The 2011 season was without a doubt one of the longer seasons on the books with the early start in February. However here it is late October again and we ready ourselves for what many feel is the "Final Round" of the season with the annual awards banquet. Top riders in all classes will be crowned and the ATV Racin' Nation has one last opportunity to visit with friends. It also gets us looking ahead to what may be on tap for the upcoming season. With the banquet about a week away and the 2012 race schedule announced last week, we thought it may a good time to track down The ATVPG Director Sam Gammon to see how things are going.
ATVMotocross.com: So what has Sam been into?
Sam Gammon: We have been racing. We just finished our outdoor season this past weekend and now we have to get everything focused on getting everything ready for the ATV MX Nationals Banquet at Pigeon Forge.
We are a little more than a week away at this point and everything is coming together. We are looking to have another great banquet down there like we did last year. It was a good banquet with a good turnout and everything went really well and we will have you all dressed up on the stage looking good.(Laughs)
Photo By: Beth Monroe
Heather Byrd will accept her 8th and possibly last Women Class Championship #1 Plate if she actually does retire. Maybe an announcement of something big at this years banquet?.
Okay, maybe we can give everybody some sort of dark glasses that are hard to see out of and you will look real good.
There you go! That may work. So how long have we been going to Pigeon Forge for the banquet now? I am thinking something like the fifth year or so?
I can't count. I lose track of time but I would think that this is the fifth year. We actually have talked at two different times of actually moving and were going to go to having it at Loretta Lynn's last year and all of the riders and their families said; "Please no! We want to go back." So I guess it's our home.
It really seems to be a good location from a couple of different standpoints?
Yeah it is and earlier in the year the hotel got a little bad press but really it wasn't so bad. We go to some hotels that are much worse. I am not sure if someone was having a bad day or if someone had a grudge against someone but there is a ten million dollar law suit over it.
They have renovated some to since we were there last year and think it is going to be much nicer than before. But really there wasn't a problem with it before.
I agree! And the location is so nice because it centrally located to most of the racers and there is so much to do there as a family.
There is something there for everybody. So many fun activities for the children no matter what your interest is. Plus there is just great shopping for the women and everybody.
As we approach the final event of the year with the banquet and put a wrap on 2011, we are already looking ahead to 2012. I see the 2012 schedule is out. I also see that it is a 10 race schedule this year.
We really put a lot of work into the new schedule and we're concerned about the economy and the racers and being able to go out and have some fun and enjoy the races. That was one of the main things we kept in mind when we worked up the schedule and we hope that everybody is as excited about it as we are. We think it is going to be good.
Photo By: Beth Monroe
Jordan Digby had his struggles this year but will be honored for his great efforts.
Yes and we are also starting later than last year too. Last year we started in February and you know sometimes you have to try things and of course if you are doing anything at all you are going to make mistakes along the way and starting in February was a mistake last year. I will stand up and take the blame for that. But this year we are starting about a month later from what we did last year.
We will also be returning to Muddy Creek Raceway but only after many thousands of dollars have been spent there to change and update the track, pits and everything there. As we speak right now there is work going on. A new thing that will bring a twist to things and some excitement to the series is the event at Ballance Motocross in Bowling Green Kentucky where we are going to be doing some pro racing under the lights. They have a good light system there and we are going to bring in some extras to compliment it and really light everything up. I feel that this will and extremely exciting event. We are really excited about everything.
That does sound exciting. The return to Muddy Creek and the upgrades is also exciting. What might we expect to see that may be different?
There are a number of things done but there is still a lot more to do and of course we will get it all out here on the internet for everyone to see. We actually have a D-8 dozer that will arrive tomorrow and we are going to work on the parking area for pro pits. The track itself will see some major changes since the ATV Nationals were there in 2010. We are taking out some slower one lined racing sections and opening it up. We have the new FMF Sky Jump. It's a step up tabletop jump that's getting some major airtime and very well received by the series riders that ride there. It should be very good and compliment the ATV racing. We are also reworking the starting line and other things as well.
I see that we are returning to High Point too and it has been a few years since we've been there.
We are going back to High Point to just make a change and I believe with the feedback we have had from a lot of the riders that will be a well received event too.
Photo By: Beth Monroe
Lane Coile was one of the top riders in 2010.
We are just starting to talk about a lot of that and go over our classes. We may be making some changes in the classes but as for the format, I am not real sure but I don't think there will be many if any changes there. The feedback we have received from riders, families and fans is that they liked the new format for 2011 with the AMA Pro ATV riders racing on Saturday. I feel that will still be the same and we will try to improve even more upon that and learn from what we did this year.
That all sounds great Sam I am looking forward to seeing you and everyone at the banquet and thanks for taking the time to talk today.
Alright and thank you, just make sure to tell everyone to bring their dark ZZ Top glasses and you wear something dark so they don't have to look at you all night (Laughs)
(Laughing) I feel so loved........
