what do pro's make [Archive] - ATV Riders Forum

11-20-2002, 07:46 AM

Chavez is right almost all pro's have jobs besides racing.

Jeremiah,,works for his dads concrete co.

Gust runs his own excavating Co.

Ballance is a dairy farmer..

Yokley works fer roll design..

Farr works at Baldwin I believe.

But I can say that most GNCC guys probably make more cash than GNC guys since Manufacturers are starting to step in on that side.. IT is total BS like Bee said,,we need alot more recognition..

Texan32

11-20-2002, 08:14 AM

yeah, i would REALLY like to see a supercross rider jump on a quad.....talk about a reality check on how hard they are to ride.....

I noticed something while i was at my first MX race. Bikes just jump easier! They are so much lighter, you can just throw them anywhere. Quads take SOOOOO much more effort to get close to what the bike guys can do. I have never even riden a dirtbike, but from what i have seen, they seem a great deal easier to ride.

Extremeracer167

11-20-2002, 10:15 AM

well if u go to a national MX at either quads or bikes, they all make it look easy. I wouldnt say its ALOT easier. At the pace they both go, it would be hard no matter what u are on. Sure it might be a little hard to keep a quad straight off a jump, but the guys on the bike have to WORK there bikes alot harder to be competetive. Imagine how hard it would be to lay a bike sideways off the face of a jump to keep the bike low like stewart does. U dont do that on a quad. So i wouldnt make it sound like riding a bike is 10Xs easier then racing a quad. Sure it woul dbe great to get more money into the quad industry. But then u will get the same attitudes at the quad races that u do at the MX races. Everyone is trying to "outcool" the person next too them, and most of them are to good to talk to you.

Money in racing is a hinderance if u ask me. At my local track, if there is a dispute over someone cutting the coarse, or somehting like that, u have the top 3-4 guys up there arguing with eachother trying to get the prize money. I hate it. I could care less if i make 75, 50, or 25. The only thing i want out of it if i win an overall is to pay my way to race. Thats why almost every quad racer has a job. And i thought Yokley worked with his dad in a lumber mill? So most of these guys dont get to ride and do as much as u think.

Razorback

11-20-2002, 10:54 AM

Very few riders just flat out get money from their sponsors. Most of the time, any money they do get is contingency money based on how they finish. The better they finish, the more they get. Not all sponsors offer money either, even to the top guys. They simply get free or highly discounted prices on their products.

What I don't understand is that you can watch OLN, SpeedVision, or the Outdoor Channel and see some spare sports, like downhill mountain bike racing, and they've got companies like Chevrolet and Sobe as the primary sponsors for the event. If, and that's a big if, the manufacturers get fully onboard, you may see the desire to watch the sport grow, then the pros will actually start making money.

For the Pros to just race the GNCs, they have to spend upwards of $50,000 a year and more, and that doesn't include their quads. It'll take a while before any of the get profitable.

Extremeracer167

11-20-2002, 10:59 AM

I dont htink the pros really pay for much of anything. Let alone 50k! Im not a pro by no means, but the way i always thought is the rider has a Primary sponsor and that sponsor pays there way into the races, and any entry fee. Now thats for the top guys in the pro class. But i really dont thingk that many of them pay for a whole lot on there quads....if any.

QuadTrix6

11-20-2002, 11:46 AM

all i know is that i see dirtbikes come up short on jumps and come off of jumps bad and they don't wreck...but on a quad its much harder not to wreck because of the two diferent kinds of suspension and have you ever seen a dirbike tumble down a hill after not makingit up a hill climb :eek: nope they just lay nice and flat while the quads tumble to there death :grr , my point is i think quads are harder to ride you have to worry about keeping stable in the air with left and right suspension not just front and back...

raptor_02

11-20-2002, 02:00 PM

I do know this, I have an 4-play video of lots of motocross and TT action from like 1998. It showed DOug Gust holding a check for 200.00. It also showed Shane Hitt winning a TT race and getting a 300.00 check. Earlier in the year I seen a picture with Timm Farr holding a 5000 dollar check after a win. In the last issue of Dirtwheels it has an Jeremiah JOnes profile and his biggest payout for the year was 4000 dollars at a TT race. My point is the money is no where near where it needs to be for PRO's but it has increased majorly in the last 5 years. I think in the next 5 years we will see pay outs like 10 and 15000 a race. That would be better but in my opinion still no where what they deserve!!!!!!!!!

11-20-2002, 02:08 PM

Originally posted by raptor_02
I think in the next 5 years we will see pay outs like 10 and 15000 a race.

Negative,,no corprate sponsors and small turnouts to races...I wish you were right but it's sad to say it won't happen I don't think,,not that early..lets keep our fingers crossed.

11-20-2002, 02:17 PM

well hoe do they work regular jobs if they are always traveling?

Extremeracer167

11-20-2002, 02:32 PM

well lets see a majority of the guys on this site get on a bike and go ziping around. It wont happen. its hard to just ride a bike slow through the woods if your not used to it. Anyone can get on a quad and zip around. I think it takes MANY more years to be a good bike rider then a quad rider. Look at the ppl that are big in the bike world. They have all been riding since they were like.....4 years old. How many guys do u see that started riding bikes when they were 12-13 yrs old and are out there killing everyone.....not very many. Most of the guys on this site, and throught the country prob. only started riding seriosuly when they were early teens. Me for example, i mean im no pro, but i started riding when i was 14. First atv i EVER road. stalled it everytime i let out the clutch. And im an A rider at the nationals. Now dont get me wrong, im not running up front all the time. But i know i have the speed to run up front. U cant do tha ton a bike. I def. think being fast on a bike is ALOT harder then on a quad!

Extremeracer167

11-20-2002, 02:34 PM

ask ppl that know Bill Ballance. He is a VERY hard working dairy farmer. Puts in ALOT of hours. Johnny G i know works a reg. job......becuase i call him and ask him questions. He works at the Carb parts warehouse. Most of these guys have real jobs. But im sure if your boss knew that u were one of the top atv riders in the country, he would let u off!

speedfreaky

11-20-2002, 02:53 PM

Originally posted by Extremeracer167
And im an A rider at the nationals. Now dont get me wrong, im not running up front all the time. But i know i have the speed to run up front. U cant do tha ton a bike. I def. think being fast on a bike is ALOT harder then on a quad!

you a lier

Extremeracer167

11-20-2002, 03:03 PM

what do u mean im a liar!? I run 4 stroke mod at the GNCCs......that seems to be an A class at the Nationals to me??

OCCRA288

11-20-2002, 04:20 PM

I was talking to Johnny Hale the other day. He was telling me that it costs him 35-40,000 $/ year to go to each and every national. He won't endorse any product that isn't free. His expenses are extremely high though because he does break alot. Poor guy, he gets a fat hospital bill too.

raptor_02

11-20-2002, 06:03 PM

Originally posted by Rico

Negative,,no corprate sponsors and small turnouts to races...I wish you were right but it's sad to say it won't happen I don't think,,not that early..lets keep our fingers crossed.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but let me ask you something. Does the guys riding for NACS/Cannondale get paid more than the average racer????????

breaks-alot

11-20-2002, 06:43 PM

Originally posted by Rico
Farr works at Baldwin I believe.

Rico Farr's only job is to Ride. The only people who work at Mark's are Matt Bartosek, Jason March and Mark's girlfriend (her name is Sherry or something like that, a real nice person). Anyway Tim's brother was my Spanish teacher, Matt and Jason are friends with him and Mark has also told me about what he does. He works out most of the time. Jason said at his house all he had to eat were slim-fast bars and Tim's Brother told me he can bring in anywhere between 200 and 300 thousand dollars a year. He always said how lucky he was for making that much money and not even having to work.
At the Illinois national Matt and I were going to get his prize money for like 11th place or something like that (pro class) Gust was there getting his money also and he got 3rd I think and Matt and I were both nosey to read what the envelope said and it only said like 800 and something dollars for 3rd place. Of course Matt *****ed the whole ride home about pro pay off.
Matt has been ridding his whole life on bikes and quads and he can ride a bike almost as fast as a quad so I guess its all about seat time to be a good rider on either.
I think the only way there will ever be a big pay off is if someone like Chevy Trucks takes a hold of the GNC’s. Witch I don’t see happening anytime soon. Suzuki might throw some money at the pro production guys. Hopefully.

racerx573

11-20-2002, 07:07 PM

Yeah, I heard Farr made a lot of money. My buddy is a test rider for C-dale I guess thats almost as good....paid to break someone else's quad.

Johnny_G

11-20-2002, 07:46 PM

Hey guys thanks for being concerned about us not making enough money, but let me put this all in perspective........ I race 4 wheelers cause I love to, and always have. I never thought it was gonna make me rich, and so far it hasn't.

Bottom line I go racing every weekend, sometimes several times, and it costs me nothing. At the end of the year if I do very well I can equal the income of my 9-5 job. This makes me a very happy and GRATEFULL man.....................NO COMPLAINTS HERE!

11-20-2002, 09:51 PM

you guys should be racing for the fun. not the pay out(not talking about you pros)

Ralph

11-20-2002, 10:17 PM

the things u guys are forgetting is racers get alot of their **** for free... i met a gncc a class racer who got 6 free carbon beadlocks, shocks, engine, a-arms and much more for just putting there sticker on his quad... his name was todd fineto btw i rode that beast:D

racerx573

11-20-2002, 10:48 PM

Originally posted by Extremeracer167
Most of the guys on this site, and throught the country prob. only started riding seriosuly when they were early teens.

I agree, Look at Jones, he's 22 (I'm pretty sure). And he's been racing the pro class for about 4 years I believe.

raptor_02

11-20-2002, 11:00 PM

I think everyone on here agrees that pro's deserve a lot more money than what they are receiveing. My cousin is a die hard motocrosser for bikes and he hates fourwheelers. BUt after I took him to the nationals and watched Tim Farr do the table of two at london in a fricken down pore that changed his mind about profesional quad racers. They work just as hard as the bikers and deserve atleast half of what the bikes make. The US open for bikes pays out 125000 for one race. The bikers deserve that much money, but quad racers deserve ever bit as much and are one getting 1/10 of that. THat's a big bunch of bs!!!!!!!

Evan

11-20-2002, 11:03 PM

You know what sucks, is that people that are not risking their life(baseball basket ball football) are making millions while people using motors are expected to just pay there on way. The way I see it, the people with motors should get payed more, you have alot more equipment. Baseball and football you just get out there and play your heart out, you have no expenses really. I think they should play for fun not money, its not even a sport anymore, its a JOB that pays well. In someways Im glad out sport hasnt reached that level. It would be nice if there was enough purse to cover your expenses though. Where I race, there is no purse less you race in the pro class, and even then, you might come away with enough to pay your entry fee if your lucky.
I talked to a guy that races the nationals, Scotty Morris, he said by the time your bills are paid from the winnings, theres hardly anything left over, he works a job and races on the weekends for fun.

11-21-2002, 07:08 AM

Breaks-alot how does far make 200,000 thousand dollars a year and every other pro barely breaks even???

breaks-alot

11-21-2002, 11:51 AM

Rico. His brother said his biggest pay was from sponsors and that "quad wars" b.s. I mean the guy sometimes shows up to the races with his BMW. When we followed him for a while after the Illinois national he was in a real nice truck. Matt also said he had a real nice house and track. He use to be like a bearing engineer or something like that but he just lives off sponsors. I mean Mark makes a ton of money off of having Farr as a sponsor. Don't get me wrong Baldwin Motorsports isn't a huge shop (until next summer when the new shop is being built.) but all of Tim’s parts are free so Tim doesn't even have to break even. It’s almost all profit. I mean Mark has a whole room full of Timmy's shocks but there all loaners from Wayne but still new ZPS every race would be real nice.

Johnny_G: I agree with you also. I will be 16 here very shortly and the only reason I race is for fun also. I would love to be as fast as my friends some day but until then I am just going to make sure I never forget to make it fun. Sometimes Matt Bartosek and I will just go out trail ridding on my bikes because even though he is now pro he still loves to ride. And that’s why were all here is because we love to ride. Just my opinion how fast these guys are they deserve more credit than anything. I think they would feel very satisfied if they got more recognition for there hard work (trust me I've been with pro's when they practice and they work hard to get in shape.) just my 2 cents I guess.

QuadTrix6

11-21-2002, 12:38 PM

sure tim farr makes money just open up dirtwheels and you will see him in every other ad, thats prob where he makes some $$$

nuttynewt

11-21-2002, 01:58 PM

I have always wondered if Doug Gust maybe owns DG? Since he is in their ads and all, and since his initials are "DG"?

Extremeracer167

11-21-2002, 02:36 PM

I kinda doubt he does. Or u woul dknow about it. Im sure it was an added help with both of them. I was always led to believe that DG meant "d@mn Garbage":huh

Pro400EXC

11-21-2002, 10:09 PM

Originally posted by Extremeracer167
I kinda doubt he does. Or u woul dknow about it. Im sure it was an added help with both of them. I was always led to believe that DG meant "d@mn Garbage":huh

I always though DG standed for Dollar General...

Also,juts forchits and giggles.. Carmichael makes $2million a yr to ride his CR...Larrocco makes $1million a yr.......

And the reason payout isn't that high for quads,cause there's not askmuch popularity in it as there is quads....

Like you can go somewhere in town or where ever,and there will be more ppl who heard of a McGrath than a Farr or Gust,and these ppl don't even know what a Handle Bar is..

yah know,so we all need to pitch in,and air a Nation Quad MX Race on ESPN2 someday,and then i bet the sport will rise....

racerx573

11-22-2002, 02:26 PM

Originally posted by X-Rider
You know what sucks, is that people that are not risking their life(baseball basket ball football) are making millions while people using motors are expected to just pay there on way. The way I see it, the people with motors should get payed more, you have alot more equipment. Baseball and football you just get out there and play your heart out, you have no expenses really. I think they should play for fun not money, its not even a sport anymore, its a JOB that pays well. In someways Im glad out sport hasnt reached that level. It would be nice if there was enough purse to cover your expenses though. Where I race, there is no purse less you race in the pro class, and even then, you might come away with enough to pay your entry fee if your lucky.
I talked to a guy that races the nationals, Scotty Morris, he said by the time your bills are paid from the winnings, theres hardly anything left over, he works a job and races on the weekends for fun.

Well I think pro football players are risking their lives, one wrong hit, or somethin like that will end your career and could result in death or paralysis if it is a neck or back injury. In basketball, wrong foot placement could end your career or landing on yor foot funny, same with baseball. The point is, all sports, games, etc. are equally challenging and all of the competitors should get what they put into it.

Wired

11-22-2002, 04:43 PM

wouldnt that be something, turn on ESPN 2 and see a quad mx event. i would bet money that if they aired it a few times people would actually watch it and be interested. if they can make the offroad truck events so popular they sure as he!! will make quad mx racing look like professional football in comparison! :macho

DEAL

11-22-2002, 05:56 PM

Until quad racing gets more attention from the public its not going to change.

Ryan

11-22-2002, 06:41 PM

Well right now Pro's would get payed alot more if they had more sponsers and other companies get involved. Its like dirt bikes and nascar, Its all on popularity and right now quad racing is still beginning. We need to give it some time before people notice us and get involved. By the time the pro's get payed Johnny G will be retired. LOL sorry johnny

ATVer14

11-24-2002, 09:20 AM

I agree that if we got quad racing on ESPN or some similar channel, we could get more people interested in the sport. But this is what I think we need to change in order to do so. First off, I just want to say that I love the Huevos video's and other quad video's like it and am not bashing them in any way, but for the general public, we need something a little bit more professional looking. I think that we need to start off with getting rid of the background music and replacing it with the actual quad sounds, and then get some announcers to tell everyone what is going on. Secondly, we need some good camera work. We need to follow the quads around the track and not just take video's of one jump or one turn, we need full race coverage. Lastly, rider interviews at the end of the race could prove to be interesting. We could even insert rider bio's between races, like where Farr grew up or how Gust got into racing and show highlights from their past seasons, like they do in the MX shows now. The possibilities are endless, like quad and aftermarket commercials during breaks. That is what I think we need to do to get a quad race on ESPN. A professional, well made video could certanly attract the attention of much more of the general public than the current one jump and insane crash video's that we give to them now. But then again, this is just my opinion.
Kenny

Johnny_G

11-24-2002, 10:28 AM

Damn Ryan ow old do you think I am???

I just turned 24, I'd say I got 10 good years left at least!!!!!!!!!!!

trx400ex

11-24-2002, 12:49 PM

why dont all of us quad riders send some emails to espn...i know were not many..but could 10,000 or so emails make a difference?

R-Crazy

11-24-2002, 01:37 PM

why dont all of us quad riders send some emails to espn...i know were not many..but could 10,000 or so emails make a difference?
I was thinking about that, but the season is over now. maybe when febuary rolls around we can get all 5000 people here to send letters to ESPN and ESPN 2.

dave

trx400ex

11-24-2002, 03:07 PM

only thing is, most people wont do it just because they dont want to take the 5 minutes to write it...we should start this winter and hammer them untill we get some responce...i dont think its likely they will air anything though

ATVer14

11-24-2002, 04:31 PM

I've got an idea. Why don't we come up with a good letter to send to ESPN, and then post it on here, and everyone can just copy and send it, so they won't have to "waste" their time writing their own. That way, the guys over at ESPN will see how many of us there really are. It could work.

OCCRA288

11-24-2002, 05:53 PM

Originally posted by Johnny_G
Damn Ryan ow old do you think I am???

I just turned 24, I'd say I got 10 good years left at least!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah man "whore-hey" (j/k) isn't very old at all. WE have a guy in the local pro class that just turned 59.

R-Crazy

11-24-2002, 07:58 PM

WE have a guy in the local pro class that just turned 59.
Good for him. You have to admire someone that old in tht good of shape. My dad is only 50 and it would be funny as h*ll to see him on an MX track.

dave

popo

11-25-2002, 12:16 AM

I just turned 24, I'd say I got 10 good years left at least!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy crap ! I am 36 and just getting started, Does this mean I have to quit already.:huh

11-25-2002, 07:27 AM

Originally posted by popo

Holy crap ! I am 36 and just getting started, Does this mean I have to quit already.:huh

No don't quit popo,,you make me look fast at the races..:D

Extremeracer167

11-25-2002, 10:21 AM

If u want ESPN to cover anything next year, u prob. sshould have sent something a few months ago. It takes a LONG time to contracts signed, and things figured out between 2 companys. But if your gonna do it, do it now, not in february

Extremeracer167

11-25-2002, 10:23 AM

Dear ESPN,

You stupid @$$holes put on some quad racing!!!!!!

Sincerely sent by,
EXriders.com
Have a nice day

:D something like that??? haha

Ryan

11-25-2002, 10:25 AM

LOL@JohnnyG. I was exagerating* (or however you spell that)
And by the time you are 34 you will have a broken back or something. though.:p
As far as Hevous I think they are doing a great job and even if they did really improve their videos it won't put atv racing on ESPN. I heard that they do sell real race videos without the music and none of that other fancy crap. It like watching motocross on espn, you have to buy it somewhere im not to sure of it