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By
Robert Janis One Brave Dude
 There are many sports in which the
participants risk major injury. ATV racing is
one of those sports. Although it is not in the
mind of the racer when he is careening along the
course, there is always a possibility of an
accident that can result in the unthinkable.
There are those who suffer an injury and decide
not to go back to the track. And there are those
who love the sport so much that despite a major
injury, they recover and go right back to the
races. Scott Kilby is an example of the later.
Kilby has been racing ATVs since 1988. Now 39
years old, the Waynesville, N.C. resident said
that it was ATV magazines that inspired him to
pursue the sport of racing.
His first race was in 1999. "I just wanted to
see what it would be like to race in a GNCC
event. I never thought I would win on an 11 year
old machine," he said. He rode a Honda TRX300
Utility. "It was all I had," he added. Prior to
the race he customized the machine with a new
Maxxis sur traks for the rear. "My stockers were
worn out," he said.
Today Kilby races Cross Country courses in
many states, mostly in the east. He runs in the
GNCC Utility Modified category on a Can-Am
Outlander 800HD. Before tackling the tracks
Kilby upgraded the Outlander with engine mods
from BRP (Can-Am) and did some structural
supporting.
He claimed that he has participated in more
than 100 races and has won more than 70 of them.
 But his commitment to the sport was severely
tested when he crashed in the final race of the
2005 season at Crawfordsville, Indiana. He
suffered three broken ribs, compression
fractures of his vertebrae and a broken collar
bone. Things couldn't have been any worse when
he had to endure unexpected surgery during which
a plate and screws were placed on his collar
bone to keep it together because it wasn't
healing properly. To help Kilby with expenses,
friends in the ATV racing community created and
sold T-shirts for $20. Miraculously he was back
on the track for the 2006 season.
"When I first started to crash, it seemed
like I could ride it out like many times before.
This time it was different. I clipped another
ATV as I was passing in a corner coming from a
long straight. My speed was high and the guy in
front of me slowed more than I anticipated. The
back of the ATV came up and over. I was still
trying to save it when my helmet hit the ground.
Seven hundred and fifty pounds of ATV was
pushing down on me and my neck flexed to the
right as the edge of my helmet broke my collar
bone. The pressure kept on coming as I rolled up
into a ball underneath. The weight hit my back
causing the T11 and T12 vertebra to have
compression fractures and three broken ribs.
"As I lay there unable to move I thought I
was going to die. I prayed for help. In a few
seconds my wife was there. She was screaming for
help. I had crashed as close to where the
helicopter landing area as I could have. It
settled on the ground not more than 300 yards
from me. When I saw all the people coming and I
could wiggle my toes I knew I could walk again
some day.
"It took about two weeks before I could take
my first steps, but I just kept on pushing
myself. I was able to start riding slowly for
about one month before the season began. I did
not go through the therapy the doctors were
recommending. I had been doing my own exercises
and was able to do a push up in front of the
doctor. He saw that and was surprised. After
that I knew I would be okay.
"I returned to the first GNCC in Florida in
early March, five months after the crash. I
finished second. I felt like I had just won the
lottery. I never thought I would even finish let
alone finish second."
According to Kilby, the best part of racing
is winning a close race. The worst part of
racing is "Breaking parts on me or the machine
so I can't finish a race."
His favorite track is Iron Man in
Crawfordsville, Indiana. " Ironically, that's
where I crashed. It has high speeds, hill
climbs, and lots of water," he said. His
favorite obstacle is big rocks. "I like to rock
crawl. It's very technical."
He is sponsored by BRP (Can-Am), Maxxis,
Klotz, OMP, Douglas, Moose, and PBR.
For the future, Kilby predicted that ATV
racing will grow. "I look for more manufacturers
to jump in bringing more media attention. This
will bring more money to the sport and some
racers will be able to concentrate solely on
winning. I want to be one of those guys," he
concluded.
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