by: Jared Bolton
Thursday, February 18, 2021 | 9:30 PM
Welcome to Quick Fill.
Alright, it’s go time! Yes, we are racing this weekend. Sure, there might be a few little wet patches here and there but overall things are looking to be much, much better than most folks are expecting. It rained a lot in the weeks leading up to this event, rained a lot last weekend, but this place just seems to run off a lot of the rain. We arrived Sunday night and pulled three semis, our water truck and two campers right into the facility, and even put them back in a corner that is the lowest lying spot in the field. I’m not going to tell you it’s dry and dusty, there are some wet patches in the pits, but it’s NOT the swampy mud fest some folks have been thinking.
Overall, there are some serious chances that this weekend could shape up to be amazing conditions. There will be a few wet and muddy spots scattered around the course but the majority of it is looking like it’s going to pretty darn good. It’s a fun layout and we actually laid everything out with the rain in mind. This means we avoided as many low-lying areas as possible and used a lot of existing trail, which is hard packed, and will save some new sections for the next visit here in April. I’ll have some more details on the track coming up just a bit later in this edition of Quick Fill.
First off, here’s a few reminders for the weekend. If you travel down I-26 to get here, do NOT use exit 44 as there’s a bridge out on Highway 49 between I-26 and the 4-way intersection just before the Big Buck Farm. So, if you’re coming from Spartanburg, just use exit 38 and turn left. That will bring you right into that 4-way intersection. If you’re coming from Columbia, use exit 52 and turn right. This will also bring you to that 4-way. Most likely a GPS would tell you either of these exits regardless, but just keep in mind that exit 44 is a no-go.
Next, there’s NO PRACTICE this year. We’ve done this for a number of years but due to a number of factors it’s not happening for 2021. Also keep in mind that Saturday’s schedule has changed from what we ran in 2020. Remember, Micro ATVs will race first at 8am, followed by Micro bikes at 8:45am. The Youth ATV race will be 9:30am, and then the morning and afternoon ATV races will be 11am and 2pm, respectively. Sunday’s schedule remains the same as it has been.
We also have 2020 Contingency Prize Pick Up. This is for 2020 class champions who need to pick up their gear and boots plus their championship jacket. Second place ATV finishers will pick up their CST tires, and fourth and fifth place finishers have an umbrella to pick up. So, if you were first, second, fourth or fifth just stop by the Contingency Pickup area adjacent to Rider Registration to pick everything up.
There are also a couple of pieces of media to check out this week to help get you amped for this weekend. First off, EnduroWurx has teamed up with Mike Witkowski this year to produce a web series following him throughout the season. The first episode premiered this week and you can check that out HERE. It recaps Mike's 2020 season and features narration by our own Mikey Waynes.Long-time off-road filmmaker Rob Mitchell is the guy making this happen, so keep an eye out for more not only from Witkowski but also from EnduroWurx as a whole this year
Also, I wrote a 2021 GNCC preview for our friends at Racer X. Essentially it goes rider by rider recapping what has brought these guys to 2021 and what to expect from them this season. It's a cool read and you can check it out HERE.
So now let’s talk about the track. Big Buck is always a great course and this year is no different! When you head out from the start you’re actually starting just before the one-mile mark. You’ll make your way through some open trail for a bit that tightens up in a few areas before the two-mile mark. From the two over to the three-mile mark has some fast sections, tight sections and even some areas of rock as well. After the three, you’ll pick up some faster and flowing trail over to the four-mile mark where it will then tighten up a bit and through some rolling up and downhill areas. You’ll work your way up the big hill climb, but skip the creek jump this time by. At the top of the big hillclimb, you’ll head straight back through some more flowing trail and a long uphill to the five-mile mark.
From the five all the way to the six is some tighter sections of trail through a bunch of pine trees, and this is always one of the favorite sections of the course. From there you’ll pick up the six and head out onto the other half of the property. This is a lot of flowing trail through that rolls gently downhill for a while before passing the seven-mile mark and dropping down to the lowest area on the property. You’ll climb back up out of this valley to the eight-mile mark and find some slightly faster trail all the way to the nine-mile mark.
After the nine, things get a little twisty and technical for a bit as you’re going downhill, uphill and through some tighter pine trees for a bit all the way to the ten-mile mark. These tighter pines continue a bit past the ten before you pop out into the trackside pitting sections in the field and head back into another woods section to the 11-mile mark. From the 11, you’ll pop back into the field again and wind all the way over to the finish, and once you make it through the finish there’s a mile of more open and tighter trail until you tie back in at the start.
You’ll end up with a 12-mile loop that has such a fun mix of open trail, tight trail, fields, rocks and more. Big Buck is traditionally one of the faster courses, but you never feel like you’re going all that fast because it’s so much fun and flowy that it’s definitely not “sketchy fast”. Everything is looking good and it’s going to be a great weekend of racing. So if you’re on the fence, get off and get to the track! Don’t miss out. That’s all I’ve got for this week because it’s time to get back to work to put the final touches on everything for the Big Buck! Enjoy your weekend and we’ll see you in South Carolina!