2006 GNCC "Orange Crush" Round #1 Preview & Youth Race Coverage

[Admin]

De Leon Springs, FL - With the opening round of the GNCC Series returning to Florida for 2006, it gave ATV XC racers an extra month to prepare for one of the roughest races of the year.

ATV racers weren't the only enthusiast preparing for a pilgrimage to Florida for the first weekend in March as this time of year is also known as “Bike Week” at Daytona Beach, FL, which attracts hundreds of thousands of people down to Florida for a week of racing in all forms of motor sports.

The streets of Daytona were packed on Friday when I arrived for the GNCC Opener, and they will remained packed until the end of next weekend with some of the finest motorcycles you will ever see in one place.

[Admin]

With the parking spaces clearly marked in the cattle fields, the racers quickly raced to find the perfect parking space for the weekend as over 500 ATV racers alone signed up to compete on Sunday, which was record opening round attendance for GNCC ATV racing, and of the 500 were also 50 youth ATV racers excited to get their first chance to race in a Florida GNCC event.

ATVs were lined up behind many of trailer, and if I wouldn’t have known better, I would have thought I was at a MX National when I stumbled upon three ATVs that I wouldn’t expect to see at a GNCC event.

John Natalie Jr definitely has the GNCC bug because even though he is nursing a broken thumb on his clutch hand, he still couldn’t resist the chance to race in a GNCC event since it didn’t conflict with a MX National.

I initially expected to see Michelle Reiser also attempting her first GNCC race, but she is still dealing with her knee injury and a cold, which kept her from signing up to race.

[Admin]

John Natalie Jr didn’t have an ATV setup for XC racing, so Johnny Gallagher coughed up one of his Honda 450R’s to help him out. Natalie Jr quickly got to work to set it up, which was more involved than I would have imagined.

Natalie Jr had the suspension dialed in by Elka to his specific settings, and he even went to the extent of replacing the GT Thunder engine with one of his Rage ATV Racing engines along with adding his Blingstar Bumper and finally his famous #13 decals, but because the number was already taken by Chris Bithell, Natalie Jr was actually running the #713 for the weekend.

Natalie Jr and a few friends had Gallagher’s Honda setup for Natalie Jr in only a few hours

[Admin]

The Tireballs guys were busy all weekend installing Tire Balls for GNCC ATV Racers that didn't want to have their race day ended due to a flat tire, and with the new contigency program offered by Tire Balls, many racers were signing up to earn some Tire Ball Bucks.

[Admin]

The 2005 GNCC Utility Modified Champion, Ken Robey was busy adding the final touches to his Kawasaki Prairie as John Natalie Jr wasn't the only racer making some last minutes changes and mods for the opening round as there was plenty of riders busy throughout the pits working on their ATVs.

The 2005 GNCC Utility Modified Champion, Ken Robey was busy adding the final touches to his Kawasaki Prairie.

[Admin]

With practice about to begin, the Rider Registration stretched across vendors row with riders eager to get on the track with their new ATVs.

[Admin]

The Florida sand has proven to work in Brandon Ballance's favor as he has podiumed two times in the past three years. With some Fresh Klotz fuel and the support of Yamaha and Houser Racing, he was looking for yet another podium finish this year.

[Admin]

Four Stroke Tech may not have Pro Race Team this year, but the team has left its mark as many other Pro teams are following its example with some professional looking team pits, crew, and machines.

The Looney Tuned Exhaust / Super Grip Tire Team was easy to spot with their matching ATVs and t-shirts.

[Admin]

While Chris Borich gearing up to head out for some Practice on his 2006 Honda TRX450R, Dawn applied some of the final stickers to his Honda.

Over the winter, Chris Borich has made several changes to his race program. The biggest change was the addition on American Honda to his race program. Honda supported Borich on a limited level in 2005, but for 2006, they have really stepped up to the plate. Also, Borich returned to East Coast ATV and Laeger components along with switching to Blingstar.

[Admin]

#5 Matt Smiley would make the switch from the Polaris Predator to the Outlaw with its IRS. With only the addition of a pair of White Brothers Exhaust and a Custom Axis Shocks, the rear of the Outlaw remained virtually stock.

Smiley spent some time in Arizona prior to the season opener to do some testing, he was extremely excited to be racing the new Outlaw.

[Admin]

Smiley wasn't alone, as several other GNCC racers mounting the new Outlaw this weekend with some support from Polaris. Super Senior Champion, John Gallagher had nothing but great things to say about his new ride. He told me it was like riding a totally different kind of sport ATV, and he feels confident he can easily win another championship on the new Polaris Outlaw and possibly even earn himself a spot on the podium once again.

[Admin]

#8 Andy Lagzdins picked up his Kick Start Honda 450R just one weekend prior, and he didn't waste anytime to set it up to race, and the final touch also arrived in the mail this week. He recieved a new set of ITP GNCC tires, which were announced at the Indy Show just two weeks ago.

[Admin]

The Matching Rear ITP GNCC Tires will be available in 20" and 21"

[Admin]

#4 Chris Jenks weapon on choice remains the Honda 450R with support from GT Thunder, Houser Racing, Maxxis, Hiper, IMS, Maier-MFG, Elka, and many more.

[Admin]

Jenk's teammate in 2005, Michael Houston will be racing for LTE in 2006 on a Honda TRX450R.

[Admin]

#14 Chris Bithell has Joined Michael Houston on the LTE Racing Team for 2006 for his Rookie Year as a Pro after a dramatic finish to the 2005 season with his first Podium finish as a Pro Am Rider.

[Admin]

North Carolina's #11 Bryan Cook & #12 Santo Derisi have teamed up for 2006 with Pirelli Tires to form Team eXcel.

[Admin]

#6 Brandon Ballance is now receiving some support from Yamaha, and he has made the switch to Houser and Elka for 2006

[Admin]

#7 Bryan Baker returned in 2006 with his signature Green Honda 450R, and he will remain with K&K Racing. He made a great comeback last year after making the switch back to the Pro Class after Kawasaki dropped their race program at the end of 2004.

In his first year back as a Pro, he earned the #7 Plate with a Podium at Unadilla.

[Admin]

#8 Andy Lagzdins was ready to tear up some sand on his Duncan Racing 450R.

[Admin]

#9 Adam McGill dominated the Pro Am Class in 2005 and was the top finishing amateur in 2005 earning the #9 Plate for 2006. He was out practicing on his new Holz Racing Honda, but a snapped Honda Spindle forced his to switch to his backup Honda for the race on Sunday.

[Admin]

#10 Jeremy Rice wasn't able to attend the opening round of the GNCC Series because he didn't receive his ATV till the last minute, which didn't give him enough time to prepare it for the race, but hopefully he will be back in Georgia.

#13 John Natalie Jr. last minute scrambling was complete, and he was finally out on the track dialing in Gallagher’s Honda.

[Admin]

#2 Chris Borich was also out on the practice track to not only dial in his ATV, but he also took advantage of the situation to work on his passing skills with some of the slower riders.

[Admin]

#4 Chris Jenks was also out putting in some laps and ripping up the sand with his Maxxis iRazr tires.

[Admin]

#5 Matt Smiley also took out his new Polaris Outlaw for a few laps in the sand with #14 Michael Houston in chase.

If anyone was wondering where is #3 William Yokley, he didn't show up on Saturday for practice. He decided to practice at a private location and show up on Sunday with a big surprise.

[Admin]

Besides the Pros, Many other amateur riders were out practicing as well, and the 2005 Women's Champion, Traci Cecco was out on her new Yamaha YFZ450.

Over the winter, Yamaha signed Traci as a support rider, which another great step forward for Women's GNCC racing. Traci will also remain with Alba Action similar to Pro MX Racer, Kory Ellis.

[Admin]

Stephanie Parton decided not to practice, and I didn't see Angel Atwell out on the track either, but I did see Kim Muzzarelli on her new ride. Kim will be racing the entire season in the Women's Class with the help of Utility Racer, Jason White and his wife.

[Admin]

Scott Kilby was pounding out some laps on his Bombardier.

[Admin]

Dirk DeCesare is a dying breed of ATV racer still running a Honda 250R.

[Admin]

Thomas Wright wrapped up the 35+ C Class Championship without a problem in 2005, so he has his sights on the 2006 Vet Class Championship, but he will have some stiff competition with John Rowling, Kenneth Tincher, Jeff Brest, Neil Belcher, among other fast racers in the mix.

[Admin]

Jarrod McClure took the Morning #1 Plate away from Stephanie Parton for the first time since morning racing started in 2002.

With the Stock Class being split between the Morning and the Afternoon, Jarrod McClure won't be able to defend his #201 plate, so he made the switch to the Pro Am Class for 2006 and Stock Class Champion, Billy Good will remain in the morning by switching to a 250X Hybrid machine in an effort to get back on the Podium once again in the Morning even if he is on an underpowered machine.

[Admin]

Utility Racer, Jim Stack finally walked the talk at the end of the 2005 season with several wins, and he is looking to put the Honda on top with the Championship in 2006, but will it hold up to his abuse, only time will tell.

[Admin]

John Kenney is like the energizer bunny and GNCC racing in his blood. He is back once again to compete in the Senior Class, and I expect we will continue to see him 10 years from now racing the Super Senior Class along with the rest of this family.

[Admin]

#36 Tyler Lenig will be joining Jarrod McClure in the Pro Am Class as more and more extremely fast Stock Class racers are graduating to the Pro Am Class, but Brandon Sommers will only move up to the A Class as he continues to chase after championships in every class rank with a C & B Class championship under his belt, but time is ticking away and he 21 years old now, so it doesn't look like we will see this Pro Caliber racer in the Pro Class for another three years.

Other previous stock class racers joining the Pro Am ranks in 2006 are Craig Reed and Ryan Morphew.

[Admin]

Long time 4 Stroke Stock Racer, Mike Sroka made the switch to 4 Stroke A this year, and he will remain on the Polaris.

[Admin]

Bryan Cook pulled over and took a break and watched some of the amateur riders attack the sand with Scott Norton flying by on his Honda 450R.

For those of you looking to have autograph posters printed, Scott is the man to talk to since he operates a printing company.

[Admin]

Practice was also held for the Youth Racers earlier in the day, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to capture any photos from their practice, but I did catch Jesi Stracham heading out to do some laps.

[Admin]

Before I knew it, the sun was dropping behind the trees, and I was running out light to take anymore photos, but also sunset can create some of the coolest looking photos, so I took Brandon and Brent Sturdivant for a quick photo shoot.

Brent on his new LTR450, but he wouldn't be racing it in Florida.

[Admin]

Brent had a new HMF exhaust installed on his Suzuki LT-R450, and he narrowed the rear of his Suzuki to GNCC width by replacing the stock hubs with LTZ400 hubs, which were modified.

[Admin]

His Brother Brandon Sturdivant will remain on the Honda 450R this year with orange Fullbore plastic.

[Admin]

Sunday Morning - Youth Racing

With the sun rising over the pine trees in the East, the 50 youth racers began lining up for the 8AM start. The 2005 Overall Champion, Walker Fowler and his father were on the line with his new ride for 2006.

Walker Fowler has switched to the Cobra after experiencing clutch issues with Kasea in 2005, and a year older, the cobra's longer wheel base fits him better than the smaller Kasea.

The Cobra remained in virtually stock form, and Walker will be working with Cobra to build a XC edition machine for those woods racers.

[Admin]

Cheyanne Shardon made the long trip from Pennsylvania and chatted with fellow PA resident Stepehn McCulloch. Stephen made the trip down from PA with his mother since his father is over in Iraq.

[Admin]

The Youth Racing action was underway shortly after 8AM, and these kids weren't giving an inch on the start as their was some tire rubbing in the first turn with #198 Nathan Honeycutt and #120 Dustin Adams battling for the Holeshot in the 90cc Stock Limited (8-10) Class.

[Admin]

Florida Resident, Cam Covil lead the way in the 70 Production (6-11) Class

[Admin]

Andrew Thorson pulled in behind Cam Covil in second place where he stayed to the checkered flag with Cam Covil taking the win.

[Admin]

Hunter Kilby would lead the 90cc Limited Class from start to finish and out run the rest of the class by one lap, which surely put a smile on his father, Scott Kilby's face.

[Admin]

Cole Shifflet was getting the thumbs up early when he was leading the race, but he would unexpectedly slowdown after 3 laps and drop back several positions with Dustin Adams taking over the lead.

[Admin]

Kevin Johnston was out on the track watching the race with his little guy.

[Admin]

The battle was on for Walker Fowler with Florida Resident Neal Conner on his Unison as these two would swap positions for the lead a few times in the first few laps.

[Admin]

Justin Hellyer finished second in the 90cc Stock Limited 11-15 Class behind Hunter Kilby with his Suzuki LT

[Admin]

Joseph Bromley moves in and makes the pass on Tyler Selverd as the pair both finished mid pack in their classes, but they were having a blast.

[Admin]

Corey MacDonald raced his Kymco to a 10th Place finish in the 90cc Prod Modified and 12th Overall.

[Admin]

Ken Robey's son, Douglas Robey, was looking great out there, but he would end up only completing 4 laps

[Admin]

Michael Ferraro was back on the Suzuki and running strong out front in the 90 Prod Mod 8-10, and he would go on to win the class and finish 13th Overall.

[Admin]

Jay Shardon would battle with Austin Findley to the checkered flag finishing only 2 seconds behind him in third place.

[Admin]

Neal Conner would pop his chain, which allowed Walker Fowler to extend his lead, but Neal remained determined to try and track him back down

[Admin]

Cheyne Gravley was running in the top three overall early in the race on his Polaris, but would run into problems and drop back to 9th place and was on the charge to regain some positions before the checkered.

[Admin]

Seth Mumford was hard on the gas as he tried to hold off the Cheyne Gravley.

[Admin]

Cole Shifflet runs into the rear of Tiffany Konker as he attempts to make the pass and boy did Tiffany give him a look afterwards.

[Admin]

The Polaris dominated the top spots in the 90cc Stock Limited 8-10 Class with four Polaris ATVs in the top 5 and Jon Rainey was one of them with his 4th place finish.

[Admin]

Jesi Stracham worked her way up into 3rd Overall and looked to be on her way to the podium until the last lap when she was passed by both Stephen McCulloch and Jerry Welch.

[Admin]

Stephen McCulloch was determined to get on the Podium, and he pushed his Honda 90 to its limits to claim the final podium position.

[Admin]

Walker Fowler would take the Overall Win on his Cobra as he rode like a true champion and he followed it up with the Big Wheel (12-13) Bike win on Tuesday and 3rd Overall finish.

[Admin]

Austin Findley on his way to the second place finish behind Michael Ferraro

[Admin]

The 90cc Limited Champion 8-10, Matthew Close, started off the 2006 season with a 13th Place finish in the 90cc Prod Modified 11-15 Class, but it is still a great learning experience for this young rider against the big boys.

[Admin]

Dustin Adams on his way to the win in the 90cc Stock Limited 8-10 Class with just an 11 second lead over Kyle Hellyer

[Admin]

it is great to see so many young ladies out on the Youth ATVs, and Taylor McKinney was one of them from the deep south. She made the trip from Alabama and finished 10th in the 90cc Stock Limited Class 8-10, and I am sure it will be an experience she will never forget.

[Admin]

Allie Slate would finish 4th in the 70cc Class

[Admin]

With the racing action over, Meghan Conner and Jodi Stracham exchanged racing stories after the first youth race of the year.

[Admin]

Meanwhile, up on the podium, the top three youth finishers expected their awards. With Walker Fowler taking the win followed by Neal Conner and Stephen McCulloch.

[Admin]

Walker Fowler definitely knows what to do on the Podium as he gives me the #1

[Admin]

Neal Conner was one of the polities and well spoken young men that I have seen on the podium answering Rodney Tomlin with “Yes Sir.” In actuality all the young racers are extremely polite and all around great kids, which shows the attention they have received from some parents that really care.

Unfortunately, we probably won’t get to see a repeat battle between Walker Fowler and Neal Conner because Neal is focused on MX racing in the Florida, and it was amazing to find out that this was the first race he has ever raced on a 90cc machine because he races a 300cc ATV locally.

[Admin]

Stephen McCulloch dedicated his 3rd Overall to his father in Iraq, and I am sure his father is truly proud of his son for his valiant charge at the end of the race to claim the final podium spot.

[Admin]

Neal Conner practices his autograph poster roost at the end of a weekend of fun and excitement racing in the Youth GNCC.

[Admin]

Tiffany Konker was all smiles after her day of racing.

[Admin]

If we all could be kids again

This concludes the Preview and Youth Coverage from the Opening round of the GNCC Series in Sunny Florida, and in only a few days the youth of GNCC racing will hit the track again at the Maxxis General in Georgia.

Feel free to share your comments and race stories, and thanks for visiting ATVriders.com

[TomDnSC]

The photographs are professional grade. They could easily make the cover of any magazine.

The narrative is great too. Keep up the great work!

[Klotz Director]

Good point. Did you get a new camera? These photos are banging! Maybe it is the lack of Mud covering all the quads.

[rooster300ex]

I look forward to these reports. Thanks for the effort put into making the race reports. Great Pics Too!

[161xchonda]

Very nice pictures Harlen. Very well narrated too. Good job Walker, Neal, Stephen, Jesi. Cheyne, Seth, Hunter, Dustin, and everybody else that raced the youth classes. I wish I was there. My 90 was way too small so we sold it and I now have a 300ex. Unfortuantley I am still laid up from my ankle surgery so I could of not been down there anyways to duke it out with you guys and girls. I can't ride for another 3 weeks. Good luck everyone. Give them heck Seth and Jesi. Keep up the good work Walker. :macho :blah:

[Pappy]

good job kids!

excellent coverage harlen!

[MICHAEL KELEMAN]

great coverage i couldent make it to the race because of school
ill definatly be thear for Georiga and hope everyone loves my 06
quad.
mikey keleman

#2 in the 90cc production class

[161xchonda]

Originally posted by MICHAEL KELEMAN
great coverage i couldent make it to the race because of school
ill definatly be thear for Georiga and hope everyone loves my 06
quad.
mikey keleman

#2 in the 90cc production class

That stinks you missed the race because of school. Race 'em as hard as you raced me last year. Can't wait to see what your new quad looks like. Good luck this year. :macho

[Sjorge450R]

Good job Harlen. You are going to be bringing me as close to my race team (ACS Racing: Allie Slate, Andrew and Brian Thorson. All in the 70 4w class) as possible during these GNCC races since I cant run them....

[QuadJunkies]

Thanks for the mini Race Coverage Harlen, I know I REALLY do appreciate it and enjoy reading and seeing the pics. ;)

[QuadRacer041]

we need more pictures!!!!!!:D

[Pappy]

Originally posted by MICHAEL KELEMAN
great coverage i couldent make it to the race because of school
ill definatly be thear for Georiga and hope everyone loves my 06
quad.
mikey keleman

#2 in the 90cc production class

Good luck this season Micheal!

And your not the only one that is facing school/race confliction. Cody may very well miss the gncc series due to his school schedule

[wanta450]

come on pap let him miss u know its more important :blah: :macho

[Pappy]

I wish I could, but he is an Honor's student and has a different ciriculum and schedule then he did last year. He was in tears about not being able to make GA due to state testing.

He read this thread and it was eating him up pretty good:(

[Klotz Director]

Yet another reason to get rid of standardized testing: it is preventing the development of future American racers! No wonder the Euros are so fast!

[Pappy]

Yeah but what can I do:confused: They are only allowed so much missed time, and in reality an education will trump a rave anyday:(

He is pulling for his friends to do well at the Nationals, and wished he was there doing battle with them. Locals is about all we will be able to do this year the way it is looking. He did state that he hopes the new state youth mx series is ready for someone to come in and kick it because he will take out his anger on the track:chinese: and anyone infront of him

:scary:

[QuadJunkies]

Originally posted by Pappy
Yeah but what can I do:confused: They are only allowed so much missed time, and in reality an education will trump a rave anyday:(

. Locals is about all we will be able to do this year the way it is looking. He did state that he hopes the new state youth mx series is ready for someone to come in and kick it because he will take out his anger on the track:chinese: and anyone infront of him

:scary:
This posed a problem for Sis this year as well (along with our work schedules)had we been able to do the whole WORCS series ,so we are sticking with State and local events. Its soooo hard for them to catch up and in some cases -they cant . We will hit some National,but not the whole thing .

[2MuchChi450R]

Originally posted by Admin
With the parking spaces clearly marked in the cattle fields, the racers quickly raced to find the perfect parking space for the weekend as over 500 ATV racers alone signed up to compete on Sunday, which was record opening round attendance for GNCC ATV racing, and of the 500 were also 50 youth ATV racers excited to get their first chance to race in a Florida GNCC event.

ATVs were lined up behind many of trailer, and if I wouldn’t have known better, I would have thought I was at a MX National when I stumbled upon three ATVs that I wouldn’t expect to see at a GNCC event.

John Natalie Jr definitely has the GNCC bug because even though he is nursing a broken thumb on his clutch hand, he still couldn’t resist the chance to race in a GNCC event since it didn’t conflict with a MX National.

I initially expected to see Michelle Reiser also attempting her first GNCC race, but she is still dealing with her knee injury and a cold, which kept her from signing up to race.

Great coverage Harlen! I was wondering if they were going to be at the GNCC also, since I saw them at my latest race for FTR at Gatorback. Any more pics of the Utility guys :D I raced my Rincon at Gatorback for the fun of it, and I actually commited myself to running both XC (rincon) and MX (450R of course) whenever I possibly can. I even got Natalie to sign his DVD that I had in my truck while at Gatorback :D Awesome guy and real down to earth!!

[outlawATV]

I know school here only lets us miss 5 days per semester. Really makes it bad if we get sick then want to leave early to go racing. Our school does not support our racing at all. Really sad too. We have alot of racers in this town.

Are there going to be any afternoon pics on here or have I missed not seeing them. Not hurring anyone just curious. Mommab