On The Fast-Trak 11-14-00

2000 GNC Awards Banquet
Once again Byron and Shelli Goggin played host to the 4th Annual ATVA Grand National ATV Awards Banquet held on Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Drawbridge Inn, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Nearly 600 people found their way through the maze like halls of the classy hotel to account for the biggest crowd in all four years!

The hotel, which is only minutes south of the Ohio border near the Cincinnati airport, was chosen for it’s central location to those that follow the GNC series, and for its many attractions – as in pool, bar and 24 hour café,

The NATVMG and the Goggin family made it all happen. They not only found the place, but also completely paid for everything.

As usual, Byron and Shelli, dressed in elegance and style, made a grand appearance and the show was on. Thanks to the many sponsors, nearly everyone went home with prizes and contingencies. Bryon, a master with editing ATV video footage into cool half-hour videos, kept up with his tradition of revealing a highly entertaining video to watch while dinner was served. This one gave tribute to the big Legends 2000 event, promoted by yours truly, John Pellan (Fast-Trak Promotions). The video had it all; legend’s interviews, practical jokes and plenty of exciting shots of pro and amateur race action.

After dinner those that didn’t think fast were hit upside the head with free gifts. Byron loves to throw stuff at you. (In all honesty, he loves giving stuff away – not always aiming to hit you upside the face with a wadded up T-shirt – not his fault if you’re not paying attention). The festive night then moved into awards, awards and more awards – all the while big money, free vacations and tons of quality ATV accessories were constantly being given away. In short, if you missed it you definitely missed out.

The Pit Crew Challenge is now a four year old GNC tradition, in which the industry aftermarket teams compete in organized pit stops – while fans can bet on their favorite team with chances to double their money. The event has earned over $3000 in its four years. The money has been collected to help fund the cost of putting on the annual banquet. This year the event was held on tricycles (they should ban those things) in the midst of the awards banquet. It provided tons of laughs but proved to be the last time running. The challenge was between Nac’s (Sean Sermini and Dana Creech), Duncan (Paul Turner and sitting in for “Doc” Spader John from TC Racing) and the Baldwin team of Tim Farr and Mark Baldwin (the year after year favorites in the Pit Crew Challenge). The Fast-Trak Promotions promoted event got put on hold for 2000 (we had our hands pretty full this year). So the decision to keep tradition alive was made. The challenge was underway in the carpeted isles of the banquet room. One guy would push his teammate for a lap then they would switch drivers for the final lap. The event got lots of laughs, but proved to be too dangerous. It was total mayhem. Little girls getting mowed down, black and blue ankles from hecklers trying to DNF would be winning teams – all in all, it’s safe to say the event wont be held like that again. In a photo finish the Nac’s Racing team of Serm and Creech came out on top. The real winners were those that walked back to their tables without injury.

Next to the elite GNC pro class, the most exciting class is the Women’s Class. Here are a few shots of some of the world’s fasted females. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a shot of GNC Women’s number 3, Paula Shank. Paula has progressed over the years and was even a nominee for the most improved rider in the amateur ranks. You go girl!

ATV SPORT PEOPLES’ CHOICE AWARDS
ATV Sport magazine sponsored the third annual ATV Sport People’s Choice Awards. The award categories are pre-selected by Goggin. The nominees are then distributed to the ATV racing community and later returned via fax or mail. The winner is selected by majority vote and only known to Goggin and ATV Sport Magazine prior to the ceremonial awards banquet.

Engine Builder of the Year
Nominees: Tom Carlson/TC Racing; Mark Baldwin/Baldwin Motorsports; Curtis Sparks/CS Racing; Loren Duncan/Duncan Racing, Harry McDermott/Trinity Racing; Arlan Lehman/LRD.
Duncan Racing

 

 

Most Feared Rider In The Nation
Nominees: Dana Creech, Tim Farr, Doug Gust, Shane Hitt, Travis Spader, Jeremiah Jones
Travis Spader

Race Team of the Year
Nominees: Duncan Racing, NAC’s, Baldwin Motorsports, Performance Racing Concepts, Sparks Racing, Trinity Racing.
Duncan Racing/Roll Design/Golden West Cycle

Most Influential Manufacturer
Nominees: Laeger’s, PEP, Doug Roll, Duncan Racing, ITP.
PEP

Additional Awards:
Darren Naccarato Perseverance Award: Presented by Jim and Shirly Naccarrato of Nac’s Racing in the name of their son Darren.
Wayne Mooriadian, PEP

For a complete listing of all MX, TT and GNC national champions click here:
http://www.amadirectlink.com/amrace/00atv/00atv.html

Letters:
Dear Scene,
I was reading in ATV Scene that serious efforts were made to get a national in Southwick, MA next year. Nothing specific was mentioned as to why the national circuit will not be coming to Massachusetts. I was wondering why this race fell through in the first place.

It seems to me that expanding the series away from Tennessee and NOT having two
races in the same facility would be good common sense if the series ever were to be considered a “National” series.

I’m sorry, but having multiple races in TN, GA, PA and OH, while ignoring the
Pacific Northwest, CA, TX, FL and New England is not the best way to truly
promote this series and ATV racing in general. I’m not venting against you or anyone in particular, just adding my two cents.
Sincerely,
Concerned Rider.

Dear Concerned,
We agree with you. The new ATVA Director, (they are taking resumes now) will handle all of your concerns. It’s our every hope that the man that gets put in charge will come up with a plan as to when and where the GNC series will happen in 2002, and not take your points lightly. As to why a national at Southwick wasn’t in order for the upcoming season, — we feel the AMA didn’t want to make a big change in its last year of deciding where the series will travel to. They would have needed to subtract a long time ATV GNC round from the schedule and we feel that frankly they didn’t want to stir up a big uproar. We think they just wanted to quietly go away and let the soon to be hired ATVA director handle this and along with it the responsibility of angry promoters and riders that don’t agree with any changes that might be made.

This is a letter from ATV Scene to the ATVA. It’s our opinion of the new 440cc fourstroke displacement rule:
Dear Sirs,
I am concerned that a rider that has a big enough racing budget can afford to buy an aftermarket chassis and a YZ 426 Dirtbike, in which the person would use its state of the art – high tech motor. This combo would cost about $16,000-$20,000. The rider would then be able to spend another $400 and bore the 426cc thumper to a massive 440cc. I’m afraid this combo would give that person an unfair advantage on the GNC racetrack. The rule that was in place during the 2000 season allowed someone to spend the money on the
above project, but they needed to DE-SLEEVE the 426cc motor to get it to the 416cc legal limit. In watching machines with this exact setup, I personally thought they were
about equal with the race ready 250Rs and 400EX that they competed against.

As we allowed Honda’s 400EX to compete in as many classes as possible when it was released — It would be nice to do the same for Cannondale’s new machine. Especially when you consider the fact that they are gearing their ATV right at the racing marketplace. In fact I am under the impression that they want to get involved in ATV racing in the near future. (It sure would be nice to see them spend some money on the ATVA GNC Series). With that, I would like to see their machine allowed in the same classes that their competition (the Honda 400EX) is allowed to compete in, even though they would be at a 432cc displacement.

I would like to propose that the new displacement increase gets put on hold for at least a year, and I would like to propose that a temporary GNC supplementary exception be made for the 2001 year. In this exception, a Cannondale FX400 ATV would be able to compete in all classes that allow a 416cc fourstroke displacement. ATVA officials, ATVA delegates and the newly founded ATV industry group would keep a watchful eye on the new Cannondale and would report their ideas as to what rule changes would be best for the sport in the 2002 season.

John Pellan
Fast-Trak Promotions, Inc./ ATV Scene.com

Hot Rumors
Nac’s Rig 

Dallas to take Jones’ spot at Legacy ATV
Nathan Dallas will take over Jeremiah Jones’ spot on team Legacy ATV. At this time all we understand that Jeremiah will race a Sparks Racing Laeger under the wing of his parents with dad spinning the wrenches.

Balance to ride GNCC and GNC events.
We got a call from GNCC National Champion Bill Balance. He confirmed that he’ll be pretty busy in ’01 as he’ll be chasing points in both the GNCCs and the GNCs under the Maxxis Tire LRD Performance sponsorship.

Jackson to ride for Duncan
It’s official. “Gentle” Ben Jackson has made some major race program changes for 2001. Jackson will ride for Team Duncan Racing. He recently took delivery of his first Duncan PC2000 engine–the same powerplant that took Travis Spader to the 2000 GNC title. Initially Jackson will run Roll Design front and rear LOBO suspension systems on his current Laeger frames, but don’t be
surprised if you see Jackson on the full Roll Design setup soon. Additionally, Jackson will utilize Custom Axis shocks. Still no word as to who will spin the wrenches and drive the team Duncan rig to all the events. We’re hoping the team will stick with Paul Turner as the chief mechanic.

Jeff Seegott and Trinity Racing
We’ve heard that Seegott will compete in all the GNCCs for ’01. He feels he can win the championship if he dedicates himself to riding all the events. Reports from Trinity Racing is that Jeff will still be a big part of Trinity’s race team – he’ll just be campaigning the cross country event and not the GNC series.

Krank-IT News
No, Scott Carey and his Krank-It Racing business have not gone anywhere. In fact Scott called us to report that he’s moved into a larger facility. Scott says he’s dedicated to the sport and his business. He’s currently negotiating with a few pro class riders to assault the GNCs on a brand new Krank-It Racing R.

Great Outdoor Team folds.
Our GNCC correspondent, Scott Johnson reports that The Great Outdoor Store Team is no more. However, another Yamaha store from PA is picking up Rich Travalena, brother Kilby (on a Raptor) and Bryan Baker and plan to hit it hard in 2001.

Suzuki Sport Quad
The originator of the sport quad concept is coming back! Look for Suzuki to release an early 2002 model sport/performance quad sometime next spring or summer. The machine is in the testing stage now and reportedly utilizes a 400cc liquid-cooled 4-stroke powerplant similar to the DR400 dirt bike. More news here on the scene when it comes available.

Glamis Closure
COMPROMISE REACHED AT GLAMIS RIDING AREA
In a hard-fought compromise between environmentalists and motorized recreationists finalized on October 31, 2000, an initial stipulation restricting off-highway vehicle (OHV) use in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA) was modified to allow additional OHV recreational opportunities.
According to the Blue Ribbon Coalition, the agreement was completed as part of a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by the Center for Biological Diversity and other organizations against the Bureau of Land Management, contending that the Bureau had failed to comply with the Endangered Species Act in managing the California Desert Conservation Area. The agreement was signed by these two parties, as well as a coalition of recreation organizations, including the High Desert Multiple Use Coalition, Desert Vipers, San Diego Off-Road Coalition, California Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs and the BlueRibbon Coalition.
These recreational groups successfully intervened in the action in August and participated in final discussions on October 30 and 31 in a settlement conference conducted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero. Of primary concern was ISDRA management for Peirson’s milkvetch, a plant that was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1998.
The new agreement should govern OHV issues in the ISDRA while the Bureau obtains a biological opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding potential impacts of the CDCA management plan upon species like Peirson’s milkvetch.
The agreement follows a week of legal maneuvering by all parties. An initial settlement conference occurred on September 18, 2000, which included discussions focusing on possible immediate OHV closures in the ISDRA. While the recreational groups participated in the settlement conference they did not sign a stipulation which was filed by the Center and the Bureau on October 20, 2000, proposing immediate closure of more than 50% of the ISDRA previously open to OHV travel. On Monday, October 23, 2000, the recreational groups filed a motion before District Court Judge William Alsup asking him to postpone implementation of the agreement in order to hear their objections. In response, the Center moved the next day for a temporary restraining order, asking the Court to immediately approve the stipulation to close about 48,000 acres of the ISDRA. A hearing was conducted on the motions by telephone on October 26, 2000, and the Court denied the Center’s motion, declined to order immediate closure and established a schedule for presentation of legal memoranda and argument to consider objections to the initial closure agreement.
As a result of these rulings, a previously-scheduled settlement conference on October 30, 2000, took on new significance. In discussions which lasted nearly two days the parties achieved their final agreement which modified the original proposal to open areas within the original proposed closure while creating smaller closures around known plant populations outside the original proposal.
Paul Turcke, a Boise, Idaho, lawyer representing the recreational groups, stated “We don’t like having to agree to any closures, because we feel the best available information shows that OHV enthusiasts and the Peirson’s milkvetch have successfully shared the Dunes for decades. We took maximum advantage of laws which allowed us to enter this litigation, but must recognize federal courts conduct very limited review of proposed settlements.”
“We concluded we would accomplish more actively negotiating instead of standing on the outside and looking in on the other parties’ agreement. We believe the new agreement is far better for OHV users and Peirson’s milkvetch as a result,” Turcke concludes.
OHV enthusiasts agreed. “A portion of the Dunes will be temporarily closed, but the new agreement allows important riding opportunities to remain available in desirable areas,” said Jeri Ferguson, the southern representative of the California 4 Wheel Drive Association. Jim McGarvie, a spokesman for the San Diego Off-Road Coalition, noted, “We agreed to closure of the areas containing the largest plant populations, which were – ironically – outside the original closure agreement. The first agreement was a poor fit between needs of recreationists and the plant. We will continue responsible use of the Dunes and look forward to a biological opinion which will allow even greater recreational opportunities for Dunes visitors.”
Don Amador, the western representative for the Blue Ribbon Coalition, says, “I’m glad that we were able to reach a compromise on this lawsuit because many families look forward to enjoying the sand dunes during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season. It had appeared to many of us that this lawsuit would turn out to be the ‘Green-grinch’ who stole Christmas.”
The agreement will take effect as soon as it is authorized by the Court. On the ground signing of the closed areas will take place by November 22, 2000, after representatives of all parties confirm locations of actual plant populations and help distribute information regarding the agreement to the public.

Making The Scene
SMF on MTV
Did you check the new show on MTV called SMF (Sports and Music Festival)? They featured an extremists’ race of six riders, all of who are respective champions in other seat-of-the-paints sports (mainly BMX and skateboarding). Finally ATVs are seen on nationwide television as fun and exciting machines, (even though the chosen riders were pretty lame). Hopefully MTV’s mistake of letting two riders race on one quad and choosing to air footage of BMX champion, Chris Sanchez breaking his leg from a get-off, will not give first time ATV racing viewers a negative impression. We’re thinking they got an eyeful of cool images of positive ATVing and all’s well. Look for MTV to re-air the show a bunch of times during the next few weeks. Check out the track layout, it’s actually pretty cool – someone knew what they were doing when they created it – minus the dust problem it was way cool! We were amazed at how weak the two guys were that were racing for a brand new Ford pick-up. They acted as if they were racing for a toy truck. Anyway, kudos to Yamaha Motor Corp. for supplying the show with several new Yamaha Raptors and Banshees and for stepping up their marketing strategies by involving themselves with something other than the same old traditional magazine advertisements. It’s this type of commitment to expanding new horizons in manufacturers’ marketing that just might lead to race team sponsorships in the near future. For now we’re thrilled with Yamaha for exposing the fun of ATVing to millions of people world wide, and not hiding behind lawyers like business as usual with most manufacturers. It’s these unique kind of ATV advertising ideas that proudly push Yamaha front and center in the scene. We’re thinking that the real leader of the new millenium is true blue Yamaha – do you agree?

Duncan Racing
For cleaning up at the awards banquet. They won just about every major award possible – and rightfully so!

Gary Denton
Gary Denton got 2nd in the 40 plus pro class at the White Brothers Vet Class World Championships last weekend. Good for the on the fast-trak. He was riding a Yamaha YZ.

Banger’s site
Good Morning from the Sunshine State! (Read that with announcer type character!)
Mark Straubinger, AKA – the enthusiastic voice of the GNCs, wrote us with an apology for not making it to the GNC awards banquet. He says the grouper were running and they couldn’t help but go fishin’. Banger’s got his own web site – and man is it ever a class act. You need to check it out. There are plenty of cool pictures, informative info even some trivia contests going. Click on the three trophies at the top right for a special tribute to girls of the Buckeye Nationals – hidden treasures never looked so good. While you’re there why not blast off a quick e mail to him? Let him know what you think of him being the voice at all of next year’s GNCs and tell him of any new news so he can include it in his announcer’s notes.
www.braddedon.com/banger

ATVs in Playboy Magazine
Thanks to Bill “WBGO” Lanphier, Playboy.com now boast the first ever ATV review.
The editors at Playboy very much liked the new hot ATV on the market – the Yamaha Raptor, and are considering putting the article and pictures in an upcoming printed Playboy Magazine! Let’s not wait and hope they decide to put ATVs side by side with all those beautiful women in the famous sticky pages of Playboy, instead let’s encourage them making sure the preliminary story get a shit load of hits! Everyone click on this a few times. While your there read Bill’s Raptor evaluation – and read it as someone that doesn’t know anything about ATVs – you’ll find that Bill did a great job to win over these new potential enthusiasts.
www.playboy.com/livinginstyle/reviews/wheels/

Surfin’
Twostroke tuning info.
http://www.macdizzy.com/2stroke1.htm

YumaSun.com: Parts of desert playground reopened as environmentalists compromise.
http://www.yumasun.com/community/index.shtml

This is a Belgian – European ATV racing website. There are lots of pictures here from the recent Pont De Vaux race.
http://www.quadracing.net

This from USA Today: Off-road drivers set for Baja adventure
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/other/smgen008.htm

Cindy guest on next Chat night
Be sure to cruise to the chat room on November 22nd, the night before Turkey Day as our Cindy is the special guest. Ask her what’s up with HiPer Technology Inc. – the makers of some hot new bitchin carbon fiber wheels.

Quotes of the Week:
“There is no doubt that ATV racing doesn’t get its fair shake in terms of exposure. Who knows, maybe it still goes back to that whole 3-wheeler ban thing. I compare this to what Harley went through. They turned their stereotyped image of a bunch of biker gang hoodlums into a lifestyle brand name that has been embraced by Wall Street as well as the hardcore biker. Maybe this is what ATVing as a whole needs a new image that is accepted by all, away from that image of “the dangerous 3 wheeler”. I’m sure it will happen but it takes time.” – Smith Sport Optics’ Dale Spangler when asked about ATV recognition. (Check out the whole interview in the latest Jerky’s World)

“We’re taking a lot of flak, but we sort of like that flak.” — George Davis talking of some people’s concern of whether or not high purses and spectator draws belong and the ATV nationals, while receiving the consecutive GNC Promoter of the Year Award.

“I think you should let myself and Julie have a page. We’ll show that Cindy what’s up!” — Heather Zollars on her opinion of all the smut on the scene.

“I’m coming on a lot stronger next year. We’ll be running new Dave Porter frames, and I’m not missing any races. We’re coming strong that’s for sure! I’m going to see if I can’t take that number one plate from Travis.” – John Natalie on stage while accepting his 250 Pro-Am #2.

“It’s right here Natalie! Come get it! – Travis Spader shouting to Natalie from behind a mountain of towering awards (including the National Championship).

Pix of the Week:

 

 

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