It's hard to fathom that it's already over, but 2008 flew by faster than lightning striking a tall metal pole. We experienced plenty of highs and even a few lows throughout this last year, and that goes for all of us in this modern-day world. But before we dive into what those of us at ATV Rider consider one of our finest collaborations yet, we wanted to thank you, our readers, for your support this last year. It was in fact you who have enabled this magazine to grow leaps and bounds even in a struggling economy. Even when times have been a bit rough, you guys have come to the newsstands or signed up for subscriptions, and best of all, you've supported us through thick and thin. And I certainly don't want to pass over the fact that we've made a ton of great friendships along the way. We were stoked to meet everyone that we've come across on the road this past year.
Your dedication to ATV Rider Magazine has been nothing less than sheer motivation to those of us on this end. Every letter, comment and even suggestion sent in by our readers has encouraged us to continually push the boundaries and take our stories and quality to the very next level. But we are not going to start relaxing now and just give in to our efforts and successes of 2008 as being good enough. No way! We're gearing up to push those boundaries again, to deliver an even more vicious package for 2009.
And to add to this pushing boundaries thing, I want to mention some adjustments we'll be making to better serve our readers and advertisers for 2009. In light of the hard times our industry is facing, we've decided to rearrange our print schedule from 12 issues to six issues this year. Not only will this plan be helpful to those who support us by taking a bit of the load off, but it will benefit our readers and our staff by allowing us to produce a much larger and in-depth package every other month. But these changes will also open up some new doors for us as well that we are truly stoked about. With these changes, we are going to be putting a much stronger emphasis on our website, www.atvrideronline.com.
What that means is that each and every day, you can log in to www.atvrideronline.com in order to quench your daily thirst for everything ATV and side-by-side. You can expect up-to-date news, event coverage, quad and side-by-side tests, product tests, editor blogs, lots of vids, the most informative forum on the web and plenty more surprises that you'll just have to log on to see. So hit us up online and check out what will be transforming into the hottest ATV and side-by-side enthusiast site on the web, with your help, of course. Our vision is to deliver the sickest ATV action and information in print and online working in tandem. You don't want to miss what's coming your way this year.
So enough about vision, let's talk a bit about what's going down in this very issue. We've done something a little different as we've decided to get a little personal with some extremely key players in the sport of ATV racing. First off, Jorge Cuartas sat down with Carrie Coombs to discuss growing up in the most die-hard ATV and dirt bike racing family on the planet. You might best remember her family for creating the GNCC series or for playing a major role in the GNC motocross series. But there is so much more you probably do not know about her, so dig in as we uncover the life of our industry's most influential lady.
Also in this issue, we caught up with two other important figures who have not only captured our eye, but many others' in the ATV world. I'm sure many of you have heard by now that Wayne Matlock and team recently secured the 2008 Baja 1000 victory aboard Honda's latest and greatest 700XX. Once again, trusty ol' Jorge gets the scoop on what it took and the struggles faced in order to tackle that great feat. But one of my favorites this month is our feature on GNCC racer Jesi Stracham. If you've not heard of Jesi, well, you probably will sooner or later. Jesi for the past few years has been a major threat in the Youth GNCC race series, and in 2009, she will be permanently moving up into the Women's class to compete full time. For me, it's just inspiring to see the drive and determination that this young lady has. And it is youngsters like Jesi who will one day carry our sport into the future.
But here are a few more quick bits of information that I'm positive you'll want to catch up on. The guys over at High Energy Racing handed us the keys of their newly built 80-horsepower turbo Polaris RZR. Yeah, that sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it's unbelievable how much fun that RZR was to drive. Oh, and Kawasaki's new Teryx Sport-yeah, that was pretty sick, too. Oh, and one more thing before you dig in. Eli Madero put together a trick new Suzuki Z400 for both trail and track riding. He seemed to be totally stoked about it, and we think you will be, too.
Thanks to all of you for making 2008 an incredible year and help us to make 2009 the greatest year ever. Hope you enjoy!