the hunt as he kept Fowler in check. When Borich popped out of the woods with the lead and only a few corners away from victory, the cheers and applause showed his fans were eager for him to win and keep Fowler at bay.
Watching it all play out was very cool as Borich and his dad had a moment right after the helmet came off. Think about it; after all the championships and all the wins here are a father and son celebrating a well-earned victory like it was his first. That should tell you all you need to know about that family, but wait there’s more! How cool was it seeing Chris on the podium center stage and hoist up his daughter? Truly this race meant much more than just a win. With Fowler taking a humble second, Jarrod McClure joined them on the box as he rallied to take a solid third and got to join in as competitors and friends as the celebration rolled on.
That is all from me this week as I have no choice but to keep this short. It is not often we get a weekend off and for me it means trying to knock off my farm work before the next flurry of races that seem to coming at a relentless pace. I do wish to thank everyone who offered me food and drink as well as showed concern for my health. I was testing blood sugar just about every hour as I narrow down what I can get away with when on the road but I am happy to report I did ok until that ride home. 23 hours between shooting and driving makes for a long day and I really should have not pushed so hard but hey, its what we do! And after seeing the mangled hands of some of you, swollen legs seem to pale in comparison so it is embrace the suck and move forward! As always, may God continue to bless us all and please be safe in your travels. See you at X-Factor!
A-Class Action (Jared Bolton)
Typically I save these discussions for a little later in the season, but since the folks at Racer X gave me the chance to talk about Camp Coker, I figured we’d go ahead and take a look at some of the happenings thus far this season in the various A classes. Much like those at the front of the pro classes, there’s been some tight racing going on throughout the amateur ranks. This week we’ll take a look at the bike classes and in a future edition we’ll discuss some of the ATV crowd.
In the Open-A class, it’s currently Cope Beckert leading the chase for the championship, but it’s a heated battle as Josh Lee has been consistent so far and holds the second place position. Evan Earl sits in third place, but holds the most wins after claiming two in a row at the previous two rounds while Brady Myers and Levi Keller sit tied for the final two top five positions. After four rounds, the entire top five are separated by just 13-points! There’s no doubt that the hunt for the Open-A title will be highly contested.
The 250 A class has seen four different winners in the first four rounds, but Brody Johnson has been Mr. Consistent has he has yet to finish below fourth place and holds the class points lead. Chase Hayes sits second just three-points ahead of third place rider, Triston Landrum. Bryce Koster and Ryder Leblond round out the top five of the Open-A class, while previous round winner Simon Johnson sits in sixth. It’s no secret that the 250-A class is one of the most highly competitive A classes in all of GNCC Racing and it seems like this season the class is full of some serious talent.
Zachary Davidson and Dylan Zimpel both hail from Iron Station, NC, they both ride a Husqvarna and they are tied for the lead in the 200-A class! That’s likely the first time we’ve seen that kind of scenario, but both of these guys are hungry for that class championship. Max Fernandez, who currently holds the third place position, will be looking to topple those guys and claim the championship for himself. Opening round winner Logan Kittock sits in fourth place while Shawn Myers Jr rounds out the top five.
The 4-Stroke A Lites class also sees two riders tied for the points lead. Alex Lugar and Frederic Blouin lead the way while Nathan Rector sits in the third place position. Trevor Maley and Travis Reynaud round out the top five thus far in the 2019 season. Andrew Matusek has been dominating the Junior A/B 25+ class with four wins in four rounds. Landon Smith currently holds down the second place position while it’s currently a three-way battle for the third place spot. At the moment, Andrew Boggs holds the third place spot just one-point ahead of Tyler Bruton in fourth. Joe McCarty rounds out the top five and is only three points behind third place!
Sam Forrester has been putting in solid rides in his quest to claim the Vet A class championship. With two wins thus far, Forrester leads the way over Lounenco Sanches. Sirley Amancio holds down the third place spot, while Matt Modic and Buddy Barnes round out the top five. In the Senior A class “Shotgun” Shawn Remington has yet to claim a win, but still leads the way in the hunt for the championship. He’s just two points ahead of Larry Silvia in second place with John Beaver just three additional points behind in third. Frank Massina and Gregory Richardson round out the top five of the Senior A class.
In the 10am race, the Super Senior A class is currently being controlled by Todd Vess who holds five point lead over Roger Guthrie while David James sits in third with two wins in the previous two rounds. Kenny Hawkins holds a ten-point lead in the Masters A class with Tim King and Bill Gold sitting in second and third, just two points apart. The Silver Masters A class has seen four different winners so far, but Norm Turnberg has been the most consistent and holds the points lead. Steve Lambruno and Ray Fehrenbach sit two points apart in the second and third place positions. Chris Sumner holds a five-point lead over Kim Mahncke in the Golden Masters A class, while Kevin Monahan holds down the third place position.
As you can see, each of these classes has some tight championship battles of their own. These could prove to be as exciting to watch unfold as the pro class battles. There’s still a lot of racing to go, and things could heat up even more. Stay tuned because these battles could get very interesting!