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Andy
Lagzdins emerges from the woods at Steele Creek.
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The GNCC summer break seems like a great time to take
some time off from the day-to-day preparation needed
to race this series and just catch up on things like
work, the family, the house, and of course let your
wallet swell back up so you can run the rest of the
series! Well, it just doesn't seem to work like that.
All those promises you made to your wife or girlfriend
involving weekends together doing nothing, non-race
related vacations, family celebrations on Sunday afternoons,
fixing up the house or cleaning up the yard- they somehow
get scaled down to dinner and a movie. It's just the
way we are because racing is such a powerful addiction,
and I'd put it up against the most addictive drug any
day. Racing will make you work overtime every night
for weeks, make extra cash on side jobs, burn up vacation
days, sick days, personal days, wheel and deal for parts,
take out loans, max out credit cards. Sometimes everything
else gets pushed aside to chase the dream of a GNCC
race win or even a championship. It's that dream that
gets me motivated everyday to train, ride, work and
ultimately makes me a better person because of it.
There's something about racing that will make you
do whatever it takes to get ready for the next event,
and when your trying to beat Bill Ballance, it's a
24-hour a day job. The one rider who seems to have
a shot at dethroning Bill is Chris Borich, and Chris
is on the 24-hour plan for sure. He is always racing;
even if it means traveling hours to go to a district
race on an off weekend. Chris' dad Joe believes that
the best practice is racing, so they are always going
to an event. Their approach was obviously working
when Chris won the opening two rounds of the series
to open up a good lead and strike fear into the hearts
of Ballance fans everywhere. Bill had an answer for
Chris and won rounds 3 and 4 in Georgia and North
Carolina to put the two championship contenders tied
in points going into the South Carolina Big Buck GNCC.
Big Buck was one of the closest races I can remember.
All the pro riders were lapping within seconds of
each other, and at the finish 3rd through 9th place
overall were separated by less than a minute. The
battle between Chris and Bill pushed them a minute
ahead of the pack, with Borich coming out on top and
taking over the points lead. In my opinion, a consistent
race course with minimal possible bottleneck areas
makes for such a good race. People don't want to see
runaway victories or big gaps between the top riders,
they want to see last-lap battles and close racing
action. I like the challenge of the mud bogs and monster
hill climbs just as much as anyone, but close races
are going to keep TV viewers interested and ultimately
benefit the sport in general. It was good to see 4th
place Bryan Cook do well close to home, and Bryan
Baker stepped up with a 6th overall.
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Andy
Lagzdins at Loretta's Lynn's
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Anyone who witnessed the river flowing through the Pro
pits at Loretta's Lynn's knows how wet that race was,
and I can't remember the last time a GNCC was shortened
due to a muddy/wet track, or when the last time was
that the pro pits were moved into a space about the
size of two semi's, in a wooded valley no less! You
have got to give it to the Racer Productions crew for
pulling off this event in the conditions they were dealt.
The race did shake up the overalls a bit, with Yokley
winning and Ballance picking up a few points on Chris.
Jeremy Rice had a great race for second overall, and
Johnny Gallagher made his way back into the top ten
after a rough start to the season.
What seemed like alot of mud in Tennessee ended up
being nothing like the mud in Ohio at the John Penton
GNCC. Thick mud all the way through, ruts up to your
footpegs, bottlenecks so long you couldn't see the
front of them. Faster lines formed alongside the woods
in the fields and it was anybody's race. Johnny Gallagher
put his mud skills and home track knowledge to good
use and led the race until Pro-Am prodigy Adam McGill
took his turn at the front and looked like he just
might pull off a phenomenal win, but Bill Ballance
rode smart and reminded everyone that he is the man
to beat. Chris Borich's Honda succumbed to the mud
and started to overheat, resulting in an unfortunate
15th overall. The mud is considered the great equalizer,
and this race showed that was true as only 7 pro riders
finished in the top 20. Also, a blaster won 2 stroke
A! One racer that had to feel good about his finish
was Chad Duvall, who rode like we all know he can
to a 5th place overall finish.
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Andy
Lagzdins conquers an obstacle at the Mountaineer
GNCC
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On to the Mountaineer GNCC in Summersville WV. This
track has a lot of field sections which makes it a fast
one, and the heat and dust would also be a factor. A
made for TV section called the "Doomsday Downhill"
was thrown in and alot of racers were concerned about
negotiating the log-strewn downhill with a small mud
bog at the bottom. The fields always make for exciting
racing, and I'll have to say this was my best race of
the year. I was able to get a top 5 start, and when
I passed Smiley and Yokely on the hillclimb option,
I found myself in 3rd overall! I tried to ride clean
and not make any mistakes. When I came through the barrels
and down the pro pit straight, I had about a hundred
thoughts going through my head, and obviously negotiating
the turn at the end of pits was not one of them. I spun
out on the freshly watered grass and let Chris Jenks
get around me. I held 4th for a few laps and eventually
finished 6th for my best finish in years. Bill and Chris
battled to the finish once again, with Bill making the
last lap pass to win the race and gain valuable points.
3rd place Chris Jenks had a fairytale day, with a podium
finish in his hometown race. Brandon Ballance was on
the gas with a 4th overall.
Bill Ballance had now opened up a good gap in the
series standings, and a win at the last race before
the summer break would make his "time off"
more enjoyable, I'm sure. If you could only go to
one quad race a year, the Wisp GNCC in McHenry MD
is the one you have to go to. The challenging track,
the spectator-friendly facility, and the vacation
atmosphere makes this race the must-do event on everyone's
list. It's only 2 hours from my hometown of Baltimore,
and I always close my shop down and have my guys come
up and hang out with my family and friends. As an
added bonus to my already great season, my image was
on the event t-shirts; and after 16+ years of racing
the series you had better believe it felt damn satisfying!
The track was plenty rough, and I heard quite a few
complaints about the damage that the rocks had done
to the ATV's. In the four years at the Wisp, I have
broken major components twice and finished in the
top ten twice. I think that the tough track makes
it that much more of an achievement when you do have
a good race. Bill was able to win, and opened up a
huge points gap after Chris Borich's unfortunate crash
and injured collarbone resulted in his DNF. Matt Smiley
was shredding the mountains, and after leading for
a good portion of the race, finished 2nd overall and
on the podium for the 4th time this season. Polaris
must be proud. William Yokely bounced back from his
WV fiasco to finish 3rd.
The top twenty overall are sorting themselves out,
and starting with the Yadkinsville NC GNCC the final
run to the series finish will begin. The Unadilla
race is also a new addition to the series, and no
one has any experience there. The Ironman in Indiana
is always a tough race to end the series with, and
we can only hope for a close finish in the points
race.
So what am I doing on my summer vacation? Trying
to catch up on work at my shop, riding my quad and
bicycle as much as possible, rebuilding my quad for
the last 4 GNCC's, hitting local races every weekend
and I almost forgot- dinner and a movie!
www.gnccracing.com
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Morgantown, WV 26508
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