Another week into the off-season as it’s only been a couple of weeks since last we raced and already missing the feeling of getting ready for an epic weekend. The good news is though that the Edge of Summer Motocross is only a week away and a new era of ATVMX begins at Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort. Complete details were announced this week and information can be found at RedBudMX.com.

If you follow social media much you may know that Mark Baldwin has assembled a great team and has taken the trio to France for the running of Pont De Vaux which is one of the toughest events in the world. Mark brought together the talents of Jeffery Rastrelli, Josh Upperman and GNCC point lead Adam McGill. The event is running this weekend and if all goes well it is likely these three could pull off the win. It is a 12 hour team race where each rider will ride a designated amount of time. It is an event USA has won in the past if I am not mistaken but it is hard race to win as the rules always seem to be a little different and it cause some penalties which have taken us out of contention in recent years. Hopefully the team is up to speed on all that and they return home safely with a win.

In other team racing, Iowa’s Heartland Challenge is taking place this weekend. It too is a team race consisting of 10 hours of racing and don’t be fooled because it is no walk in the park either. I know several GNCC ATV riders are racing it and maybe a few ATVMX racers also. I hope to have a little bit of a report on all that next week.

As the season draws to a close don’t forget as you get caught up in the hoopla of a normal life that the awards banquet is coming up on November 21^st in Sandusky Ohio at the Kalahari Resorts which is an indoor waterpark and hotel. Room rates are specially priced for a limited time with a code of ATVMX to receive the discounted price and don’t forget to get your tickets for the dinner too. Details and information are located at ATVMotocross.com.

Also make sure you check the season ending results as championship points have been tallied and double checked and a list of the top ten in each class has been posted or will be soon if not. There may be some surprises and some shakeups you may not have expected. If you have any questions make sure to contact MX Sports and they can help you.

This week I am at Ironman Raceway where we were earlier this summer. This weekend will mark the final round of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship racing. The 250 title is separated by only two points and the MX world is a buzz as to what is unfolding. If you are in the neighborhood you are encouraged to attend and if not be sure and catch it live on NBC Sports Network.

That’s about it for me this week. Let’s turn things over to Gloop and Ken “You Will Show Me Respect When You Introduce Me” Hill. Till next time God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.

In The Loop With Gloop:

 

Keeping Up With Ken Hill: 

As I sit here with my morning coffee and try to bring myself back to life, I kind of feel like I should be packing for another round instead of planning a weekend with the family! I know I am not the only one who has a void to fill now that the season has ended as far as our motocross series goes. Of course not everyone has a break as the final round of the Pro bike series wraps up this weekend at Ironman Raceway so hopefully my lack of enthusiasm doesn't rain on their parade with another big work weekend ahead of the majority of our staff! Time just seems to get past me so fast and with each passing season it just gets faster and goes by in the blink of an eye!

There are some big events underway to keep an eye on this weekend so stay tuned in to the web for updates! Josh Upperman and Jeffrey Rastrelli have teamed up with GNCC Pro Adam McGill and are in France for the Pont-de-Vaux race. That is a pretty stacked group of racers! Adam just needs one more win in the Grand National Cross Country series to lock up the 2015 championship, which will be his first if he can make it happen! McGill called me a few weeks back and asked about Rastrelli as he knows Uppy pretty well. I of course unloaded what I knew about Jeffrey and Adam seemed more than satisfied that he would be a huge addition to their team! It was neat getting the chance to talk about one of our racers and McGill knew I wasn't blowing smoke up his skirt, Rastrelli has earned every bit of praise I could bestow on him and then some. I am praying for them to have safe travels and bring home a win!

The Heartland challenge event kicks off in Iowa as well which features most of the big names in the GNCC series. This is an endurance race that lasts for 10 hours for ATV's and 4 hours for the SxS classes. It is a good time so of you are in that region and looking for some racing action tries to get out there and cheer them on!

Now this past week I got to see another milestone, my youngest son Ryan heading off for his first day as a senior! Social media turned into a full on back to school rush as pictures exploded all over showing our racing family return to hit the books for another year. Parents know where I am coming from when I say to enjoy it as the school days will be gone before you know it and then the real work begins! It seems like yesterday I was still in school and that has been 25 years ago! Good Lord I am getting some miles on me! For our family, we will be seeing our oldest son head off to another school for the Army in September so it will be an emotional few weeks as everyone here has things disrupted again but serving our country is what he wants to do so we support him one million percent.

This week has been an emotional one as well with the passing of one of our own. Dalton Millican was laid to rest surrounded by friends and family from all over the country. Life is never guaranteed and should be lived to its fullest and with Dalton, he achieved just that. I know all of us have been praying for the family and hope their pain eases knowing he is now looking down on all of us, another angel on our shoulders. I just found out another racer from the cross-country side of the racing family lost his 7-week-old daughter. Loosing a child is the most horrible thing I can imagine and will be praying for their family as well. Social media is like a roller coaster at times, scroll through it and you can see triumph and tragedy in just a few seconds. Knowing what life was like before the internet is kind of unnerving at times but it is good to keep in touch with such a medium but very hard at times as we see the worst melting with the best life has to offer. 

This week also seems to have held World Photographer day as my social media was over run by the meme. It was pretty cool being tagged in a gazillion of them and I thank everyone who thought of me! The break for me is so needed but at the same time I wish the break was shorter so I could have fun doing what I do. It has taken several years for my family to change our entire year around the schedules and while this year saw a bit more travel to a few rounds, it has made the time fly by. I keep an eye on the local and region series that many of you race at and I want to wish you all good luck and to be as safe as possible! Your break doesn't exist it seems but that is our chosen life and from the looks of the images you post the World Photo day needs to be sent to many that snap away keeping us all in the loop! 

That is all from me this week, going to be watching the results of the above mentioned races all weekend and look forward to your social media posts to see what’s going on! Be safe and go easy my friends, see you soon!