The weekend of racing ended long fights and struggles for championships and top honors in points for  each class. Many of the classes came down to everything hinging on the final motos and the excitement, joy and passion of championships were realized by some while others saw things slip away left only to wonder what just occurred. Was it a curse? Was it karma? Was it a fluke? The simple answer to any and all questions that may have been posed at the end of the day on Sunday is simply “That’s Loretta Lynn’s.”

Congratulations to everyone on a great season this year. You may have hoped for better but remember how blessed you are to just have been able to compete. Whether you realize it or not, as a part of the ATV Motocross nationals you are a part of something that only some can dream about. You are a part of something that changes lives in so many ways on so many levels. You are a part of something that some people have risked everything they have and sacrificed things in their lives some may call crazy. Some people have given up their home and homeland and moved halfway across the world just to race and be a part of a nation of racing families that continues to grow and prosper through some of the most difficult times under the most difficult circumstances. You are a part of the “ATV Racin’ Nation.”

This past weekend’s Dirt Days was not only about the racing, it was about the families. It began that way in 1985 deemed “The World’s Greatest ATV Racing Vacation” and to this day lives up to that for many. Even though the original “GNC” format has not been followed since the late 1990s it still lives up to its claim as families came together for the final race meeting of 2014.

The weekend also hosted the 88 Live to Ride Benefit Spaghetti Dinner and Auction on Friday night. The benefit once again was an overwhelming success. Thanks to ITP’s Big Daddy, Stan Digby, on so many levels. Stan played host to the dinner and with the assistance of “Double D” Dave Smith from RacedayPix.com played auctioneer during the benefit auction. What an amazing show of support from the ATV community raising approximately $45,000.00 was raised during the auction and dinner on Saturday night. This money will continue to fund the Mobile Medical Unit at all the nationals, staff an R.N. for the unit and stock it with supplies. It will also help promote rider safety as well help individual families out in times of need.

Saturday night brought back the popular ATV YCP or ATV Youth Contingency Program. Frieda Rozelle along with a few other youth parents started this program 8 years ago and each year since has given hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes away in that time. Each year Kymco donates a youth ATV and one lucky kid gets it each year. Along with the help of Justin Hall from Maximum RPM this year’s program saw that every registered youth participant walked away with something. Thanks to all who donated and thanks to everyone for being a part of this fun little night.

So as you make your way through the off season and begin to look forward to 2015, take a moment and reflect on this past season. The memories are countless and the laughs are too. There were good times and bad times. There were happy times and sad times. There were times you could never purchase for any amount of money and times you wouldn’t trade for anything. Here’s to hoping this past season in life was your best, but hoping for each season to get better as well in the future. Thank you ATV Racin’ Nation for a season I will never forget.

Let’s check in with Ken “look how my garden grows” Hill:

It has not been a full week since we were all together at the final round and yet in just those few short days, I have started to realize the season is indeed over and the excitement of the 2014 season fading. It doesn't appear everyone has had the time for things to sink in as I cruised social media only to see so many families went straight to the beach from Loretta Lynn's! Many walls have images of racing and then sand, ocean waves and seafood, which are pretty, and cool to see them transform from prepping gates to building sandcastles!

I am keeping my end of this deal light this week as no big top secret information has been publicly released yet about the big guns of our sport. There will be plenty of time in the weeks leading up to the 2015 opening round to discuss changes and how it may impact the top riders but for now, I want to let everyone in on some things I learned this past weekend.

First off, everyone attending the 88 Live to Ride auction got to see Stan Digby throw down some moves that erased any thought of you out running him. Stan did his part as auctioneer in a most demanding fashion and helped raise some serious coin. He had the place rocking, with laughs and cheers and really worked a few more dollars out of every item and for that we thank him. He had some help this year cooking up the dinner, which tasted great by the way, so maybe he was pacing himself!

I watched Stan all weekend as he worked tirelessly (see what I did there). I never saw him quit which is his usual pace however this weekend was different. While Stan did his thing, he was suffering for his brother, who laid in a coma clinging to life from a car accident just days before. It takes a true leader to continue their duty while dealing with insurmountable pain and anguis. Stan proved his metal throughout the weekend. We all would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the entire Digby family at their tragic loss as Stan's brother succumbed to his injuries and passed on soon after this weekends event ended. God bless you all and may heaven wrap her wings around this blessed soul for eternity and may our Lord keep the Digby's in his grace while they deal with such a loss.

Now I never really thought of Rich Gillette as the modeling type, not that he couldn't pull it off, but he just seems to hang out and do his thing. That all changed when I saw him stuff himself into Sean Taylor's riding gear to help get the crowd involved and fired up for the auction. It was a sight to see and a real crowd pleaser! The tush pushes were over the top and surely lead to a few hundred more dollars being collected!

The racing itself was as good as it gets when we have to deal with a well-watered track. The weather leading up to the final round had been spot on perfect so we all kind of knew we would get dumped on and pour it did. The Pro race, which was aired live via RacerTV, went off and gave the world a look at how those in our series refuse to give up or be denied what they have worked for.  Sure the conditions were far from ideal but that's outdoor racing and there is not anything anyone can do about it so we all embraced the suck and soldiered through it. Make sure you help share the live episode via www.RacerTV.com as we expect more of this in the 2015 season!