by: Jared Bolton
Thursday, December 10, 2020 | 2:30 PM
Welcome to Quick Fill.
Another week is in the books and we’re rolling head first into this weekend’s GNCC Virtual Banquets. It’s a bummer to not be able to get together and do these banquets in person but given that the whole world is still working through the Covid-19 pandemic it’s just not feasible to have a traditional banquet. We’re hopeful that things start to get back to normal in 2021 and we can get back to a typical banquet in the future. Yes, we know a “virtual banquet” isn’t what you guys want, but this still gives you the opportunity to say thank you to those who deserve it.
If you finished fourth through tenth in your class, hopefully you’ve sent in your videos. We actually have gotten a good amount, so big thanks if you sent yours in. If you didn’t, well, you’ve already missed the deadline. Sorry, but there has to be a cut off point so the TV guys can start editing everything together. If you finished third through first, we’ll be inviting you onto a Zoom call to do your interview live. The whole thing will be broadcast live on RacerTV, just like a normal GNCC Live show. We’ll also be throwing in some additional special features, so it will actually be a pretty good show.
Also expect to see the 2021 GNCC schedule really soon. We have everything locked in and will be making the announcement shortly. I will say that while we’re using traditional facilities, the schedule is a little non-traditional and you can expect to see a few events doubled up again. The good news is, the thing we learned in 2020 is that we’ve got a creative crew and we’re able to make the second event feel totally different than the first time. While the 2021 schedule is locked in, we are open to hearing about some facilities that could possibly host us in 2022. So, if you know of 500+ acres with somewhere close to 100 acres of parking that you think could host a GNCC event, give me a shout at [email protected] and let me know.
Speaking of the banquet, typically you would receive your year-end awards at the banquet, or pay to ship them afterwards. Since we’re not having an in-person banquet this year, we’re covering the shipping for everyone. However, you MUST fill out the banquet shipping form. Don’t just assume we have your address and will send your trophy and contingency prizes. There’s no guarantee we have your correct address as many people move, or put a different address on their entry forms. So, make sure you fill out the form HERE to have your award shipped.
In last week’s edition of Quick Fill I mentioned the SETRA hare scramble at GTR in South Carolina. It turned out to be a great event with a pretty good turnout with more than 210 big bikes. Zack Hayes came away with the overall win ahead of Brewer Cawley and Chase Hayes (yes, that’s Zack’s brother). Sam Evans finished fourth while Bolton Beroth rounded out the top five overall. It was also cool to see former GNCC Open-A/XC2 competitor Charkie Huegel racing as well. Charkie ended the day 7th in the AA class.
As for me, well, the results turned out about how I expected. I got totally smoked in the 30+ A class because I stood no chance to begin with. Since our new GNCC sweep bikes haven’t arrived yet, I opted to ride my 2010 Husaberg FE390. My dad bought my 2020 sweep bike a few weeks ago and used the race for his first real ride on it. When he got back to the truck and shut the bike off, first thing I said was “I was wanting that bike back about halfway through the first lap”. Not that the Husaberg isn’t a great motorcycle, it was just too heavy for the tight and twisty sections that made up the majority of the course.
Regardless, I had an absolute blast getting out and doing some racing, and my reason for sharing the story is to just say just because things may not go your way results-wise, you really have to look at the positives. Sure, a racer wants to win; that’s normal but for the overwhelming majority of us we can’t forget that we’re here to have fun. Racing should be competitive, but it should also be fun. Getting out and riding your ATV or motorcycle is, in my opinion, the most fun you could have on any given weekend. So, next time things aren’t going your way, just focus on having fun and the experience could turn much more enjoyable.
That’s all I have for the main section of Quick Fill this week. Below we’ll start our look back at the 2020 season and this will likely last through the majority of the off-season. We’ve also got some cool Throwback Thursday photos to share once again. So until next time, enjoy your weekend and we hope to see you on the Virtual Banquet!
Looking Back at 2020 Part 1
Leading up to the start of the 2020 season a lot of folks were excited to see how things would play out. Defending champions Walker Folwer and Kailub Russell were the obvious favorites in their respective divisions but there was also a lot of talk of serious challengers from both sides. Round one at Big Buck began really cold. In fact, it even snowed Thursday evening prior to the race but eventually things warmed up and it turned into a fantastic weekend for racing.
For Saturday’s ATV race Walker Fowler seemed to pick right back up where he left off in 2019 and rode to a pretty convincing win. He would open up a 41 second lead on lap one, which increased to 1:15 on lap two and still ended with more than a one minute lead when the checkered flag flew. The real race was for the second and third place positions, as a number of riders would swap these spots several times throughout the race.
At the end of lap one Hunter Hart would come around in second place with just a mere two seconds over Devon Feehan in third. Hunter held that second place spot for lap two, but a mechanical issue would drop Feehan out of third allowing Cole Richardson to find his way into podium contention after completing the first lap all the way back in eighth place. Richardson would get around Hart for the second place spot as the white flag flew while on the final lap it would be the Sneaky Snake himself, Jarrod McClure working his way into third place.
Not only would McClure find his way around Hart, but also Chris Borich would do the same. In the end, Fowler claimed the first win of the season with Richardson second, McClure third while Borich and McClure rounded out the top five. These guys ended up putting on a heck of a show and while Fowler may have ran away with the win, the positions swapped around for the rest of the podium finishes would set the bar high for the 2020 season.
Sunday’s bike race would prove to have some big storylines of it’s own. Kailub Russell would put together a ride very similar to Fowler’s performance the day before. KR would basically lead the entire race, but it wasn’t exactly a runaway from the get-go. The completion of lap one would see Ricky Russell just over one second behind Kailub, with Jordan Ashburn around 25 seconds behind the duo. KR would put a small gap between Ricky and himself in the next couple of laps, but Ricky was still able to stay within 15 seconds or so of Kailub.
The fourth lap would see Kailub take things up a notch and open up a pretty good lead that would increase to just under two minutes by the end of the race. Ricky Russell would continue to hang tight in second while Josh Strang would eventually work his way into third place on lap four, and that’s exactly how the top three would finish. Steward Baylor worked his way to fourth place from seventh while Ashburn rounded out the top five.
Meanwhile, two major contenders would drop out of the race with injuries while two other major contenders suffered pre-season injuries that left them sidelined before the race started. Thad Duvall and Ben Kelley both attempted to race round one, but nagging injuries that both ended up requiring surgery took them out after just three laps. Josh Toth and Trevor Bollinger both suffered pre-season injuries and didn’t even get the opportunity to line up for round one.
With the first round of the season in the books, and one that was full of intense action, attention would then turn to the coming season. Some feel as if the first round is a bit of a chance to shake out the cobwebs and get back into the swing of things before really wicking things up at round two. We’ll pick back up next week with rounds two and three.
#ThrowbackThursday
Here's another week of Throwback photos that don't have an exact theme. Although I will say I went digging and found some more photos that haven't been shared in a long time. I found a ton of photos the KTM folks had collected from several years back, and there's some real gems in there.
