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Pro ATV Racer Nic Granlund
Suffers Serious Hip & Leg Injury
San Bernardino, CA (6/16/2009)
- Nic Granlund participated in the May 24th ITP
QuadCross Championship Series at Glen Helen Raceway
in San Bernardino, CA. On the first lap of the Open
Pro ATV Class second moto he crashed and sustained
a debilitating injury. A fund has been set up at
Wells Fargo Bank for donations to support Nic’s
recovery.
The track had been used the day before for the
AMA Motocross Nationals. Nic started the day with
a solid race and finished sixth in the first Moto.
In the main event, Nic came off the line strong
and was among the first few racers into the first
turn. As Nic railed the first turn, another quad
bumped him sending him and his quad over the berm
and off the track. He was able to recover, but
several quads passed by as he maneuvered back
onto the race track. Nic Granlund has always been
known as an aggressive rider and, once back on
the track, he pinned it as he gunned down the
rider in front of him. He did not lift off the
throttle as he approached a 65-foot step-up. Nic
launched off the face of the jump and suddenly
the quad stalled and dropped out of the air leaving
Nic in a 15 foot freefall. Nic landed on the downside
of the jump without his quad and shattered his
femur and hip joint into more than 35 pieces.
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Nic Granlund
is a 2 time Stateline Supermoto Challenge
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Nic spent eleven days at Arrowhead Trauma Center
in Colton, CA after a five-hour reconstructive surgery
of the hip that Dr. Hopkins said was the worst hip
trauma that he had seen in his 10 years as an orthopedic
surgeon. The doctors had to insert a two-foot titanium
rod into the center of Nic’s femur and then
secure the rod with a 4” screw just above
the kneecap. Two large bolts were installed to connect
the rod to a newly rebuilt hip. The surgeon commented
that Nic’s muscles were so strong that they
bent medical tools while working on him.
The prognosis is promising, though Nic faces
a long road to recovery. He is residing in San
Jose, CA the first 6 weeks of recovery. He plans
to return to Las Vegas as soon as possible and
will begin physical therapy at that point. Nic
knows it will be tough - but he’s confident
that he will overcome this challenge with the
support of family, close friends, and the racing
community.
“I am not ready to announce my retirement,
but I will be out of the garage and off the track
for a long period of time according to the doctor,”
said Nic. “Everyone’s support has
been overwhelming; it goes to show what a tight
group of racers are out there every weekend.”
There have been many calls and messages from
racers, friends, and fans around the country wanting
to know how they can help Nic. In response to
this outpouring of support, a fund has been established
in Nic Granlund’s name through Wells Fargo
Bank (Acct. 6478349860).You can contribute to
the fund by either transferring funds from an
existing Wells Fargo account or by visiting a
local branch location. Or, you can send a check
to Niclas Granlund c/o Maria Werth, PO Box 18755,
San Jose, CA 95158.
To contact Nic Granlund, please email him at
nicgracing@gmail.com
Nic Granlund would like to thank his
Sponsors:
NGR, Lonestar, Fox Shox, SWICK, Skat Trak,
TORCO, DWT, CTRacing, Quad Tech, Fasst, Precision,
Hinson, Triumph, ITI, Maxxis, Velocity Filters,
Streamline, Dragon, ARP, SHIFT, and JSR
About Nic Granlund:
Nic has been racing for 25
years. Born in Sweden, Nic started his career
at the age of 14 racing dirt bikes. Nic is one
of the most successful multi-disciplined racers
in the world. Early in his career, Nic won the
1996 Novice 1200 Runabout JetSki World Championship.
During a race in which Nic was racing a two-wheeler,
a friend could not race and asked Nic to race
his ATV. He was a natural and was soon racing
in Mickey Thompson Stadium races. Nic began to
win and turned pro, racing a combination of motocross
and desert racing. Over the past five years, Nic
helped pioneer ATV Supermoto racing and won the
Supermoto championship four of the last last years.
Most recently, Nic and his partner, Greg Stuart,
have dominated the Best in the Desert Series,
winning six of the last eight races. Very few
racers succeed in more than one style of racing
and Nic’s success in ATV MotoCross, Supermoto,
and Desert Racing is unique. Most recently, Nic
has been teaching ATV racing and a high percentage
of his students find their way to the podium.
www.itpquadcross.com
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