Welcome to Quick Fill. 

It’s officially official that he summer break is over with as last weekend’s Mountaineer GNCC was the return everyone had been waiting on patiently. If you made last weekend’s event, then hats off to you because there really wasn’t anything easy about that one! The overall layout itself wasn’t overly difficult but the misting rains that slowly fell made things slick. No, really slick. When you add in the rocks and roots, then things just become more and more difficult, so pat yourself on the back for even making it around that one. 

The Mountaineer is pretty impressive piece of property with probably some of the best parking you’ll find all year. On top of that, the course itself lends its hand to make some pretty close racing. For the ATV guys it can be a bit hard to pass, but that also makes things exciting as at the conclusion of the first lap the entire top ten were only around a total of a minute apart. This is especially impressive considering the rocks, roots and slick conditions to contend with as well. 

In the end it would be Walker Fowler pulling out the win, and with Brycen Neal finishing third place it has now tightened the gap back up in the hunt for the GNCC ATV National Championship. Neal still leads the way over Fowler but with just two-points separating them, anything can happen in these final three races. This very well has the potential to produce some of the most intense ATV racing we’ve seen in a long time and it’s going to be exciting to watch it all unfold. 

On the bike side, Ben Kelley announced that his leg has only healed about 60% and he also needs shoulder surgery as well so it looks as if Kelley’s title defense has come to an early end. This leaves the door wide open for Jordan Ashburn, who really just needs to be smart and finish the next three races. Craig Delong moved into the number three spot as Trevor Bollinger is also sidelined after an injury prior to The Mountaineer. While these guys are working to improve their point standings, the man looking to make a statement is none other than Steward Baylor. 

After missing the majority of the season with an injury from round one, Stu made his return at Snowshoe with a third place XC1 and fourth place overall finish, then put his head down over the summer and came back to take The Mountaineer win. These final three rounds will also be very exciting on the bike side as there are a number of guys like Stu who are looking to make a statement. Thad Duvall, Ricky Russell and Grant Baylor are all previous race winners who will be hungry for another but they’ll also contend with guys like Craig Delong and Josh Toth who have yet to claim a GNCC overall win… Oh, and of course that Stu Baylor guy will just be looking for more wins, and Jordan Ashburn will be looking to put a stamp on a potential championship run!

Now our attention turns to the Burr Oak, which will be taking place next weekend in Ohio. Now, we’ll have the low down on what to expect in next week’s edition of Quick Fill but don’t expect it to be just like The John Penton earlier in the year. There’s a lot of trails to use on that property and it doesn’t take very much to make that place feel totally different. Also, keep your fingers crossed that the weather forecast continues to stay dry because that in itself will make it feel completely different. 

Before we make it there, however, we have an event happening this weekend at High Point Raceway. The 32^nd annual Big Dave Vet Homecoming will invade High Point this weekend with Moto-X Country GP Racing on Saturday and the traditional Vet Homecoming motocross on Sunday. Saturday’s GP features two 30-minute motos for all classes on a hybrid mix of motocross, grass track and woods sections, and there’s much more than just vet classes. We’ve got a full list of classes for everyone, and even a Mini Support class as well. Now, the minis will run the same course as everyone else, so it’s recommended your mini rider has some off-road experience but a GNCC regular on a 65cc machine or bigger will feel right at home. 

Sunday’s motocross event also features much more than Vet and Vintage classes as there’s several support classes for those who might not fit into those vet classes. This is a really fun, laid back event that pays no points to anything, so it’s all about having fun and some bragging rights. So, if you’re interesting in having some fun this weekend you can get all the details HERE. If you’re coming out for the GP, be sure to check out the posted GP Practice and Race Order. If you do it just right, you should have ample opportunity to race at least two classes and give yourself a full two-hours of riding on Saturday! 

As for what to expect out of the GP course, you’ll start on the High Point Raceway motocross track and follow it around the amateur layout and exit on the far side of the race track near the landing of the “quad jump”. You’ll head out through some grass track and enter a section of woods on the other side of the property. This woods section runs parallel to some of the High Point Mountain Bike Park trails, which we use for the eMTB race at Mason-Dixon. It’s a bit of a faster trail that starts to zigzag just a little bit before popping back into the bigger section of grass track. 

This grass track will work you back over to the other side of the property and into the woods below the motocross track. You’ll head through a couple of other faster trails that then tightens up just a bit before a really cool, technical switchback turn up onto another trail. This will then bring you to another short piece of grass track that leads you back onto the motocross track around the exit of Carmichael Corner by the back of the pro pits. You’ll follow the motocross track back around to the traditional motocross finish line, then head out for another lap. As I’m writing this, I don’t have exact milage just yet but it should be under a three-mile loop which should make some of the faster motos about four laps.

With that said, there’s still a good bit of work to be done for this weekend’s event so we’re going to wrap up this week’s edition of Quick Fill here. We hope to see you out at High Point this weekend and if not, we’ll see you next week in Ohio. Until then, enjoy your weekend and we’ll see you back here next week!