My take on The Powerline Park GNCC

[Ken Robey]

Not sure if you want to here this or not. Took off and was third into the woods, Penland, someone, Me, and another Bomb Behind. Started in through the woods and was getting slammed by the Bomb behind me, he hit me at least 5 times in the first two miles of the course, the last time he hit me almost knocked me off of the quad. I was just about ready to stop and turn around to tell him a few choice words when we hit a bottleneck, I quickly went around #2 and got right behind Penland, we took off through the woods and I am not even sure where it happened but I got around him. I held the throttle open and didn't see him for the rest of the race. We broke into the field on the backside of the start and I glanced behind me to see Kevin T., which is a very good rider, very equal to myself. I was on the uphill whooped out section of the field hammering down when out of nowhere I hit the biggest bump of my life and caught myself sailing through the air, without my quad, I hit the ground hard on my left side and my quad rolled to a stop. Kevin yelled at me to see if I was alright and I waved him on. I jumped up immediately and was back on rolling in no time. within minutes I was back on him. At the finish I was on his tail going into lap 2. We didn't hit any bottlenecks at all the 2nd lap, There was a hill climb after you crossed a road and he took the middle line, I went left. I went by him at the top grazing his front end. Off we go and running hard down over the hill into the giant water mud holes. I submerge into the middle of the first one and it is over my hood, i scream out of that one and land halfway into the second, Kevin must have seeked higher ground, because when I entered the third one here he came on a mission. he drenched himself in the process. We tore out of there and up over the muddy hill weaving through all of the stuck and rolled over sport quads. Out into my favorite field again right on his bumper and I make a right turn in the corner and my quad goes straight. My heart sank because I just put on heavy duty tie rods and ends last week and thought I broke one. I looked and the nut had come off on the right side, yep, no cotter pin. Now my head is spinning wondering if I had screwed up. i shoved the end back in the housing and drove all the way into the finish without a nut on it, went to my pit after scanning, put a new nut on and took off from the finish line again. I was on a mission on the last lap beacuse I didn't know were Penalnd and Swift were at. I caught a couple of racers in my class right away but not the ones I needed. I was on the tail of a rincon on the last few miles of the track and that is when Stack was behind me. he evidentually got hung up , because when we got out into the field Doug H. passed me, sorry for the holdup. I kept pushing as close as I could on this rincon through the last section of the woods because I needed that position but I wasn't making any ground because the guy could really ride it well. We came up on the final few turns before we broke out into the field and he rolled it on its side and I blew by. When I broke into the field I looked down and saw Penland about 3 turns away and not a dam thing I could do about it. 4th Place but it could have been worse maybe a DNF and the end to a season. But here is the catch that is tearing me up, like any other racer out there, I go over my machine before every race with a fine tooth comb. My cotter pins were all in and all the same size. After I got back to my pit, my crew chief Caleb Bailey, turned my front wheel the other direction and spun off the nut on the left side as well. Some of you may get what I am saying and some may not, so here it is. I don't, and you don't miss putting in cotter pins, this is something that we just don't do, and I know that I did not!!!!! One maybe, but two, come on!!! My quad sat out all day on Friday while I walked the course, but let me tell you, no more, my season is on the line and also more than that my life. I am convinced that someone tampered with my equipment on Friday afternoon. This isn't the first time someone's quad has been tampered with this year either. I know of one that had his oil drained over night, Ha, Ha!!! I don't play these games, beat me fair and square, don't cheat. I have no explanation why this was done or even why I was rammed repeatedly by a Bombardier in the first lap, but it was pure BS. I am just like all of you out there, I work for a living, take care of my family first and love the sport of racing, but when you tamper with a man's equipment to take him out, that makes you a coward. I didn't even know I had enemies out there, but I guess I do. I was total BS what happened at St. C to me and I will be prepared for it in Indiana. I am going to bring it and let me say this to whover is messing around trying to take me out, I have alot more friends than enemies out there and they will not let anything happen to me . Thanks to all of you who support me and the other Kawie riders , I really appreciate it. Let's get em in Indiana. I want the last laugh!!!!!
My other beef was that someone rammed my brother off of the course and did $2, 073.00 damage to my 650 prairie. The frame is destroyed, knocked out the front drive shaft, broke a rim, bent steering stem, broke computer mount, all plastic torn and destroyed, front end smashed into radiator, and he is off work now. All for a quick pass. C'Mon guys, can't we all get along!!!!

[kyex40047]

It sucks when you get ran off the course. You know what I am talking about Ken. Try putting locktite on all your bolts or nuts, that way if someone does take the cotter pins out the nut won't fall off. I agree with you though, there is no reason to mess with other peoples quads, I had someone turn my choke on last year at the wisp while I was on the line. When I took off it started to spudder and die untill I found out what it was, thats after I fell all the way back to last.

[Admin]

GNCC Racers as a whole are a pretty good group of people, but I realized right away that not everyone at the track is going to be your friend, and it is a shame when some bad apples take it too extreme and try to attack your character or sabotage your equipment for their own personal gains.

Even the ever popular Rico swore that someone removed his cotter pin on his brake pedal at a race last year, and I even had mine disappear at Big Buck and trailer tire slashed at the Penton last year? Was it just a fluke, you never know.

It sounds like the Utility Classes are a fairly aggressive bunch, but surprisingly, as crazy as all of us are in the Stock Class, for the most part none of us except one rider that I know of ever resorted to ramming another rider this season.

Even when I am in a tire to tire battle with Billy Good, Jarrod McClure, Chris Neal, Mike Sroka, Will Cashion, Jamie Bougher, and others, I never have to fear that the other rider might try to take me out, which makes the class alot of fun to race in because everyone races clean.

Hopefully for you Ken, this is just a fluke, and I would hate to see any bad blood started amongst you guys, so keep your head up and focus on doing your best at the Ironman because that is my goal.

Nothing will be make me feel better than finishing in the top 5 Overall at the Ironman and claim #206 for next season along with 4th in the Stock Class even though I skipped a race and had a couple of ATV part failures to kick off the year.

See you at "Ironman"

[Johnny & Monica]

I find it hard to believe , I aint saying your lying I just cant believe someone would stoop that low.What if you was to really get hurt or even killed?The xc people are always the best I just cant believe it what next are they going to start stealing thing`s from peoples trailers next while your on the line?Really a bunch of BS...

[spincr4hire]

it was probably some dirtbike diva, those guys can be real douchebags

[ajr400ex]

I had a little run in with a Bom on the course as well - shared a few choice words with him. I was going around a bottleneck and was rammed from behind pushing me into a tree. Unadilla, I passed the same Praire atleast 4 times. Some how the same machine kept ending up in front of me without passing.

[bradley300]

i know someone who hit a root on the track that they should have soaked right up, but instead they bounced off and broke a spindle. come to find out later, someone had turned the compression on his front shocks up past full stiff, he had to use plies to turn the knob back down

[300exOH]

Ken- Sorry to hear about this unfortunate incident.I hope you find the *****wipe responsible. There's no need for this kind of bs on the track.

BTW-The old 250ex is treatin us well. It's been a good lil quad so far.

[jb500ex]

Originally posted by Admin
GNCC Racers as a whole are a pretty good group of people, but I realized right away that not everyone at the track is going to be your friend, and it is a shame when some bad apples take it too extreme and try to attack your character or sabotage your equipment for their own personal gains.

Even the ever popular Rico swore that someone removed his cotter pin on his brake pedal at a race last year, and I even had mine disappear at Big Buck and trailer tire slashed at the Penton last year? Was it just a fluke, you never know.

It sounds like the Utility Classes are a fairly aggressive bunch, but surprisingly, as crazy as all of us are in the Stock Class, for the most part none of us except one rider that I know of ever resorted to ramming another rider this season.

Even when I am in a tire to tire battle with Billy Good, Jarrod McClure, Chris Neal, Mike Sroka, Will Cashion, Jamie Bougher, and others, I never have to fear that the other rider might try to take me out, which makes the class alot of fun to race in because everyone races clean.

Hopefully for you Ken, this is just a fluke, and I would hate to see any bad blood started amongst you guys, so keep your head up and focus on doing your best at the Ironman because that is my goal.

Nothing will be make me feel better than finishing in the top 5 Overall at the Ironman and claim #206 for next season along with 4th in the Stock Class even though I skipped a race and had a couple of ATV part failures to kick off the year.

See you at "Ironman


thats the way it's suppose to be. We are all their to have fun.

[james.frazier]

Ken, first I would like to congratulate you on your recent success in GNCC, sorry to hear about what happened. I have to say I'm a Penland fan, but I am happy to see several guys out there that are putting on the heat and making an exciting race to the finish, its only making the utility class grow and putting more pressure on the manufactures to improve on there ATV's. Good luck to you and all the racers in the utility class for the final race. May the best rider win!

[Ken Robey]

Thanks, I appreciate that. I am a Penland fan also, nothing better than taking down your mentor though. See you at the races.

[Pitboss45]

maybe it just happened, anything is possible.

it's also possible that you've gotten under someones skin. either way, on the bright side, you're ok. i witnessed your really ugly superman and i must admit, after you were up and moving again, i had to laugh a bit. you were like "HERE I COME TO SAVE THE...SPLAT", everyone on the hill broke out laughing.

[Ken Robey]

Thanks, now I feel better that everyone got a good laugh. As long as I look good when I crash is all that matters. Did anyone get at least a picture or a video of that.

[Legal250R]

Come on Ken-you know that you do no maintenance on the quad between races. I mean you DNF all the time don't you? Wait that was only on the King Quad wasn't it? Just like Santa Clause, make a list and check everything on it twice. We will watch closely at the Ironman to ensure that we eliminate the possiblity of this happening again. With the locks you have on your trailer we know that no one can get into it when you have it locked!

Seriously, I have helped Ken go over his quad many times to get it race ready. Ken is very conscientious about his quad maintenance (maybe paranoid would be a better word). Nevertheless, I hope that Ken merely forgot to put the cotter pins in his quad because the alternative makes me sick. The great majority of us do this for fun, at great personal expense and the thought that someone would deliberately screw up a fellow racers quad to get an advantage is pitiful.

[Ken Robey]

Well, you know Mr. Counselor, I guess you could say that I am just a little bit on the anal side when it comes to race preparation. Hell, I cleaned my clutches on Saturday morning and have torn the cover off three times now, throttled up and down a hundred times to make sure they aren't going to fly apart. Just went over the front end again and checked all cotter pins, they are there right now, but we will see if Houdini will appear in my trailer on Friday to make them turn into a dove and fly off. I will be armed and ready this weekend, If you touch my machine or even look at it YOU WILL BE SHOT ON SITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See you all at the IRONMAN. Have fun and Good LUCK!!!

[markk]

It sucks to hear about storys like this! Racing is a hobbie, and a sport, We do and play them all to just have a good time and enjoy ourselves. I think if a person is caught messing with somone elses quad, they should be accountable for Attempted murder. By loosening up anything on the front end of a quad can cause serioius injury to the rider, and or the Crowd as well.


As far as ppl tampering with others quads, I guy i know swears that somone loosed up his swing-arm pivot bolt. He only completed one lap, and the clutch went out, When he got it home the nut was only on the bolt about 3 turns!

Its all B.S. Just like Ken said, And i know if i where to ever catch anyone even messing with my POS they are asking for a BEATING, And if they are bigger than me, They better be tougher than a Louisville Slugger!

[pitbull43910]

ken i saw your brothers crash it was just below the bike pro pit he came flying buy and yes he and a sport quad was close but no contact was made (a sport vers a uit at those speeds the sport will spill every time) but it was a case of to much speed in the wet grass a turn a tree and a splash not trying to be a dick but i saw the crash. hope hes alright

if some one bumps you from behind and they are faster you might want to move .... any one can road block iv seen you do it on that 650 to the sports just becase your big dont mean you can shut down the track and buy the way im a fan of yours im not even racing any more in 2003 you and i talked alot at the starts and finsh good luck at the ironman