Wiseco Tuesday Toolbox
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- Tuesday Toolbox: Pascal RaucheneckerMay 8, 2018Pascal Rauchenecker made quite a splash last year at Ironman. Despite that round being his first-ever GNCC, the 25 year old from Austria won the stacked XC2 250 Pro class, beating out the likes of Josh Toth, Ben Kelly and Austin Lee. This year he has yet to take a win, but has been on the XC2 podium almost every round. Since international calls are cost-prohibitive, I emailed Pascal to ask him about his racing career before GNCC, and what he hopes to accomplish while he’s here.
- Tuesday Toolbox: Jeremy LeDonneMay 1, 2018If the name Jeremy LeDonne sounds familiar, you might be remembering the 21-year old from Pennsylvania because of his time racing the ATV motocross Nationals, or from winning the Badass award last season. A horrifying crash several years ago while racing ATV motocross left him with such severe injuries that he was paralyzed for a year and doctors told him that he might never walk again, much less ride. The now-22 year-old underwent rigorous physical therapy and a number of surgeries. He was able to start racing again a few years ago, and decided to give GNCCs a try because the racing “is a little slower speed and is closer to the ground.” He is leading both the Motorcycle 250cc College C class and the ATV College B class, and actually has a perfect season so far in the latter.
- Tuesday Toolbox: Kevin TranthamApril 24, 2018Waynesville, North Carolina’s Kevin Trantham has been participating in the GNCC series since 2002. He started out on race quads, but eventually became a 4x4 pro rider. He turns 47 next month, so he has stepped back into the senior 4x4 pro class, which also gives him more time and energy to focused on his UTV racing. Kevin is off to a great start to his season, having won every 4x4 senior race so far, and netting one overall UTV win.
- Tuesday Toolbox: Becca SheetsApril 17, 2018Becca Sheets is one of the fastest women in the country. She first began racing the GNCC circuit in 2012, and really hit her stride with a championship in 2016. Last year, Tayla Jones, a newcomer to the series from Australia, won the WXC division in a dominant fashion. However, Sheets has steadily been gaining ground, and was finally able to beat the Australian at round four, Steele Creek. The season is shaping up to be much more competitive than last year, and I caught up with Becca to talk about the last race, her thoughts on how the season is progressing, her plans for the year, and about women’s racing in general.
- Tuesday Toolbox: Austin ParksApril 10, 2018Austin Parks is the owner of Spider Graphix, a well-known graphics company based out of Monrovia, Indiana. According to Parks, it is one of the largest ATV graphic companies in the United States, although they also make graphics for motorcycles and UTVs and ship World-Wide. He and his family (father and wife) have raced in the GNCC series for several years, and he recently moved up into the 4x4 pro class. I caught up with Austin just after the AM ATV race at Steele Creek to talk about his involvement in the GNCC series and his “triple alliance” with Tirespine and DeRisi racing, as well as the history of Spider Graphix.
- Tuesday Toolbox: Andrew MatusekApril 3, 2018Thirty-year-old Andrew Matusek is a former GNCC XC2 rider from Franklin, Georgia. He currently makes a living as a Motocross and Arenacross coach. After a ten-year break from the GNCC series, he has returned this season to compete in the Vet A (30+) Bike class. So far this season he has won twice and placed third once, putting him in the points lead. I caught up with Andrew to discuss his former racing career, his current coaching programs, and what he expects out of this season.
- Tuesday Toolbox: Brycen NealMarch 27, 2018Bidwell, Ohio native Brycen Neal took his first-ever overall ATV win last round at The General. The 22 year old is a full-time racer who has been competing in the pro class since 2014 and chasing the series since he was still in the youth ATV division. It took five years of hard work in the ATV XC1 pro class that put him here, and we’re excited to see if he will be able to continue his momentum and contend for a championship.
- Tuesday Toolbox: Jesse AnsleyMarch 20, 2018Jesse Ansley won his first ever XC3 event at his hometown race of Wild Boar two weeks ago. Many of you may remember him from his overall youth championship several years ago, but now the 17-year old from Bradenton, Florida is beginning to make waves in the pro ranks. After a podium finish at The General last weekend, he has moved up to 3rd in points, in what is shaping up to be a tight battle and a very competitive class.
- Tuesday Toolbox: DeRisi RacingMarch 13, 2018DeRisi racing is a fixture in the GNCC ATV scene. Their North Carolina-based shop performs a number of different services for ATV and side-by-side riders. Although well-known, their expansion into 4x4 pro racing is a relatively recent one. This weekend I spoke with the shop and team owner Santo DeRisi as well as their three 4x4 pro riders about their program. Both 4x4 riders who competed this weekend turned in good finishes, taking second and fourth in 4x4 pro.
- Tuesday Toolbox: Ben KelleyMarch 6, 2018Ben Kelley originally hails from New England, though he has since moved to North Carolina. He and fellow New England rider Josh Toth spend a considerable amount of time training together, and it is definitely showing in Ben’s results - he has steadily improved over the last several years since he started competing in the GNCC series, and if I were to guess, he will continue to be a regular on the XC2 podium this season.
- Tuesday Toolbox: Henry TurnerFebruary 27, 2018Big Buck is one of the oldest rounds on the GNCC circuit. Established in 1997, the race turned 21 this last weekend. The man who owns the property, Henry Turner, has been a friend to the series for a long time. I sat down and had a chat with him about how he got started working with GNCC, why he wanted to hold races here in the first place, and some of his favorite moments over the years.
- Tuesday Toolbox: Graham and Becky WiddicombeFebruary 20, 2018Graham and Becky Widdicombe, the GNCC’s favorite couple from the United Kingdom, are some of the friendliest people and most dedicated racers you will meet. As a matter of fact, although I asked them both the same questions, I had to conduct the interview with them at different times on different days nearly two weeks ago, due to the logistics of everyone being in different time zones and in Graham’s case, a completely different country! It is really impressive to see what all they have done to make their racing dreams come true.