GNCCRacing.com: Nick, thanks so much for joining me today. Tell us a little bit about yourself. How’d you get started into racing and eventually joining the Pro ranks at the GNCC eMTB Racing?

Nick Mackie: I was born and raised down in Florida. I didn’t get into dirt bikes until I was about 10 or 12 years old. Always did BMX and dirt jumps with my buddies. You know, building backyard ramps and being hooligans around the neighborhood. The first style of racing I got into was FTR (Florida Trail Riders) so I did a little bit of woods racing in my youth days. Moved to the 80 Class and won a Mini Sr Championship. Shortly after that I moved to the big bikes and transitioned more to moto. Got away from woods racing, I was way more into jumping and track-style races. My parents worked their tails off to get me to locals. Winter Am, Mini O’s, Gold Cups, things like that. Moved up to the B class and had some success. As I started getting older, around 15-16 I realized how expensive things were. In 2005 I qualified for Loretta’s and two weeks before the event I broke my femur. That put me out for the rest of the year and at that point my parents were encouraging me to step away from dirt bikes. Financially it was difficult to keep up every year. After that I sort of moved back to BMX. I had to get my “grown up” corporate job. I’d stepped away from dirt bikes for probably 7 or 8 years and just focused on work. Then sometime around 2012 I started getting into mountain biking.  I’d moved to Georgia and that kind of got me back into dirt bikes again. But I really enjoyed mountain biking. I had knee issues and I thought, mountain biking is a little less taxing, sure I can still get hurt, but it wasn’t like what I’d been through on a dirt bike. About three or four years into it I got the itch to start getting competitive on the mountain bike. My buddies talked me into doing some cross country style racing in Georgia and that’s where I realized just how much you had to work to be successful. Thanks to years of BMX and dirt bike racing I had the skills and speed I needed to be successful in mountain biking. That transitioned to me getting hooked up with John Ayers and GNCC. Which has been an incredible opportunity. Getting hooked up with John and Gear Bicycle Sales as sort of a test thing down in Florida at an E-Bike race. Charlie (Mullins) came down and raced with us and my name got thrown in the hat, like hey this guy can probably ride an E-Bike, he used to race dirt bikes, give it a go! Earlier this year Charlie and I did a race and it was brutal! We did a 90 minute XC Race and then we did a 40 minute Race after that. I got the holeshot and led the whole first lap. I thought, wow, I know Charlie is the man, but I’m not doing too bad! After the race Charlie said, “I think we could battle at the GNCC’s, you have to come race!” I ended up giving it a shot down in Florida and really enjoyed myself. So here I am!

You’re working at the GNCC’s now, too, right?

Correct, yes! John Ayers needed some help on the truck for Gear Bicycles, so I was able to step in and help out. I quit my full-time corporate job and I’ve been working with a local Florida brand too. Those two things help finance everything and pave the way. It’s been amazing to be a part of the racing community again.

Personal note, Local Florida Brand, saw this on your Instagram. You got beer and rum. I’m already sold. Tell me more!

Oh yeah! A good buddy of mine actually started this company a few years ago. It basically started as a t-shirt company. Over the last couple years it almost disappeared. My buddy Matt got together with another buddy that helped start the business back in the day. The following from the clothing side of things was already there, so they capitalized on that. Started focusing more on beer and rum. That brand-recognition was huge to help out the beer and rum sales. They’re crushing sales down there. This year I’ve helped grow their B2B side of things. Which is very cool, working on local shop and your bait and tackle shops.

I’m a whiskey guy, but I love beer and rum too. Hook me up and I’ll spread the good word in the world of GNCC on the Bottleneck Live Show. We like to enjoy a beer or two during the show while we talk racing.

For sure! I love supporting bench-racing. I got you!

So what started as a “lemmi give this shot” down in Florida I gotta thing you’re planning on running the entire season now?

Without a doubt, yes! Getting hooked up John (Ayers) and Gear certainly helped make this happen for me. Hopefully I am going to grow into some other roles, training with the eMTB side of things. Bridging that gap between motorcycle shop and mountain bikes. So yeah, I’ll be at the rest of the rounds. I actually spoke with Tim Cotter after the last race and my girlfriend Ginny (McFall) and I are going to be helping out Jeff Russell with cutting out the course designs for the eMTB races. Gives him an extra set of hands and a perspective from the mountain bike side.

Obviously, I’m biased, they write my paychecks, but I have to give major kudos to Racer Productions for their openness when it comes to course designs and setup for the eMTB races. At our core, we’re a dirt bike and ATV racing series, that’s the bread and butter that we know. With eMTB racing everything is a little different and I know Trail Boss, Jeff Russell and his team have been picking the brains of guys like you and Charlie Mullins to see how we can continue to make the courses better and better.

Yeah, you can really tell they want the sport to grow. Tim (Cotter) reaches out to us after each race and asks our perspective on everything. It’s that kind of interest that will only make this sport grow by leaps and bounds year after year.

Talk about the transition from racing Mountain Bikes to racing eMTB GNCCs?

It’s so much more intense. A lot of people were skeptical of the E-Bikes when they first came out. Honestly, we all were. But until you get on one and feel the power delivery, it’s really indescribable. My heart rate is still through the roof just like it is when I’m on a normal bike but I’m actually smiling as I’m hauling ass through the woods. You’ve still got to control everything; you’re just rolling at 16-18mph. My argument is the corner speeds are still the same on an E-Bike, only you get to carry that speed rolling. You’re still pushing that bike, it’s still a ton of effort. Assistance on the hills, sure, but you’re still racing. If you want results you’re still pushing like crazy. And racing the eMTB GNCC is incredible. The fans are amazing! We’ve got no loud engines running so we can hear everyone cheering us on, it’s incredible!

Alright, the topic we’re all wanting to discuss. Hoosier GNCC, you and Charlie Mullins battled all race long. When the checkers flew, you took the win. I believe this was the first time Charlie has been beat outright. No mechanical issues for him. It was you two, handlebar to handlebar, wheel to wheel just how we like it at GNCC.

It was awesome! I knew I had something. I didn’t exactly think I could beat Charlie, but I believed I could run with him. Going back to our first round down in Florida, I had some back luck. I had a terrible start and after I battled my way through the pack, I made it up to second. I settled in right there. I exerted so much energy getting into second. Those guys are all so talented. Every single one of those top ten guys are good. Kyle, Will and Little John, it’s tough! We had Cypress (Gorry) out there too. So by the time I got to second Charlie was gone. I ended up bending a pedal spindle and dropped back to fourth on the day. Second round my bike shut off on the start. I was able to get moving but couldn’t make up that gap I lost at the start. Ended the day in second and after looking at the lap times I realized, wow, I was running around the same as Charlie. So I thought if I can just get a good start I can hang with Charlie. FINALLY, round three I got the start I needed. I was running with Charlie and thought I’d settle right behind him and see how it goes. Toward the end I felt like I had a little more in the tank and I ended up making a pass on Charlie on one of the climbs. The Hoosier GNCC offered so many great places to make passes. Once I got around Charlie, I had to put my head down and dig a little deeper. I laid it all out there and as we came into the last chicane before the finish, I backed off a little bit and when I went into that left-hander, I realized Charlie was right there. So as we came into the finish it made for a pretty sweet photo finish. I really wouldn’t want it any other way. Just battling and racing, pushing each other. I think it’s cool that Charlie helps me, and I help Charlie. I mean the guy represents the USA on a world-level. That’s huge to be out there with a guy like that. I think we’ll have some exciting racing this season, pushing each other.