by: Rodney Tomblin
Saturday, October 3, 2015 | 3:50 PM
This week’s Site Lap comes to you from the windy mountaintop of the Car-Mate Mountain Ridge GNCC. It’s a cold and blustery weekend and fall is in the air. The fall colors are starting to shine through and makes the windy conditions a little more bearable. The ATV championship here is really starting to heat up and if you follow the GNCC news then you know that there was a major point swing two weeks ago when Walker Fowler gained the lead and a nine point advantage over Adam McGill. McGill experienced motor issues and had to push his quad to the last mile or more to the finish just to salvage points paying spot. He had amassed enough of a lead that between him and race fans were able to make the finish and save any hopes for the title.
This weekend the stage is set for another great showdown and with the talent pool being so deep and the unpredictability of the rocky race course anyone can play spoiler and many things can happen that could leave you scratching your head. The weather forecast is a little up in the air and could see some major rains if Hurricane Wakeem happens to blow through as some storm tracking models have suggested. As much as three inches of rain is possible and though the course will be passable, the results could shake things up again. Tune in to RacerTV.com Saturday around 1:00 pm eastern for the start of round 11 of the 13 Amsoil Grand National Cross Country championship presented by Maxxis.
As far as the motocross ATV Racin’ Nation is concerned, we are only a week away from the Caleb Moore Memorial ATV Pro Challenge at Oak Hill MX in Alvord, Texas. Many pros have announced their intention of attending and many more Pro Am and amateur and youth riders and making plans for the trek to the Lonestar state. Lots of prizes and awards for Pro, amateur and youth classes will be handed out. Check the ATV Pro Challenge info page for more details.
Some of the highlights for the event include a $30,00.00 purse with $16,000.00 going to the Pro class and $5,000.00 to the Pro Am while the rest of the classes will see some great prizes awarded as well. There will UTV Racing and X-Games Gold Medalist Colton Moore will perform ATV freestyle as a part of the ATV Big Air Tour. It is a race you do not want to miss and if you are thinking of the costs, again I suggest to pool together and rideshare and go simple at the track. It’s fun for all type of event and that’s the mindset you need to come with. Sure there will be some serious racing but the feeling will be one a little less intense that the norm.
And if you are wondering about how your fellow ATVMX racer Westley Wolfe is doing in his bid for the College A GNCC National championship, he is still rolling full steam ahead. Westley finished another solid tip 20 overall and claimed top amateur two weeks ago at the Unadilla GNCC. He continues to try and claim a second discipline title on the ATV and if he can continue on this path after a slow start in the early part of the year, Westley could be the first to ever claim national titles in both forms of ATV racing in the same season. We will keep you updated and let you know how this weekend’s GNCC goes.
That’s it from me for now. Let’s check in with Ken “I married a deer slayer” Hill. Till next time God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.
In the Loop with Gloop:
Head over to RacerTV.com and watch all the full episodes that have been aired earlier this year on MAVTV
Good to see Sam Rowe getting some racing in on our off season!
Keeping up with Ken Hill:
Yes sir, another week down and one more week closer to the ATVMX banquet! Now I know the new venue is pretty cool because of the fun it will offer everyone. The indoor and outdoor waterpark, an adventure park, arcades and so much more all for the taking! I am half scared everyone will show up just for the fun and the actual banquet will have like three people! This should be an incredible time for everyone to have some serious fun and I will be bringing my bag of quarters to see if I still know how to play Space Invaders. So please, I beg you, share the info about the banquet and get your rooms booked as soon as possible!
Several weeks back I made mention of Dylan Tremellen as he sat laid up with a broken leg and took advantage of his down time to get me some info on his 2015 season and a glimpse into 2016.
What classes did you compete in during the 2015 season?
In 2015 I raced the Pro Am and Pro Sport classes.
I know you had several goals you wanted to meet, how did that go?
My goals this season were to get top 5 in both classes and I did. I took 4th overall in Pro sport and 5th in Pro Am.
I know you faced plenty of challenges on and off the track, can you tell us about that?
We had a bunch of issues this season that messed with me mentally. On the way to Texas I flipped and totaled my truck, at High Point my little brother crashed causing him to be in the hospital for about 2 months and 6 surgeries. Between finding trucks to use and getting u-hauls when we needed them it was a very tough season just to get the 3/4 of the races.
You had some great support this season through all the adversity, who had stepped up to get things done for your program?
My biggest supporters for 2015 we're my entire family and girlfriend. Rich Gillette and the entire Root River Racing crew. Without any of them and the tremendous amount of love and support we had from everyone between the racing, my accident and everything going on with Logan this year would have not happened at all and would have pretty much been over on my way to Texas.
You seem to do well at just about every track, did you have a favorite in 2015?
My favorite round this year would have had to be Millville. They always have an awesome track to ride on and I had my best Pro Am race there coming from about 12th place to 3rd.
Looking ahead to 2016, any big plans or changes?
My plans for 2016 is to run Pro Am and Pro Sport again, but I will be traveling all winter long with my team mate Tommy Vossman traveling between Texas and Florida riding wherever we can as much as we can.
Everyone knows you can not do this with out huge support from family and sponsors. Who would you like to thank?
Of course there are a ton of sponsors that had made this year possible for me:
Root River Racing, Pepsi, Rage Atv, Fly Racing, ITP tires, Motowoz shocks, Insituform, Racing for Cancer, JB Racing, La Crescent Wine and Spirits, FourWerx Carbon, C&L Powder Coating, Thorson Graphics, Rod's Rode on Powersports, Serverson Oil Company, Yoshimura, Moto Hose, Rath Racing, Streamline, Works Connection, Powermadd, Rpm, 100% goggles, DP Brakes, Trimble's cycle center, Race day pix, Ken Hill photography, and Ripitup Films. And all of my family, friends, Joel Hetrick and Nick Moser for helping me on and off the track, rob and Michelle, the Zimmerman family, and anyone else who I may have forgot. And I have to give a shout out to my good friend CJ Haase who had a long road of recovery ahead of him from a Car accident, love you buddy.
Thank you Dylan for giving us the chance to see what 2015 was all about and what to look forward to in 2016!
That is all from me this week folks! I am gearing up for the hurricane that is due in here early next week when I return from this weekends GNCC event, the Car-Mate Mountain Ridge held near Somerset, Pennsylvania! As always, God bless you and may he keep you safe on and off the track!