It’s the most wonderful time of the year as Christmas is just around the corner and a new year will soon follow. It is a time when we hopefully get to spend time with family and friends. It is an opportunity to put the brakes on all your racing plans, and settle in to enjoying life and everything it has to offer. Hopefully it will hold those special memories that are the building blocks to those “remember that time?” moments we hold so dear to our hearts. 

As far as the big news this week goes there isn’t a whole lot to report. We mentioned last week the chance to have our voices heard as an ATV Racin’ Nation, and finally have one of our own inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame. Gary Denton is the most celebrated ATV Motocross racing star of all time. Capturing more championships than anyone to date and being a true pioneer in our industry. He has never received the true recognition he deserves so once again we remind you the process to change this.

The deadline for the 2015 nomination cycle is December 31, 2014.  We urge our ATV racing community to support our efforts to get Gary inducted into the AMA HoF.  The complete application process can be found here: http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/induction.

Follow the process and submit an application for your favorite ATV racer before the deadline.  Since there is no separate ATV category in the nomination process, all ATV activity is included in the “Specialty Competition” category.  Gary will remain in candidate status and be eligible for selection as a nominee for 4 additional years.  So if you have additional information to add to his pending application, please submit it.  To view the most recent application submitted for the nomination of Gary Denton, click HERE.

Joe Byrd is back from another globetrotting adventure this fall spreading his wisdom and love for ATVMX internationally. Byrd hosts ATV schools all over the world with his Joe Byrd Quad Riding School, and has one coming this weekend. It is taking place at Earlywine Indoor Motocross Track in Dover, KY. This is a great opportunity for the kids to get some quality instruction this winter and time to utilize for the upcoming season.

As a racing community I think it is fitting that we salute the folks at Racer Productions/MX Sports along with the AMA and many off-road riding and racing enthusiasts. Over 300 ascended into the community of Hampton Township, Pennsylvania to fight a proposed ban of all off-road vehicles. The ban would make it a crime for a private landowner to permit anyone to operate any type of off-road vehicle (dirt bike, scooter, go cart, ATV, UTV, snowmobile, etc.) on a lot less than 5 acres.

It also stated landowners owning more than 5 acres may only use their property during restricted hours, and then only after giving written permission, whether the vehicle is licensed or not. Even then you must be more than 250 feet from any home and raise no dirt "visible to the naked eye".

The ban would allow police to confiscate, impound and even sell off-road vehicles and impose penalties $1,000.00 and imprisonment of 90 days.

Are you serious?!  This community is located just north of Pittsburgh and if this would pass then surely there would be more to follow. After finding this information out the group lead by MX Sports’ Tim Cotter let it be known how unjust this was, and that it was just as well ridiculous. In actuality it nearly happened simply put, because one resident wanted it that way so therefore it was proposed and no one really objected.

It is scary how close this came to reality. Had no one brought it to the attention of the office, Tim may have never known until it was too late. Thanks to the AMA as well for stepping up and standing behind the efforts. It is a prime example of how we must, as a community of enthusiasts, be aware of these types of blind-sided efforts. Pay attention in your area as well as surrounding areas for injustices such as this in Hampton Township. If you hear of anything, please pass it to the AMA and don’t be afraid to pass it along to the folks at MX Sports. It is in the best interest of us all that we take the stands when necessary, and fight for rights and freedoms that seem to slowly be slipping away. Often times it is the result of one or a small group that ruins for the masses.

Let’s check in with Ken “I have been having some weird dreams lately” Hill:

Thanks Rodney,

I had the pleasure of spending a few hours at the office the other day discussing the upcoming 2015 season and dialing in things relating to both the ATVMX and GNCC series. I love going and seeing everyone, and it seems I always learn new things with every visit as to how things work, how things are done, and sometimes why things are done the way they are. You would think this is all a simple deal but it can get incredibly complicated when you are discussing multiple series across the better part of a year.

As the series photographer, my job should be very simple, take the images, make sure they are exposed correctly and get them to who needs them as fast as I can. That premise should be a simplified process however we know that nothing is ever that easy especially when I can easily take 10,000 images a round at some events. From my view, covering every aspect of an event means capturing as much as I can because I do not know what someone from the series may need and that is how I have approached things, for the most part. If we needed something I usually had it even if finding it fast was another story! So a better system needed to be worked on to allow those throughout the series to quickly be able to access files without hours of scanning through folder after folder. A brief discussion has this area addressed, and it will be better for everyone involved as we continue to do all we can to have our media team running as smooth as silk.

I was very happy that no real issues developed over the course of last season and we only needed some fine-tuning. One thing you learn is that when you work for a team you set ego aside, and bend when the wind blows so that everyone involved weathers the storm! It also helped that they have the ability to lie out things that can actually show what they deem important for several key events that are used in the exact same context year after year. That allowed me to see what is needed when events come up, and to do my very best to get exactly what they need so we have continuity for those who never see the track and work purely behind the scenes.

So what does all this mean to you? Well, nothing really that you should notice. Even being off bubble a bit we still managed to meet every need we had and the series in house media needs were fully met. You may notice some new requests from time to time for certain things we may need, so that we can better control the content to make sure we promote the series and sponsors at the highest level we can. That is a positive for everyone involved in every class at every round, so we thank you in advance if you happen to be the target for a special request!

Now why did I just explain all that? Well, I have always felt the more you know about something the better things work out, especially when the stress of an event is in full swing. If we are all on the same page then things usually go much smoother and if an issue arises they tend to be much less of an issue and much easier to overcome and that goes for just about everything you can imagine. There are benefits to some of the new things we discussed. Hopefully it will open up a few hours each day at the track, which I will then get to have some free time to cruise the pits, and get some new angles for our social media side. Also, it seems as though it will allow for me to have more time to make some trackside updates.

Speaking of social media, it was no surprise that one name kept popping up throughout several hours of conversations. The name was that of Cody Janssen, and even though we were not discussing him or any particular rider, Cody’s persistence and dedication to keeping his social media current, and also his race reports filed after each event. He had his name on the top of the list, simply because that is how you get noticed in this age of instant news. This is just more proof that if you are not staying current, and up-to-date then you are not using today’s technology to promote yourself, team and sponsors. I know that horse is whipped to death, but leaving money on the table is just stupid when it only takes a small amount of time. When I know more about what new rims you have on your truck versus what your sponsors are for the season, or how your race went then you have a hole in your program period.

That is all from me. Hopefully the time passes quickly as we all look forward to getting back to the track! The next Site Lap will feature some of the things our racers have at the top of their Christmas list so make sure you send me that info! 

That’s it for now. Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.