The XC3 class was also wrapped up this past weekend with Zack Hayes claiming the championship. Zack has been racing GNCC since his mini bike days and after claiming Top Amateur honors a few years ago, he tried his hand at the XC2 class for a couple of seasons before jumping into XC3 this season. It turned out really well for Zack as he now can add “2020 GNCC XC3 Champion” to his race resume.

Then there’s Steward Baylor. Man, what a story. Since returning to the series, Stu now has three wins in three races and each of them have been a little bit different. At a tough and rocky Mountaineer, Stu worked his way into the lead on the second lap and rolled on to a big win, finishing over a minute ahead of Ben Kelley. Burr Oak saw some dry and dusty conditions, plus some nearly perfect areas and a long, tough and technical John Penton Section. Stu would lead that one wire to wire for the overall win, before securing a come from behind victory at a very dry and dusty Mason-Dixon GNCC.

The pit stops were one of the most interesting things about the Mason-Dixon. The KTM and Husky riders all made stops and changed out entire filters. Those bikes have easily accessible filters hidden just behind part of the side number plate, which essentially just pops in and out of place. The Kawasaki team was forced to make longer stops as access to the Kawasaki air filter is more traditional and requires removal of the seat.

The Yamaha guys, however, had the easiest stops of all. The Yamaha air filter is located high on the front of the motorcycle, just above the gas cap. The location of the Yamaha filter allowed them to finish the entire race without stopping for a filter. This came into play big time as it allowed Steward Baylor to make up extra time needed and come away with the Mason-Dixon win, and the fans were pumped.

The interesting thing about GNCC Racing is how accessible the pro riders are. It’s normal to see them out milling about with everyone else, standing in the same sign up line as everyone else, and just generally enjoying the weekend the same as everyone else. This allows a certain amount of fan interaction, and in the past it seems as if just about everyone likes everyone. However, over the past few seasons it seems like people REALLY like Steward Baylor. When he came to the finish line to claim his third win in three races, the fans went nuts. This is cool to see, and its undoubtedly cool for Stu to experience as well.

Backing up to the air filter talk, it really is amazing how much of a difference it makes to have that air filter placed just a little further forward on the motorcycle. I put around 10 hours on my KTM sweep bike in a weekend and at these overly dusty races I always make a filter swap at least each morning, and sometimes halfway through the day. I made a filter swap in the middle of the 10AM race on Sunday, and when I washed it earlier this week it was still dirty enough that you couldn’t read the Twin Air logo.

However, I also have a 2010 Husaberg FE390, which was one of the models they made with the funky 70-degree motor. The air filter on that Husaberg is also located higher on the bike, towards the front just a smidge below the gas cap. The weekend prior to Mason-Dixon I ran the NECXC Buddy Race at High Point Raceway, which was also pretty dusty and had some deep silty spots as well. I rode the Ironman class for 3 hours and 13 minutes, and when I finished the filter was dirty but still good enough to read the Twin Air logo.

These kinds of dust issues are such a rarity that I would highly doubt we see manufacturers take suit of trying to change their air filter placement, but on the occasion we do have a brutally dry and dusty race it can prove to be a huge advantage to have an air filter located higher on the motorcycle.

Now attention turns to the Ironman. If you’ve never made the trip to Indiana for the Ironman, then you’ve really been missing out. This is always the biggest event of the season, and while it may not be the final round this season that doesn’t mean it will be any smaller. People love the carnival-like atmosphere and the super fun racecourse and amazing dirt that goes along with it. It seems like the entire town of Crawfordsville shows up to watch, and of course there’s always a lot of riders who show up to do some racing of their own.

If you ask any of the GNCC regulars what their favorite event of the year is, I’m fairly certain the majority of them will tell you it’s the Ironman. Personally, I agree, as the Ironman is something special. There’s no other event quite like it, and while events like Snowshoe and Camp Coker have their own amazing little advantages to them, the overall atmosphere of the Ironman is unlike anything else. As usual, in next week’s edition of Quick Fill I’ll give you the low-down on what to expect out on racecourse, so be sure to check back next week.

That’s all I’ve got for this week. Enjoy your weekend and we’ll see you back here next week getting geared up for the Ironman!

Catching Up With Ken (Ken Hill)

So who is still coughing up dust? It was a bad one, but not the worst I’ve seen but man oh man it really forced the teams to be on their game as pit stops. Some who found success fully accredited their teams for keeping them in the fight as the conditions deteriorated and with good reason. You could easily hear and see rider’s engines choking as they struggled with clogged air filters making this race as much about strategy and prep as it was about ability.

In that aspect, I thought it really added a new dimension to the weekend but would prefer to not have that confounded dust. If there was any saving grace to be found it was on the wings of a breeze that at times would clear out sections allowing a respite from the conditions although the silt like powder caught more than one racer off guard as it started getting really deep in places.

The hoopla of the weekend fell on those who wrapped up their championships and got to finally take a deep breath after a challenging season. Friday evening I got a chance to chew the fat with Walker Fowler and wow, I wasn’t fully aware of the amount of damage he had done during the summer break when he lopped off a good portion of his ring finger! He is a warrior so he didn’t let it stop him but it did curtail his seat time and training so nothing was guaranteed. 2020 is a train wreck but he shook things off and got the job done. The winning didn’t stop with him as Landon Wolf clinched championship number two and Becca Sheets earned back that coveted number one plate after a real battle this season. Of course the main event on Sunday was watching Kailub Russell finish out his GNCC career with another championship. It was a full weekend of podiums for sure.

Now over the years, we see a rider rise to the top and reach a level where they seem to be unstoppable. You can gaze at the big trophy on display every year at the banquet and see the blocks of time one name is repeated over and over. With Kailub locking down eight years on that trophy the question is who will be next? No rider below him has a sustained win streak that I can think of that would point to a shoe in for the next few seasons and I’ve learned that with the bikes, ability and talent can be scrubbed by injury. Even though Kailub has raced many races injured, hurting and generally beat up but he pushed through it. He has taken time off when he knew it was so bad he didn’t dare thread the needle and other times clinched his teeth as he rode through incredible pain. Is that the mark of a champion? I say not but it is a huge factor that surrounds those who seem to claw to the top and wish to remain there at all costs. I do know that respect is earned and he has earned every ounce of it through determination and perseverance, the marks of high character.