GNCC Opener Big Buck

hard2kill
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374
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Flag Pond, TN US

Anybody else at the opening round this weekend? It was a bit of a cluster but pretty cool ride from the xc2 rookie Nick Defeo.

 

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2/19/2025 12:22pm
hard2kill wrote:

Anybody else at the opening round this weekend? It was a bit of a cluster but pretty cool ride from the xc2 rookie Nick Defeo.

 

i wasn't there but i watched it! it was pretty cool seeing the xc2 guys take the overall podium. Defeo freakin smoked everybody, had like a 4 minute gap at one point i think i heard on the live stream, thats freakin nuts!! hope he can keep it up all season

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AMetts
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Lincolnton, NC US
2/19/2025 12:22pm

We went and watched, had a few buddies racing. It was super gnarly conditions and worse than a true washout mudder when it was drying out and getting heavy and sticking to everything. Tons of DNFs and bike troubles for the top guys. 

This section was honestly probably better than most of the track, stuff in the woods was heavy sticky black mud. 

IMG 1006IMG 1004 0
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Meister
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Canton, OH US
2/19/2025 12:45pm

What a complete mess. Nothing fun about that. 

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sam hain
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TN US
2/19/2025 1:22pm

Why anyone wants to race in that shit and trash their bike is beyond me. As a land owner is mind boggling why anyone would want their property completely destroyed. 

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The Shop

LungButter
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2/19/2025 1:24pm

Thought I heard someone mention in an interview that this was the last Big Buck.

Is that true?

Is GNCC done with this venue?

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1
sandman768
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Saratoga Springs, NY US
2/19/2025 1:30pm Edited Date/Time 2/19/2025 1:37pm

For sale: raced 1 time😂…. Gncc guys love this shit….I raced the Florida round last year, it was pretty much under water in several sections, bike killer, you need to completely teardown, clean and regease everything on your bike…I have done several Gncc mudders, they are brutal, but pretty rewarding when you finish them…….and the quads the day before usually leave some nice deep double ruts around most of the course👌 thought I was reading Mxsports was saying the course was going to be perfect for the weekend😂

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2/19/2025 1:35pm

People think it’s fun to race in the mud. I would be lying if I said I haven’t had fun in the past doing it but it just wrecks your bike.

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1
2/19/2025 1:37pm
People think it’s fun to race in the mud. I would be lying if I said I haven’t had fun in the past doing it but...

People think it’s fun to race in the mud. I would be lying if I said I haven’t had fun in the past doing it but it just wrecks your bike.

I enjoyed racing in the mud when my pops was still paying for it 👍🏻

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Village Idiot
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MXoN - a term used by newbs, goobs and rubes, PW US
2/19/2025 1:47pm
sandman768 wrote:
For sale: raced 1 time😂…. Gncc guys love this shit….I raced the Florida round last year, it was pretty much under water in several sections, bike...

For sale: raced 1 time😂…. Gncc guys love this shit….I raced the Florida round last year, it was pretty much under water in several sections, bike killer, you need to completely teardown, clean and regease everything on your bike…I have done several Gncc mudders, they are brutal, but pretty rewarding when you finish them…….and the quads the day before usually leave some nice deep double ruts around most of the course👌 thought I was reading Mxsports was saying the course was going to be perfect for the weekend😂

I suspect that strong, fast-moving weather system that came through early Sunday morning was responsible for the quagmire. My sister lives in upstate SC and had significant flooding from it because the ground was already saturated from previous rain.

2/19/2025 1:51pm
LungButter wrote:

Thought I heard someone mention in an interview that this was the last Big Buck.

Is that true?

Is GNCC done with this venue?

That blows if it’s true, lots of memories there. 

Landowner not wanting it to continue? Can’t imagine GNCC would be willfully passing it up. 

2/19/2025 1:58pm Edited Date/Time 2/19/2025 2:01pm

No but I will be doing the Talladega and Tennessee rounds and possibly the iron man round. I had thought about going to this one, but now that I40 is shut down from TN to NC it is a royal pain in the ass to get over to that side of the mountains for me. From the looks of it I made the right call.

agn5008
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2/19/2025 2:18pm
sam hain wrote:
Why anyone wants to race in that shit and trash their bike is beyond me. As a land owner is mind boggling why anyone would want...

Why anyone wants to race in that shit and trash their bike is beyond me. As a land owner is mind boggling why anyone would want their property completely destroyed. 

No one was wishing for a mudder. Just like in mx, you can’t predict the weather. 
 

It’s a lot of money for the land owners. I’m pretty sure they get 100% of the gate entry fees. For example, Ironman had over 16,000 spectators last year. Entry fees start at $20 for kids and $40 for adults for one day and go up if you’re attending multiple days. If every single person entering Ironman was a child 12 or under they would’ve pulled in $320k in admission fees. Realistically, I bet they pulled in $850k to a million just to rent out the track. When the race is over, the GNCC crew does an amazing job fixing the property and cleaning up. I’d do it in a heartbeat if I had enough property. 

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Nairb#70
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Ivoryton, CT US
2/19/2025 2:49pm

Seems like Toth and Kelly have been at it forever.

LungButter
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2/19/2025 3:31pm
Nairb#70 wrote:

Seems like Toth and Kelly have been at it forever.

NE riders are kinda quietly dominating East Coast Off Road for a few years now.

Johnny G. is an old man too 🤣

Did I read this T-Rex kid is from Connecticut originally?

agn5008
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2/19/2025 3:33pm Edited Date/Time 2/19/2025 3:35pm
Nairb#70 wrote:

Seems like Toth and Kelly have been at it forever.

Not nearly as long as Thad Duvall, Kaliub Russell, Josh Strang and The Baylor brothers. 

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2/19/2025 4:01pm
sam hain wrote:
Why anyone wants to race in that shit and trash their bike is beyond me. As a land owner is mind boggling why anyone would want...

Why anyone wants to race in that shit and trash their bike is beyond me. As a land owner is mind boggling why anyone would want their property completely destroyed. 

Yeah it's a real boon doggle why anybody would want to ride their dirtbike in the dirt. Wild.

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Meister
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Canton, OH US
2/19/2025 4:10pm
People think it’s fun to race in the mud. I would be lying if I said I haven’t had fun in the past doing it but...

People think it’s fun to race in the mud. I would be lying if I said I haven’t had fun in the past doing it but it just wrecks your bike.

Rickyisms wrote:

I enjoyed racing in the mud when my pops was still paying for it 👍🏻

I can agree with that lol.. not for 3 hours tho! 

tmx860
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CT US
2/19/2025 4:27pm

Why is it that XC2 guys did so well? Last year, two XC2 guys won an overall. This weekend's West Hare Scrambles had 250 Pros beating 450s too (but not for the overall win)

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Nairb#70
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2/19/2025 4:29pm
Nairb#70 wrote:

Seems like Toth and Kelly have been at it forever.

LungButter wrote:
NE riders are kinda quietly dominating East Coast Off Road for a few years now.Johnny G. is an old man too 🤣Did I read this T-Rex...

NE riders are kinda quietly dominating East Coast Off Road for a few years now.

Johnny G. is an old man too 🤣

Did I read this T-Rex kid is from Connecticut originally?

They grew up racing in N.E.T.R.A hare scrambles and now J Day off road. Conditions aren't far from that Big Buck on a regular basis in New England. Yes Defeo is from CT and so is Toth. Girrior is from Southwick which borders CT, Kelly is also from the area.

Nairb#70
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2/19/2025 4:30pm
Nairb#70 wrote:

Seems like Toth and Kelly have been at it forever.

agn5008 wrote:

Not nearly as long as Thad Duvall, Kaliub Russell, Josh Strang and The Baylor brothers. 

You are in fact, absolutely right!

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agn5008
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2/19/2025 5:17pm
tmx860 wrote:
Why is it that XC2 guys did so well? Last year, two XC2 guys won an overall. This weekend's West Hare Scrambles had 250 Pros beating...

Why is it that XC2 guys did so well? Last year, two XC2 guys won an overall. This weekend's West Hare Scrambles had 250 Pros beating 450s too (but not for the overall win)

I think it just shows how good the 250 bikes are. Especially when the conditions get treacherous and all that torque isn’t needed. I’d expect the results to look a bit more normal at the next round in Florida, where the track is more wide open and sandy. 

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fins227
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Chillicothe, OH US
2/19/2025 5:30pm
sam hain wrote:
Why anyone wants to race in that shit and trash their bike is beyond me. As a land owner is mind boggling why anyone would want...

Why anyone wants to race in that shit and trash their bike is beyond me. As a land owner is mind boggling why anyone would want their property completely destroyed. 

agn5008 wrote:
No one was wishing for a mudder. Just like in mx, you can’t predict the weather.  It’s a lot of money for the land owners. I’m pretty...

No one was wishing for a mudder. Just like in mx, you can’t predict the weather. 
 

It’s a lot of money for the land owners. I’m pretty sure they get 100% of the gate entry fees. For example, Ironman had over 16,000 spectators last year. Entry fees start at $20 for kids and $40 for adults for one day and go up if you’re attending multiple days. If every single person entering Ironman was a child 12 or under they would’ve pulled in $320k in admission fees. Realistically, I bet they pulled in $850k to a million just to rent out the track. When the race is over, the GNCC crew does an amazing job fixing the property and cleaning up. I’d do it in a heartbeat if I had enough property. 

They got some pretty sweet mini dozers to groom a bunch of it after. 

Land owner gets to vend food too. 

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shortty761
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Newport News, VA US
2/19/2025 5:52pm
sam hain wrote:
Why anyone wants to race in that shit and trash their bike is beyond me. As a land owner is mind boggling why anyone would want...

Why anyone wants to race in that shit and trash their bike is beyond me. As a land owner is mind boggling why anyone would want their property completely destroyed. 

agn5008 wrote:
No one was wishing for a mudder. Just like in mx, you can’t predict the weather.  It’s a lot of money for the land owners. I’m pretty...

No one was wishing for a mudder. Just like in mx, you can’t predict the weather. 
 

It’s a lot of money for the land owners. I’m pretty sure they get 100% of the gate entry fees. For example, Ironman had over 16,000 spectators last year. Entry fees start at $20 for kids and $40 for adults for one day and go up if you’re attending multiple days. If every single person entering Ironman was a child 12 or under they would’ve pulled in $320k in admission fees. Realistically, I bet they pulled in $850k to a million just to rent out the track. When the race is over, the GNCC crew does an amazing job fixing the property and cleaning up. I’d do it in a heartbeat if I had enough property. 

fins227 wrote:

They got some pretty sweet mini dozers to groom a bunch of it after. 

Land owner gets to vend food too. 

What do you do for a living?

Oh I own some land that they have a big dirtbike race on once a year! 😎

1
Luxon MX
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San Diego, CA US
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2/19/2025 6:29pm

Very muddy, tough to tell who's who, but it was an exciting race. Solid results for the Kawi team! 

Bigbuck-2689
9
2/19/2025 6:36pm

It blows my mind that people actually pay money to do this.

2
17
LungButter
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Yellow Pine, ID US
2/19/2025 9:16pm

It blows my mind that people actually pay money to do this.

More people than show up to 99% of moto races. 

Off road is on the upswing while local moto slowly kills itself off. 

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2/20/2025 3:20am

It blows my mind that people actually pay money to do this.

LungButter wrote:

More people than show up to 99% of moto races. 

Off road is on the upswing while local moto slowly kills itself off. 

More entries at hare scramble races than moto these days by far. 

More track time, day is shorter, not waiting 5 hours in between 4 lap races. 

Show up, get ready, race, leave.

11
1
EAmato88
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Egg Harbor City, NJ US
2/20/2025 4:26am
sam hain wrote:
Why anyone wants to race in that shit and trash their bike is beyond me. As a land owner is mind boggling why anyone would want...

Why anyone wants to race in that shit and trash their bike is beyond me. As a land owner is mind boggling why anyone would want their property completely destroyed. 

agn5008 wrote:
No one was wishing for a mudder. Just like in mx, you can’t predict the weather.  It’s a lot of money for the land owners. I’m pretty...

No one was wishing for a mudder. Just like in mx, you can’t predict the weather. 
 

It’s a lot of money for the land owners. I’m pretty sure they get 100% of the gate entry fees. For example, Ironman had over 16,000 spectators last year. Entry fees start at $20 for kids and $40 for adults for one day and go up if you’re attending multiple days. If every single person entering Ironman was a child 12 or under they would’ve pulled in $320k in admission fees. Realistically, I bet they pulled in $850k to a million just to rent out the track. When the race is over, the GNCC crew does an amazing job fixing the property and cleaning up. I’d do it in a heartbeat if I had enough property. 

They do NOT get 100% of the gate fee, its actually much less than that.....

1
truck
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Louisville, KY US
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2/20/2025 4:51am

To those wondering why this is so popular..... we're talking about the race, the conditions, the bikes, how long some of the guys have been doing it...... and not a word about anyone being seriously injured. 

Along those same lines, 250 four stroke is plenty of bike to go racing on. 450s have advanced past the point of adding anything to it other than risk. 

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mvd61
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Brandon, SD US
2/20/2025 4:55am
tmx860 wrote:
Why is it that XC2 guys did so well? Last year, two XC2 guys won an overall. This weekend's West Hare Scrambles had 250 Pros beating...

Why is it that XC2 guys did so well? Last year, two XC2 guys won an overall. This weekend's West Hare Scrambles had 250 Pros beating 450s too (but not for the overall win)

Got to keep that rear tire spinning to keep it clean. Hard to ride a 450 that way. When it gets random traction it wants to rip your arms off. The 250 is a lot easier to manhandle through the mud. When the 450 is caked in mud and being revved they get hot and the rest is history. 

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