Growing Up With an ATV

Joe Davis is 21 years old now but he's been riding ATVs since he was only 3 years old.  It was his dad who first introduced him to the off-road world.  "My dad raced motorcycles in California and he rode and still rides ATVs, but he doesn't race them," said Davis.  His dad took him to his first ATV race, he thought it was "cool" and he wanted to do it.  So he just showed up at a Hair Scramble Race in Missouri in 1997 or 98 when he was 14 or 15 years old, signed up and went on the track.  He rode a 1987 Honda TRX250R.  That first race is certainly not one to remember.  "It wasn't good. I crashed three times," he quipped.

Undaunted, he went on in the sport and is now being sponsored by West Plains Motorsports, West Plains Missouri, a dealership that sells ATVs.  Davis has been employed by West Plains Motorsports as a technician since April, 2005.  He's also sponsored by Dirt Work Motorsports."  I received sponsorship from Dirt Works because I am a working buddy of the owner and it's a new company that's trying to get established," said Davis.

A resident of West Plains, Missouri, he has been racing in the Expert Class in Missouri and surrounding states since 1999.  His experience in that first race was not a trend.  Davis finished second in the Arkansas-Missouri Series in 2001.  Although he did not race in 2003 through 2005, he is poised to make a comeback in the 2006 racing season.

He races GNC motocross and has participated mostly in local events although he has done some national racing.  He was ranked third nationally in 2002.  His experience racing has taken him as far away from Missouri as Michigan.  In fact, his favorite track is Red Bud in Buchanan, Michigan.  "It has great dirt, it's rough, and it's fast," said Davis.

He explained that in order to race in national events he needs to qualify at the track.  "I go to the track, sign up and do the qualifiers," he said.  "That would be heat races on Saturday.  Depending on how many racers are involved you need to finish in the top six or eight in each heat.  If you don't make it through the heats you can compete in the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ).  Usually the racers who finish first and second in the LCQ make it to the Sunday races."  He added that racers who finish in the top 10 for a year do not have to qualify for each race but are automatically qualified in the Pro Class.

He finds racing to be tons of fun.  "The only downside is that it is expensive," he said.  "It takes a lot of money to buy an ATV to race.  One can cost as much as $17,000 to $18,000.  The travel expenses are high too.  I probably wouldn't be able to do it without the help of my sponsors."

He feels that the sky is the limit for ATV racing.  "If the factories stay in it and keep producing high quality ATVs like they are now, I think ATV racing will be as big as dirt bike racing," he said.

As for his own future in the sport, Davis hopes to race for many more years. "I am progressing my skills and I hope to go on to be a National Pro," he concluded.