The 2016 ATV Stampede at the legendary High Point Raceway brought about great racing, crazy weather and some big surprises. The second oldest stop on the ProX ATV Motocross National Championship presented by CST Tires, an AMA National Championship, tour. It holds a lot of history in our sport and even welcomed an old voice and the original voice of ATV racing, Tim Cotter. The stories told were memorable and the history from which our sport comes is as rich as any sport and to hear them there this weekend kind of reminded us all of just that.

As far as Mr. Cotter goes, many may recognize him from his position at MX Sports which organizes the national series, but many others may know and remember him as the voice of American Motocross racing. He still does the occasional event and can still out commentate most any individual with a microphone, but his role is now more of the behind the scenes type where he works with a growing team of individuals dedicated to helping advance not only the series but the sport as a whole. Fortunately we had a chance to catch up with Mr. Cotter on Friday evening which we broadcast over the PA and is on Quad-Radio. It is certainly an entertaining few moments and he brings up a very good point about no ATV racers in the AMA Hall of Fame and encourages us to speak out about that. He, along with many other folks would like to see Gary Denton among others placed there and makes a valid point.

The biggest news again this past weekend may have been the weather. The biggest factor that has been faced at nearly every round this season. The track was perfect on Friday and was actually not even watered. The decision made due to recent rains giving plenty of moisture and the an impending rain which came as forecasted. The move actually save the race weekend and made for a rather interesting show of talent as riders came in better prepared for the conditions ready for about anything. The D-6 riders were a welcome co-sanction and the mix of the crowd produced some pretty exciting racing.

Saturday’s AMA Pro ATV race for round five of twelve in their championship series saw some pretty big swings in the points. Jeffery Rastrelli lost several points suffering from physical illness which prompted him to actually pull into the mechanics area in moto one. John Natalie gained some valuable points to maintain third in points. He is now 65 points behind Wienen and only two points ahead of Thomas Brown. Rastrelli scored a 15^th overall and the points gained kept him in the top five but now only one point ahead of Josh Upperman in sixth.

Ronnie Higgerson finally put it all together this weekend. He actually rode like we have seen him ride in some of the past Pro Am battles he was apart of. Has Ronnie found his groove or was it a stroke of luck on Saturday. The old saying goes that you make your own luck and even though Ronnie has had some horrible luck this season, he finally got it right. It was his first top ten performance of the season and as great as is was he has got to back it up with another strong ride for the next round at Monster Mountain in Alabama. I don’t want to take anything away from him nor put too much pressure on him but he knows better than anyone what he is capable of and what he expects out of himself so the time between races will be spent preparing himself for the challenge.

Chad Wienen and Joel Hetrick swapped motos for an even in even out for the round. Neither gained nor lost points but Hetrick may have gained a bunch more confidence in his showing as he took his third straight overall which may signal an all out slugfest from this point on. He posted the fastest times of the day and had conditions been different and he gotten the hole shot in moto one it may be different. The fact is he did not win moto one and Chad Wienen is ready for a toe to toe battle. His consistency is his key and as long as he maintains what he has been doing he may prove to be unbeatable. One thing to remember is that one good blow to the chin to either competitor and the title fight is over.

The amateur and youth divisions were as exciting as ever. The weather certainly took the biggest toll on these classes. It also helped to show the talents of several first time national winners in both divisions. The confidence gained by these riders will hopefully carry over into the coming rounds to give us more of what we love in competitive racing.

The Pro Am class for Sunday’s premier class racing is producing quite a points battle as well. Brett Musick has amassed three wins this season giving him a twenty four point lead over Westley Wolfe. Wolfe has yet to win an overall in the class so far but has been a strong competitor each round. Other strong riders in the class and capable of wins are Parker Wewerka and Cole Sepesi. Wewerka grabbed a win at round three at Ironman but has not been consistent enough yet to challenge in the points. Sepesi has without a doubt the speed to win but luck has not been on his side to take him to the win. And one missing element to all this right now may be Cam Covil. Covil suffered an injury at Ironman and did not make High Point and has dropped back in points. Anyone who knows Covil and when he gets healthy he will be a force to contend with. One also has to wonder if the injury will also delay his debut in the AMA Pro ATV class at Monster Mountain which he had mentioned being a possibility of happening.

After a rough start for WMX champ Megan Shepherd she has finally pulled into a tie in points with Aubrey King. King who won round won had a good handle on the points lead but Megan winning the next four rounds after tenth in round one moved into a more comfortable spot. King was leading moto one of the WMX battle when she miscued on the muddy course and had to settle for third overall and a set of crutches for the podium instead of champagne. You could see the disappointment in her eyes and the fact that she seems determined to dethrone the reigning queen of ATVMX. (Side note: if Aubrey wins then would be known as Queen King).

Pro Sport racing is pretty exciting as well and the points in that one are really tight. 16 points separate Cole Sepesi and Westley Wolfe and only another two points back to Parker Wewerka who is only 18 points behind Sepesi. Cole and Westley have two wins each but a 19^th at Ironman of all places has put him behind a little more than he wants. Wewerka has yet to win an overall here but has scored three out of four strong podium finishes and his worst finish is only fourth. So his consistency seems to be paying off. If you watch Parker you know he has the speed to run with anyone. He also runs with Chad Wienen and Mikey Walsh from Walsh Racecraft some so he has some good mentors keeping him directed and ready for the right moments. This class may only just beginning to heat up.

As I scan the points it is apparent that things are very interesting in every class. I will catch you up on them next week as there are way too many to cover here today. I will wrap it up here and look forward to the upcoming week. Be sure and catch the archive on RacerTV.com for the ATV Stampede coverage from Saturday and tune in this weekend for GNCC Live.

That’s it for me for now. Let’s check in with Gloop’s Loop and Ken “I don’t even need to permit to shoot you now” Hill. Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.

In The Loop with Gloop:

Lucas Lamons had another great ride at High Point!

Check out Michael Perkins GoPro clip from the perfect conditions we had on Friday afternoon.

Keeping up with Ken Hill: 

How about that High Point race? You know, I was really surprised when I got to the track and saw that we were going racing especially after I walked out to begin taking pictures and nearly needed a rescue! Yes it was nasty and muddy and yucky, and I hated it only because when it comes to MX I really love a pretty day so I can try and capture everything and make you guys look as good as I can, and a mudder doesn’t help me all that much! I rounded the starting gate backdrop and ran into John Natalie who quickly pointed out the fact that I get enough of this crap at the GNCC’s. Why yes, yes I do John! In all seriousness, not many like a day like Saturday but come on, if you did not see some awesome racing then you were blind! The pro races were intense especially moto two when Hetricks engine decided to go full James Bond and smoke out anyone who dared try to reel him in. That was probably the only chance anyone had of beating Joel in moto two, a mechanical failure or a huge mistake that would take him out of the race because he was gone! 

Friday was nice, Sunday wasn’t bad but Saturday was a “crapfest” and I fully expected to get home, fire up the laptop and start doing face palms knowing the negative posts would start or be well underway. I was very happy to see only a few for the most part, but what I did see made me chuckle. You guys and gals were showing the world that no matter what, you were going to face it head on, do your best and have some fun where you could! I heard that Brandon Smitley even dropped himself in the mud and made mud angles! That kind of spirit is what makes you just want to be involved in all this. The friendships and memories you make each round will remain with you forever and I was reminded of that when I listened to Tim Cotter on Quad Radio relay stories from over 30 years of racing during his segment and by mid day Sunday I was reading posts about your accomplishments and successes as well as short comings and failures but in just about every post one common thing kept shining through or rising above any issues and that was merely the statements that ended “We will be back even stronger or I will work even harder and be ready for the next round.” 

If that sentiment is describing what you posted then my friends, you will make it in this world with no problems. That is exactly the attitude you need to succeed in life. You have the hard work thing down; you go in knowing you aren’t leaving with a fat check, the trophy girl and twenty thousand fans screaming your name. At best its mom cheering you in in last place, dad asking you what your problem was and a good girl making funny faces when she packs up your mud and sweat soaked gear. That is the life people, it doesn’t matter if it is ATVMX, GNCC or any form of racing where ATV’s are involved and you know what, I am proud to be a small part of it all! That doesn’t mean you accept the way it is, we all have to keep digging and fighting to get more support in all of this but never let the negatives to out weigh the positives! 

Now what bummed me out the most was this is the closest ATVMX race to me and I was really wanting to be there for the entire weekend with a low stress, light travel kick back and have fun kind of attitude. That changed when the first mud oozed over my boots and started saturating my pants. It was all I could do to walk and man that mud was heavy! I made it around without falling down thankfully and I even kept the cameras pretty dry and clean. I don’t think I chatted with anyone who did not ask me if this was what a GNCC was like. Hey when it rains it sucks period but mud at a GNCC is a given but there you can usually find dry stuff to walk in unless a big mud hole is where the action is but who carries expensive electronic gear in the pouring rain and into a knee deep roost infested mud hole! Now you try and stay far enough away from the action to stay fairly clean and dry but when a rider comes way out throwing mud 40 feet in the air it can get ugly and several times that happened at High Point as a few corners were horrible and forced riders off the track. I saw a few riders stuck and never complete a lap so yeah it was bad! So yes, if that type of challenge really revs you up then I suggest hitting a GNCC! 

I want to thank those that have been tagging me in their social media so I can get some personal insight into your race weekend. I may not always use directly what you post but it does help me get a feel for the weekend so please keep doing it! You can tag me on Instagram @kenhill127 or on Facebook #kenhill and I will be sure to try and pull out some info to use. This round was a bit rough as so many folks just had bad luck or the conditions either hurt their efforts or in some cases gave them an edge! Also use the hash tag #ATVMX and #ATVMXLIVE in your posts so we can search them and get info as well. 

That is all from me this week as I now turn my attention to my youngest sons graduation that happens this evening. I can recall John Natalie pitting beside us at a GNCC many years ago and making the comment that he might have to eat my kids as a pre race snack. Cody thought it was funny, Ryan claimed later that he would kick John if he tried! I think Ryan may have been about 7 and here we are all these years later, John is still ripping and Ryan is ready to tackle the world! I know there are many throughout the series that will be graduating so a huge congrats from all of us in the series, good luck and God bless!