Yamaha Announces 2014 ATV Race Team

Lucas Cooney
by Lucas Cooney
Yamaha Feed the Children

In conjunction with its annual Feed the Children food drop, Yamaha announced its 2014 ATV race team.

As part of the seven-hour celebration at Yamaha’s Southern California headquarters, employees enjoyed meeting past and present Yamaha racers including two-time AMA ATV National Champion Chad Wienen. Wienen was one of a number of 2013 Yamaha champions on hand including motorcycle racing champions Josh Herrin, Cameron Beaubier, Jessica Patterson and Tomas Puerta. Past Yamaha champions and racing legends Gary Jones and Kenny Roberts were honored for all of their success and contributions to the motorsports industry and specifically to Yamaha.

Back with Yamaha for his third year under the Wienen Motorsports banner, Wienen will be competing alongside a team of veteran Yamaha ATV racers in 2014. Thomas Brown, who finished second overall in the AMA ATV National Championship series just behind Wienen in 2013, will be looking for his own first championship next year if he can top his teammate. Walker Fowler, who has landed podium finishes in the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) XC-1 Pro class the past two years, will continue to battle for his first championship in 2014. And Dustin Nelson, the five-time Yamaha QuadX Series champ who was also involved in the testing and development of the new Assembled in U.S.A. YFZ450R, will be competing in both QuadX as well as the World Off-Road Championship Series (WORCS) next year.

“Yamaha dominates the sport ATV category, and the employees here are always excited to meet the team members and celebrate our champions,” says Steve Nessl, Yamaha’s ATV/SxS group marketing manager. “Chad is a great competitor and an excellent representative for Yamaha. His drive and determination, talent and skill have put him on top, and Yamaha is excited to have him back racing the YFZ450R along with Thomas, Walker and Dustin. These are four of the top racers in the country, and we’re expecting another big year for Yamaha Racing in 2014.”

Yamaha, its employees and dealer partners all helped raise a record $100,750 for Feed the Children this year. Yamaha has worked with Feed the Children for nearly 20 years raising several hundred thousand dollars and feeding tens of thousands of children. Feed the Children is an international and nonprofit relief organization that delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to individuals, children and families who lack those essentials.

Lucas Cooney
Lucas Cooney

I have been working exclusively in digital media since 1997. I started out with TSN.ca, spending nearly nine years creating and editing content on Canada's leading sports website. I left to join VerticalScope, Inc., one of the world's largest online publishers, to start a number of powersports publications. While at VerticalScope, I've helped create and oversee content for a wide variety of different publications, including ATV.com, Off-Road.com, ArcheryTalk.com, Tractor.com, RVGuide.com, and many more.

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