How did you first get into the ATV racing scene?

My history of racing goes back to my teen years as most do in this profession.  You have heard the cliché “must have racing in your blood” I am sure.  This holds true for me.  I have built atv engines dating back to the three wheeler days including dirt bikes.  Heck I even dabbled a bit with drag cars and boats as well.  But my passion is with the sport of ATV racing.  My major involvement with the national scene really came on strong about 5 years ago.  JRD Racing in New Jersey had me build some engines for some of his riders, as well as his sponsored pro Donny Lysinger.  Since that time the shop has not missed a beat.  Donny also made the connection with John Natalie a couple of years ago when John came into town for an indoor race.  He stayed here at the shop with me and spent a couple of months practicing at our local track.  Before the 2005 season started, John asked me to wrench for him at the nationals.  This indeed was a big step for me and my company.  John and I won both championships that year together and since then have become close friends.  John called me before the 2006 season and asked me how I felt about building his engines for the year.   Admitting a little nervous, stepping up to the plate with a GNC champion is a dream come true for someone like me, so I took the challenge.  We had a great season last year up to the point where John was injured at Steel City, PA.  We were tied for first place when this happened and it shattered both of our hopes of winning a second consecutive GNC championship or WPSA championship.  On a brighter note, my involvement with the amateur ranks brought home four national championships last year and I am very happy about that.  My heart and soul is with this sport and it’s a dream come true to be involved on a national level to showcase my efforts.  Believe me, the competition is unbelievably tough.  We are doing everything in our power to keep our engines on top, but it’s tough with the bigger companies that have much deeper pockets to fund there racing program.  But you can bank on us doing everything we can to give us that winning edge. 

How did you get the name Rage ATV racing?

Funny you asked!  True story here, when the business started full time, we were trying to come up with a catchy name that would fit.  One of my local riders, John Buller, “destructo for short”, was preparing for a race and had went to practice the day before a race.  At the time, his quad was a little under equipped for the jumps he was attempting.  He showed up at the shop the night before the race with a dismayed look on his face and said “Dee, can you weld”?  Let’s just say, that my bike, or my daughters bike was completely ready and now I had to stop and get his going so he could make the race the next day.  So we stayed up half the night getting it repaired as well as finishing our quads and ole John boy had to listen to me chew his tail out the whole time I worked on it.  He later told me that I should name the company “Rage” because I did my best work when I was mad at him.  He also said, it was a two meaning word and everyone would like it because it could be a fad, or the latest Rage.  So, low and behold, a name is born. 

What do you do the most business in- engine kits, porting etc?

For the most part, engine kits and porting are close hand in hand.  We do sell parts and build complete quads here at the shop and I personally set them up the same way that I set up Natalies race quad.  I am not a shock expert, but when I run into a problem I cant handle, I just give ole John a call and he steers me in the right direction.  I carry every major line of quality racing products for Mx and Drag ATVs and will be expanding the parts division at the end of this summer.   Last year I sold over 230 pistons and 160 plus cams with kits and ported around 120 cylinder heads not counting the pro and amateur sponsor engines.  This year has started strong with our new competition exhaust, and a new line of pistons and cams even for the weekend warrior.  I would like to provide everyone with the same technology as the pros have at a reasonable cost. 

What is your typical day like at work?

Well, being the engine builder, head porter, head of research and development, and a salesmen, my day typically never ends.  I make it a point to return every phone call I get so I try and answer them until about 11 am or so, then I get to work, either building, porting, or putting in time on the dyno.  With today’s technology, you have to stay on top of the game or the competition will just pass you by.  I am currently training a builder that has been with me for a few years to help me out to keep up with the demand as in the near future, I will need to upscale a bit.  I want to ensure that anyone that wants an engine should be able to get it back in a timely fashion.  Sometimes I will work straight through the night on a project if I am meeting a deadline and just catch up on sleep my one day off on the weekend.  Sometimes I will spend 40 hours a week on the dyno testing different combos until I am happy with something.   Usually Saturday leaves me at the track working with my daughter or testing out combinations.  And sometimes, just sometimes, I get a chance to take my wonderful wife out to eat dinner. 

I understand you are building quite a few of the top Pro ATV motocross racers engines- who will you be working with for 2007 and what will they be riding?

You heard right, and I took a big bite out of the pie this year.  I have included Chad Wienen (Since the interview Chad has landed a factory ride with Suzuki- everyone at Rage wishes him the best of luck for the 2007 season), Harold Goodman, Greg Gee, and John Natalie in my sponsor program this year.  And fortunately all the riders will be on Honda platforms.  This should make it easier to keep the proper parts in stock for there builds.  I was very honored that these riders chose me as there builder and I am going to do everything I can to get these boys out front.  Keep in mind that all the money that it takes to keep these riders competitive in there engines comes from us the builders and the riders.  This is our effort to advertise our product to the public.  None comes from the manufactures like we hoped that it would. The Hondas provide us with great dependability but the company doesn’t  support any performance enhancements whatsoever like the other major manufactures do with there sponsored riders.   They just rely on companies like ours to make them look good.  This makes it a bit tough, but like I said before, this is more than a business to me, it’s a passion and my way of life.  The average pro rider racing engine program is about 20k a year in parts, labor and drive time per year not to mention what the riders put in the program.  John is under contract to run Hondas for this year but the door is open for next year and we are always looking for someone that will help fund our racing program to bring us to the next level.   At any rate I feel I have the strong group of national pro riders in the country and I am going to do my best to make these guys fly around the track. 

Who will be your biggest competition for 2007?

No question there, lots of great builders out there, and performance companies.  Heck rumor has it that Pro Circuit is jumping into the ATV game this year and I am sure these guys will have some fast stuff.  But Yoshimura and Dasa Racing I feel are the real competition and have the experience to keep riders in front of the pack as well.  Both companies picked up new fast riders this year and will be hard to contend with. 

Are you still learning and finding HP or are you maxing out the capabilities of these current engines?

Absolutely, but, there is more than maxing out Hp on these engines.  It is combination more than anything.  You can build a 70hp rocket for these riders but if they can’t put the power to the ground, your simply “spinning your wheels”.  I work more on combinations to suit the rider that I build for.  Everyday I spend on the dyno and on the computer crutching numbers, the closer I get to building perfect winning combinations.  Interestingly enough, most atv engines are built and designed with a 20 percent threshold margin.  Meaning that you can pretty safely modify an engine only about 20 more power, and anything over that has repercussions.  Parts like clutches, transmissions, cases and such have to be re engineered to withstand the extra power we put in them.  How much more do we make……wouldn’t you like to know.   Sorry, don’t want the competition to know where we are. 

If a rider wants more power from their motor what would you recommend in order of importance?

Question of the day, where do I start?  I tell most recreational riders and beginner racers the first place to start is a good performance pipe and good jetting.  Then from there, camshaft and piston and good filtration.  One thing I would like to point out, that is very easily overlooked.  Power comes from a combination of “well matched” components.  You should choose your parts carely to ensure each one compliments what type of riding you will do the majority of the time.  The biggest mistake I see that most people do now in the internet era is get schemed into a fancy website or forum that sells them something that is no better that the oem components.  Not saying that all are like that, but its easy for someone to sit in their bedroom and build a flashy website and sell snailoils to the public.    My best advice is find a reputable builder, and consult with them on what parts with work with your specific build.  I spend 2 or 3 hours a day on the phone helping folks make the right decision. 

If a company such as Honda were to ask you if anything needed changing with the motor for the 450r- what would you change?

Coming from someone like me, the list is long and elaborate.  No really, you really can complain about the Honda engines, or any of the manufactures for that matter.  Most of the engines share the same qualities and they are all built to suit a recreational rider.  Although, newer technology will incorporate better alloys of metals used in the valvetrain, tougher gears in the transmission, and hopefully most will be fuel injected in the next couple of years.  But other that that, if they built them any better…..I would be out of a job!

Did the change from Hybrid to Production quads effect you? And what do you think of the change?

Sure, it affected the industry as a whole.  This switch made it easier and cost effective for the average rider to compete without having to spend 20k building a competitive machine from the ground up.  I am happy that the manufactures realize the magnitude and potential of this sport and are rewarding us with some really nice platforms to compete with.  And I see it only getting stronger in our future. 

Which race series do you think will be most successful in 2007- WPSA or ATVA Nationals?

This is a complicated question with much controversy in the public’s eye.  With the WPSA getting the major coverage and the way they expose the sport, I feel this is where the “success” will be inevitable.  The nationals have been great in the past, but recently has become stagnet somewhat and I think the riders will focus their efforts on what will give them or their sponsors the most exposure, and for the pros, the earnings are much better that the nationals.    I know that when I chose my sponsored riders this year, I was more inclined to help them if I knew they were going to run the ESPN series. Everyone forgets why we race in the first place.  It would have been nice if the national format could have been combined together with the WPSA but again, politics prevail and the only ones to win in the long run is the promoters, not the riders. 

How much does it help having a family heavily involved in racing?

My wife and I have been involved in racing our entire marriage and her passion for the sport is as intense as mine.  My family is the sole backbone of my achievements and the company.  My wife breaks her back helping me, and she is the entire cheering section for our sponsored riders.  My daughter keeps me on my toes from time to time, but I am proud to have her love the sport as much as I do.  I feel I am the luckiest man in the world knowing I have both of them behind me.  So I say with the utmost confidence, that without them, I would not be involved with racing the way I am now. 

Do you use your daughter to try out your race motors on the track before you release them?

Sometimes I give her some of my ideas to play around on occasion, but something that I learned about ladies and racing.  And I can say this about everyone that I have encountered in the sport, is that ladies don’t like change to much.  So once she rides something she is confortable with, she encourages me to just leave it alone. If I have something I really need tested thoroughly, it gets put to the test by the young man I mentioned earlier, “Destructo”.  But I will say that Megan does not come up short at all on the power department. 

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Five years from now, I hope the business has expanded enough so I can train and pass on what I have learned to newly hired builders and technicians.  At one point, I would like to be able to just do R and D on the flowbench and dyno and focus all my efforts on product improvement.  By then I would also like to have a support team on the road to help out our rider’s trackside and provide them with the best possible service we can give them. 

How can people get in touch with you?

They can call, email or stop by the shop and chat with me about any questions they might have.