A MOMENT WITH MIKE: Are you too old to be chasing the R/C dream?

ADVERTISEMENT | ADVERTISE WITH US

Mike Garrison

0 July 14, 2017, 10:31 a.m.

By Mike Garrison
LiveRC.com

For the 2017 ROAR Fuel Off-road Nationals held at Stateline Raceway last month, I had the honor of being co-host of the LiveRC broadcast alongside Waldo (Aaron Waldron). I have announced a lot of races over the years, however, this race provided a new level of fun for me. In addition to commentating the racing action on the track, between races Aaron and I had the opportunity to interact with viewers in the various viewing chat boxes, we had special guests stopping by the broadcast trailer, and we enjoyed time bantering back and forth about everything from R/C racing to the week long after effects of Buffalo Wild Wings signature “Hot” sauce covered wings. 

During all of the fun, we answered a lot of viewer questions, but there was one that I haven’t stopped thinking about ever since. One of the viewers typed in that he was a 19-year old kid who had just gotten started in R/C racing. His question was, “Since I am already 19, is it too late for me to become a pro R/C car racer?” 

I was so glad that he asked that question, but at the same time I was very frustrated to think that he would have to ask that question. It is no secret that in many professional sports there is a very small window in age that determines your ability to become a professional, maintain a professional career, and when you “must” retire. For example, to the best of my knowledge, there isn’t an NFL player out there who decided to pick up a football for the first time after high school and now plays professionally. There isn’t an Olympic swimmer who had their first swimming lesson at the age of 20. In professional motocross racing, most top professionals started racing at the age of 5, dropped out of school to focus solely on training and racing by 16, and retire (successful or not) from racing in their 20’s, with a few straggling 30-35-year-old “old timers” still in the mix. 

(Above: Austin Forkner made his rookie debut in 2016 at the age of 17 - Photo by Racer X/Kardy)
(Below: Ryan Dungey celebrates his final championship win before retiring at the age of 27 - Photo by Racer X/Rich Shepherd)

R/C racing has no age limit, has no career window, and is a sport that literally anyone can participate and become very competitive in – with a chance of being a paid professional. This is what I love about R/C car racing. The starting grid for the 2017 1/8 Fuel Off-road Nationals Buggy Final was a prime example of this. Lined up 12th was Mugen Seiki Racing’s Adam Drake. Adam is a multi-time National Champion, began his career at the age of 14, saw his first sponsorship in 1993, and is still in contention for a national championship nearly 25 years later just a few years shy of 40 years old. On the opposite end of the spectrum, starting 10th on the grid was XRAY’s CJ Jelin, who started his career in 2013 and at only 12, maybe 13 now, is also lining up against the best in the world. When it was all said and done, this year’s National Championship title was awarded to Jared Tebo, who just celebrated his 30th birthday. In between all those drivers was a wide range of different ages, number of years with R/C experience, backgrounds in racing, and success stories. It proved that there is no set way, set time, or set kind of person or racer limited to becoming a top-level driver in R/C.

I was joined in studio during the broadcast of the race by Tekno RC’s Joe Bornhorst. Joe fell just short of making the buggy final, however, managed an impressive 6th overall in truggy. Joe’s story is perhaps the most satisfying to me as he never laid hands on an R/C car until the age of 18. He didn’t race his first club race until a year later in 2012, and signed his first paid contract in 2014.

R/C racing is an incredible sport that does not care whether you are young or old, whether you are a girl or a boy, skinny or fat, short or tall, whether you race by standing on a stool or sitting in a wheelchair, control your car by using one hand, two hands, or no hands, and the list goes on and on. 

(Zeke Ballinger defies all odds as one of the fastest racers in his region, despite being born with no hands - read his story on LiveRC featured in 2015 HERE.)

Participating in R/C racing is something that literally every single person on this planet can do. Sure, there might be some modifications here and there for some (myself included) to make it work, but with R/C racing where there is a will there is a way. 

My point is that with the open invitation that R/C racing provides, in my opinion the only thing stopping anyone from becoming a professional driver is hard work, dedication, determination, and attitude. For some it comes very natural, and like Joe they are signing contracts in a matter of a few years. For others, it could take 5-10 years of racing every week before they see a sponsorship of any sort – let alone a paid contract. I believe, however, that while not everyone will earn a national championship title in their career, the opportunity to make R/C car racing a career is in your hands. 

Not to mention, if your hard work, dedication, time, and attitude is truly in the right place, whether or not you make it in the sport as a paid racer, I can assure you that your efforts and passion for R/C don’t go unnoticed. This alone often leads to other career opportunities within the industry.

The moral of today’s story is that R/C car racing is an incredible sport (yes, to me it is a sport), in which discriminates against no one. With the lack of discrimination, comes a lack of excuses to not be successful if you truly want to be. “Yes” you can become a professional, “Yes” you can make a living racing and/or working in the R/C industry, but that requires you to say “Yes” and work hard for it. On the flip side of things, there is also no reason that you absolutely have to be a pro. R/C racing is meant to be fun, and if pursuing a professional career is fun, then go for it. If backflipping a monster truck in the front yard is more fun, do that instead. The opportunities, possibilities, and fun that R/C provides is endless – it’s all up to you what you do with it.