by: Jared Bolton
Friday, September 25, 2020 | 2:00 PM
Welcome to Quick Fill.
It’s time to go racing once again! This weekend we’re back at Sunday Creek Raceway, home of The John Penton GNCC, but this time we’re calling it the Burr Oak GNCC. Why call it Burr Oak? Well, that was the original name of the event when it was added to the schedule back in 1990. With it currently serving as the oldest event on the schedule, it only seemed fitting to honor the original name. Also, there were a number of times that the Burr Oak was held around this same time of the year. So, while The John Penton traditionally seems like a bit of a throwback race, this time is no different.
What is different this time is that it’s dry. In fact, it’s really dry. Expect a fairly dusty racecourse this weekend. Of course, we’ll be doing our best to keep the water truck running and keep the dust down on the start, pits and as much of the field areas as possible. Of course, it’s not possible to run a water truck around the woods, so it will be a bit dry out there but there is a positive side to the dry conditions.
Since it’s dry, we’re able to run some different sections, some slightly more technical sections and make the course a little longer overall since there’s not the incredibly slick and greasy wet Ohio clay we’ve seen here for the past, um, well, I lost count of how many times it’s been greasy and slick at The Penton. I’ll give a quick run down of the course next, but once that’s over with we’re going to wrap this edition of Quick Fill up a bit early. I feel like I say that every week, but we’re pretty darn busy out here at the moment, so we’ll keep this short and let all of you get geared up for the weekend as well.
The start, finish and pro pits are all in their usual spots but we’re running the opposite direction from the last visit here. When you start, you’re starting just before the two-mile mark. You’ll work your way through some twisty up and down sections to the three-mile mark where you’ll pick up a slightly faster section for just a bit before it tightens back up just before the four-mile mark.
The 1PM bike races will split off at the four-mile mark and head out into The John Penton Section. This time our buddy Jeff Hupp came back out to layout The Penton section. Hupp is a former local A-level enduro rider who has laid out The Penton Section quite a few times in the past. He usually makes it pretty tough, and this time it just may be the most technical Penton Section we’ve ever had. I spent some time marking and clearing it with Hupp and there were a couple of up and downhills we elected to skip on the ATVs (plus some single track where the quads didn’t fit). It should be a lot of fun, if you enjoy technical trail that is.
The Penton section will tie back in just past that four-mile mark, and the quad races plus AM bikes will have just a short straight trail over to that merge from the Penton Section. This brings you to a medium speed trail that winds back and forth along the side of a ridge with a few up, down and off-camber spots. Eventually it opens up a bit just before the five-mile mark again but at the five the trail will get a little slower and twistier once again. This continues all the way to the six-mile mark before it opens up a little bit over to the seven. After the seven, you’ve got the FMF Powerpoint hillclimb before popping out through the field and drop back into a technical section of woods over to the eight-mile mark. That brings you back into the field again before dropping back into another twisty and slightly slower section all the way to the nine-mile mark.
It gets a little faster from the nine to the ten mile mark, and after the ten you’re headed towards the motocross track and into the finish line. When you head out of the finish, you’ll run up into the woods, drop down off a hill and cross back over to the side of the road you started on. This time you’ll work your way behind the start to the one-mile mark, out into a short field section and back into a section of woods with a couple of up and downhill spots before tying back in where you started. Overall this promises to be one of the most fun courses we’ve had at this facility in quite some time, so don’t miss it!
That’s all I’ve got for this week. Good luck this weekend and we’ll see you at the Burr Oak!
Catching Up With Ken (Ken Hill)
So we are heading not to the John Penton but to Burr Oak. For those of you that are getting confused, don’t be. Same location, just a different name! If this year hasn’t been wacky enough we get to hit up this facility yet again which is neither good or bad but its either a like or dislike kind of deal. The big picture, we are indeed going racing which I know I’m very grateful as it could easily be a cancelled event and that doesn’t make any of us happy. So suck it up and get packed, geared up, fueled up, whatever it takes.
Now I haven’t had any contact with the office or crew so I have no idea what they have in store for us but I assume they will have us all something a bit different here this weekend. It could be some new trail or a mix but I doubt it will be the same old Penton layout. I could be wrong of course but they usually handle these kinds of things quite well so we will see. I believe the weather should be fine as fall is creeping in so make sure to bring a sweatshirt as the mornings and evenings will be cool and crisp.
I wish I could give some top secret inside info on the racers since our last round but I have been a bit of a road warrior as I left Mountaineer and headed to the great state of Texas for the ATV Motocross Championship. That facility was incredible and the racing raised the bar yet again as the series championship is still too close to call. I think that’s what I miss with GNCC racing as over the past several seasons we just haven’t had any really close bar to bar points battles. That’s good if you're the champion or on your way to being one but it takes the shine off things and makes writing about the races tough. So and so won again, yawn. So and so clinched their 14th consecutive championship; mega yawn! No I am kidding, to remain out front year after year might be harder than mixing it up and having to fight for every point but from a fan perspective it can get stale. Just imagine the work it takes to have to be at the top of your game every start, lap and race for years and years, it truly is an incredible feat.
That’s about all from me this week, it’s a rush, rush deal heading into this weekend but I will make the best of it as always! Gardens are all done with a few select fall plants still growing so the workload here just lightened up. Hunting season for us actually begins this Saturday so while I am bummed about missing the first few days I will enjoy seeing you all and watching you have fun at the race! This round is another jam packed Saturday so please take no offense if I zoom by and wave as there is little time to chat! As always I pray the good Lord continues to bless us all, see you all this weekend!