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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

#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.