The first weeks of the long and grueling off-season are now behind us, and the thoughts of the first week of March seem so far away. The fact remains as long as it is, it will be here before we realize it. Plus, it won't be long before it will be a simple matter of what new set of Fly gear should I wear for the first Moto, and don't say you don't think about it because I know you do. It's as much about looking fast as it is being fast and being fast will likely be the factor for a lot of folks next season if 2016 is any type of prelude to the future of the talent and speed in our sport.

 As many of you may know I spent the past weekend in Las Vegas at Sam Boyd Stadium for the Monster Energy Cup. I must say I had an awesome time. I saw and spoke with many ATV folks out there and saw a little elbow rubbing going on. I saw David Eller from the Liquid Wrench/Maxxis/Elka Team as well as Rich Gillette from Root River Racing. I know there a few riders in attendance as well and I know everyone loved the unique track the promoters had to offer. I know it's a daydream, but how cool would it be to see top ATV racers battling for a million dollars. It might just get nuts. 

As far as news around the ATV Racin’ Nation is concerned I have to be honest, I am completely out of the loop at the moment. It was a long way back from Vegas and I hocked my plane ticket, phone and dog to try and win big. It never happened so I had to find a way to post my contribution this week. I have slipped into the conference center of some random Motel 6 and hoping to get this done before I'm caught. I will try to plan things out better next week and should be a day or two from home. I'm crossing the country like Daniel Boone exploring new places and charting unknown or forgotten territory. If I had a phone I would post it on social media. So I will possibly share some of my story of my journey next week. Just remember to make any important calls first before you gamble your new Samsung 7 away. The thing made my pocket hot anyway.

Now let's check in with something more interesting and closer to the subject of ATV racing. It's time Gloop’s Loop and Ken “ready for the rut” Hill. Till next time God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.

In The Loop with Gloop:

It was awesome to see a bunch of national riders make it out to the Steven Wotring Memorial race at Sleepy Hollow!

Brogan Guyer will be under the JB Racing tent again in 2017.

Keeping up with Ken Hill: 

So even two weeks after the banquet I am still hearing two names that were called out non stop through the evening. These two riders managed to be at the top of their classes more often than not throughout the entire season and they are Cody Ford and Trevor Thatcher. This pair of riders are super fun to watch and are ultra competitive, so it seemed like every other class had one of these two in it as they claimed their awards for another very successful season. Ford managed to bring home a championship in College 16-24 and two solid second place finishes in both Production B and 450B, while Thatcher rolled out of the season with two championships in Supermini and 90 Open Sr. and a second in 90 Shifter. Throw Bryce Ford in the nights name tossing and these two families left with some serious ground to build on for the 2017 season! And who wasn’t impressed with Thatcher’s entire white attire as he threw down major style points! These three riders are a blast on and off the track and it was great seeing them removed from the stress racing brings as smiles were plentiful. 

WMX champion Megan Shepard cleared 2016 with another great season of racing behind her and used her time on the microphone expressing her feelings on this class and how proud she was that we are seeing growth in the women's ranks. Michelle Jenkins left Ohio with her championship in Women’s 30+ and Niamh Shaw graciously accepted her championship in the Girls 13-17 class showing solid racing from the ladies this season. It would be great to see these classes get even bigger as we have some really good racers that love competition! 

What can you say about Troy Hill and his rise through the ranks! This kid reminds me of years gone by and some very big names that we have had the pleasure to watch destroy a motocross track on a quad. He is exciting to watch, on the ragged edge non-stop and equally the professional in the pits. Hill claimed two championships this season, Youth All-Star 13-15 and Schoolboy Sr. 14-17, and did so in style. This kids future is super bright and it should be another epic season for Hill in 2017. 

That is just a small glimpse on a few riders and I must say that the series is loaded with great racers that dig deep to make things happen all season long. You could go through the year-end results and find excellence in every class, which bodes well in a sport that usually chews you up, takes your money and spits you out without so much as a thank you. Maybe the hard cold reality of racing just makes success that much more meaningful but the pain of failure stings that much worse. It is indeed a challenge, a quest for some and life for many and hearing the stories throughout the evening just solidified how tough our racers are. Dylan Tremellen walked around better than I did and he was just a few days out of surgery and Aubre King raced most of her season with a broken leg! I don’t know about you but that is double tough! 

Before I end this weeks Site Lap, I wanted to congratulate Joel Hetrick and Carlie Moser on their season, their first home purchase, their impending wedding and for just being super cool all season. I got the chance to take some pictures of them for their “save the date” announcements and it was awesome to just hang out for a bit, something I never get to do at the track. If these two made it through this nail-biting season and did not kill each other, I am pretty confident they can face anything as they tie the knot and head off into life! 

As always, God bless you all and be safe in your travels and track time!