The amazing transformation from off-season to preseason is about to take place. The final announcements for many teams are, or have been, made and the focus now turns from securing deals to training for the quickly approaching 2017 FLY Racing ATV Supercross on Tuesday, March 14, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Serving as the opening round of the 2017 ProX ATV Motocross National Championship presented by CST Tires, an AMA National Championship, for pro points only, but in its third year for this unique non-points paying opportunity for amateur racers. Registration is now open just follow the link above for full details. 

If you are a social media nut then you know there has been quite a bit of a buzz recently. The indoor season has been keeping some busy, while others are preparing for the journey south to warmer climates to step up their training. Don't be fooled that everyone is in the best of circumstances though; there are still a few scrambling to not only obtain sponsorship, but to even have a program for 2017. The winds of change continue to blow as our “new era” in ATVMX rebuilds and as hard as the change is for some it will hopefully be better for the whole of the sport. Time will tell and as a racing community we must continue to stand together and push forward with the times. 

The reports coming out of Florida from the Rastrelli Race Ranch appear to be all-good. As the facility is being designed and built many are prepared to start heading that way to get the training season underway. Alex Gillette from Root River Racing (RRR) has already begun his journey only two weeks before Christmas. I haven't talked to him personally, but there is a release and some information coming from the RRR team soon. 

Speaking of RRR Dylan Tremellen, who is returning to the team, will be a guest this week on Quad-Radio so keep an eye out for that. I spoke with Dylan and he said that big changes were on the way for the team, like many have seen and stated. He said he rode 2 weeks ago for the first time since his second surgery on his leg, and said it felt better then it did this whole race season. Dylan also said he was starting to get back into the gym and pushing the leg to heal the rest of the way.

As far Logan Tremellen goes, big brother Dylan told me that Logan has pretty much been non-stop at the gym besides being at school, and has now put almost 60lbs on since his accident last year. If you recall Logan had an accident at High Point Raceway which exposed a much more serious and life threatening disorder, but since he has made a remarkable recovery literally turning himself into one of the strongest physically fit athletes racing today. Dylan also said they are getting ready to head down to Florida with Jeffery and Alex Gillette to train for the winter and get ready for his rookie season in the AMA Pro ATV class where he said he will be backed by all my previous sponsors on the RRR team along with some other companies that have stepped up to help him out this coming season. 

I know there seems to be a lot of talk about Jeffery Rastrelli and he really seems to be tied in tight with Root River Racing, but this is nothing new if you have been following his program. The team has backed him and according to reports there won't be a lot of changes in next years program. He is reported to be home in the JB Racing pits, which is a place he has been pretty much his entire racing career. I know he works with his fathers land grading company, but with the construction of the new facility it may signal a more dedicated off-season training regime for the #728. Taking into consideration his successes and improvements this past season we may see a new player in the game of ATV thrones, which could make next season’s championship even more interesting.

That's it from me for now. Make sure to register and prepare yourself for ATVSX. Don't forget to check RacerTV.com for past episodes of MAVTV and live archives from past seasons. Let’s check in with Gloop’s Loop and with Ken “I proclaim this my vacation week even though I did nothing but hunt last week but that's really work cause we eat the meat” Hill. God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs. 

In The Loop with Gloop:

Troy Hill has been getting some testing done out in California during this off-season!

Walsh Racecraft is looking to add a new employee to their team! Call (386) 916-9034 if you are interested.

Keeping up with Ken Hill:

Well I am in the middle of week three of my self imposed vacation, which isn’t really a vacation at all, I just set aside this time every year to get my deer hunting fix! It is supposed to be my reset, my time to get back to what I love and just turn into a lump in the woods on the lookout for a big old buck. So far, the deer are winning this game! I have seen a decent number of deer just nothing worth taking yet, so it isn’t all that bad, but I had to start leaving my cell phone in the house because seeing many of the racing nation post images of their successful hunt is hard to take. Very jealous I must say as some of you have dropped some monster deer, but I am very happy for everyone I just wish my 6 year drought of running into a big buck would end already. It’s tough not to get down on myself for not meeting my goals, but making a goal and working tirelessly to achieve it takes a ton of commitment and of course hard work which is what I preach to many of you and again. It does not mean you will ever reach the goal you’ve set, but having a plan and goals helps keep you on track.

Now having a goal and a plan to reach doesn’t mean your feet are stuck in concrete. Adapting and changing the plan is a must and doing some serious soul searching has to take place when you feel you have hit a wall. I have learned over the years though that sometimes the journey itself ends up being what you remember most, even if you reach your goal. Each deer season to me is like a race season to you. I work hard, plan, adapt and do what’s needed to set up success and mark that success with benchmarks. Maybe for some of you it is a moto win, or getting a holeshot or reaching smaller goals on the way to your main goal. For some, it is just to complete a full season, others it may be a class championship. All one has to do is cue up the Joel Hetrick segment from the awards banquet to see all of this and hear from his own words what he defines as success, how he met it and even though he came up short he was optimistic and confident that he could meet his goal of a championship in 2017. The top riders in the series are always looking for an edge and a leg up on the competition and you should be too.

Sitting for 8 or 10 hours in a tree stand gives one a ton of time to think although the occasional crunching of leaves is a distraction that can really break your thought process. One second you are thinking about the 2017 schedule or how you can make improvements to your work or do a better job and the next you are frozen and straining to see what is walking up on you which is nerve racking! I can’t help but reflect on how so many of you have been climbing the ranks or even reaching your goals and how much goes into every season of racing be it a youth rider or a pro. It is one of the hardest things to show the world and it is not just our series, it spans all of racing and affects every competitor. I am always open to new ideas so if you think you have a way to help in this area be sure to get in touch with me! The one thing I would love to see is a few sentences on your social media after each round detailing your weekend. I do know most of the sponsors are looking for this and some even demand it in their contracts so keep that in mind when you start planning out how you will handle your own promotion this season.

We are seeing posts pop up almost daily about sponsorship that has been obtained so congrats to those who put in the work and are reaping the rewards. Most of the normal sponsorship deals are done by the end of November so if you haven’t started by the week after the last round you are already way behind the curve. This time of year I would suggest you start working hard on getting local sponsorship deals handled as that is about all that is left! One thing new racers learn the hard way is that you will get nothing if you are not ahead of the game and unfortunately the early bird does get the worm so remember this for next season if you find yourself out in the cold. 

That is all from me this week. It is time for a shower, another cup of coffee then it is back to the woods to see if I can hit my mark and reach my goal! Please be safe in all that you do and God bless you all!