Todd Macke 12-3-07
- Updated: December 3, 2007
In 28 years of riding ATVs Todd Macke of Decatur, IL recently fulfilled his proudest moment. Many may think his recent accomplishment of racing the 12 Hours of ATV America is probably this moment. We feel otherwise. We weren’t surprised at all to see Todd finish the long race and claim 5th out of 7th in the Ironman class, after all he’s got a lot of heart and is also a very good rider. What impressed us most was Todd’s reason for tackling the race by himself.
You see Todd used the 12 Hour race and his Cerebral Palsy disability to do a lot of good for people with disabilities like his. His plan was to raise money per lap he completed at the 12 Hours of America. All the money raised would be deposited into his new program called ART (Ability Riders of Tomorrow).Todd’s new organization’s mission is to help individuals with disabilities get the tools they need to ride ATVs or perhaps race ATVs.
We recently talked with Todd to get the scoop on how he did on his solo mission. Here’s what he had to say…
How did this all come about?
I have been wanting to Ironman the 12 Hours of America for a couple of years now. Now that the class was available, I started making plans in March 2007. I also challenged myself to benefit people with disabilities for opportunities to ride or race ATVs by establishing ART “Ability Riders for Tomorrow”.
What were your expectations going into this event?
To ride my own race and have FUN! I used my experience from the two previous 12 hour events to prepare myself mentally and physically to go the distance and reach my goal of 24 laps.
What were your strategies?
To race the clock and monitor my lap times to keep pace with my goal of 24 laps. I didn’t want to get in the way of any racers along the course. My plan was to ride relaxed and simply enjoy the experience. To reach my second goal, which was to complete all 12 hours I didn’t put a lot of pressure on myself. After all I didn’t want to beat anybody but myself and the clock.
What were some of the biggest challenges to overcome?
I would have to say finding a light sponsor to help make the 3 1/2 hours of night riding safe and enjoyable. I never did find one. Also I wasn’t able to find a sponsor for a steering stabilizer to help eliminate arm pump. As for ART, it was a challenge to inspire members of the ATV community to get on board to help the new organization. It has also been a challenge to get the severity of the announcement to the media.
What did you do different to set up for this 12 Hour race?
I used a Honda thumb throttle; a special ball bearing clutch lever and perch, new FLEXX handlebars that greatly reduced arm fatigue a brand new OEM clutch and a new chain & sprockets from CycleSport Yamaha. We used MAXXIS tires and Tire Balls for durability and comfort, mounted on Honda Hardkor hubs for easy change if needed. We also moved the rear hubs in on my Durablue axle which held up great!
Did you like the track?
The course was plenty wide and safe, with numerous areas for passing or getting over to allow faster riders by. Riding through the small barn and hay bail maze was a blast. The open fields allowed proper “safe time” for drinking from my camelback.
Did you like the location of the event?
Yes, having the event in the deep south brought warmer dry temperatures and that was a blessing over past locations!
Likes or dislikes in general?
The only dislike I had was having to stop at the checkpoint to be scanned. I liked the transponder where you could fly through the checkpoint and be scored. If you calculate the amount of time it takes to stop, be scanned and take off from a dead stop, you could have an additional lap or two in over the course of 12 hours.
Will you be racing the event again next year?
Yes, I plan to approach an ATV manufacturer to see if I can get factory support and a quad to race the 12 Hours of America in 2008. Hopefully my accomplishments at the 2007 event will show that I can do it and it will further benefit ART riders! It would be great to compete in the Ironman class again as a factory supported rider and beat my 29 laps. If I can’t get an ATV manufacturer on board, I will do it again on my tried and true ALBA YFZ as a privateer with my awesome pit crew (Craig Suggs, Cody Suggs, Lance Suggs, and Guy Sutton, my wife Nikki and two sons Adam & Max, and Cody Shelton).
Who helped you with your ART program?
Keith Little stepped up with new FLY race gear, SIDI boots, and Scott goggles, and a large donation for travel expenses. Cycle Sport Yamaha donated OEM parts. FASST Co. donated a set of FLEXX handlebars without batting an eye!!! Durablue pledged a large amount per lap. Ryan Smith (BIG Nutz Racing) and Daniel Pirrie (ATVSkills.com), both from the ATVscene forum stepped up with per lap pledges. Shelton Trucking (Cody Shelton family) donated a large check. ATVscene.com pledge a large amount per lap and helped market the ART program greatly! Ross Dantonio designed my number plate backgrounds and pledged a per lap donation and Trackside Grafx printed the number plate backgrounds. Team Shrum Racing made a large donation along with S&S Pallet Corporation and ADJ Trucking Company. My brother Courtney Macke of PQS Construction made a pledge per lap donation. My long time friend and mentor Tom Stone made a large donation and also helped with travel expenses. Co-workers from my employer State farm donated, and friends and family from Decatur IL donated. Jaymi Nickell (associate at State Farm) from Greeley Colorado made a donation and helped market ART in the Denver Colorado media. 12 Hour sponsor Eddie Dean catering made a per lap pledge. Mascot “Tucker” (golden retriever) for team ATVNC.com made a donation. Gonzo Racing of TQRA pledged a per lap donation.
The two biggest people I would like to thank is Craig Suggs and Guy Sutton! They prepped my ALBA YFZ for 2 weeks and donated many of their own parts or paid for them. They built me a quad and hauled it to Texas for me, that allowed me to be confident and go out and put my head down and race strong for 12 hours. Craig Suggs has been my crew chief for two 12 hour events and it was a very emotional moment when I crossed the checkered flag and completed 29 laps, he gave me a fatherly hug and high five! Craig kept me honest and going all day.
Any highlights that stick out?
I have attended many of the 12 Hours of America events, never making the podium. I’ll never forget the moment that John Natalie recognized my effort and called me up on stage during the Pro class award ceremony. It was and always will be very special to me. It was great that all the Pro riders recognized my accomplishment and gave me high fives or shook my hand. Receiving the special Ironman award from Eddie Deen Concessions was also a great honor. Taking 5th place in the Ironman class, completing all 12 hours and exceeding my goal of 24 laps by five laps were also outstanding accomplishments for me. Members in the audience donated cash to ART during the Pro award ceremony. I’ll also remember relaxing during the one hour break and enjoying birthday cake with my pit crew and hanging out with Cody Shelton and my wife Nikki and two sons Adam and Max. All these wonderful people around me made for an enjoyable birthday and 28 year anniversary of ATV involvement. Also riding for the Marine Corps birthday (November 10, 1775) was a great honor to salute the men and woman fighting for our country while we get to race in the greatest country on earth.
So how much money have you raised for the new ART program?
So far a total of $2800 towards my goal of $5000. I’m still waiting for some people to send their donations, but all in all it went great and we have a good start to making some special people very happy in the future.
What were some of the media outlets you tried and what response did you receive? ATV Scene did an awesome front page article! My local newspaper the Herald & Review ran a nice article detailing my effort and ART program. Jaymi Nickell of Greeley Colorado called into the Uncle Nasty national syndicated radio show on KBPI (Denver Colorado) and discussed my effort and ART program. My local radio station WBNQ mentioned it. I provided updates in the ATV Scene forums in the 12 Hour section We sent the press release information to the Associated Press, ESPN, CNN, FOX news, MSN, Wall Street Journal. I also sent the information to the Albert Pujols foundation and received a thank you response but nothing further.
My employer State Farm corporate office internal newspaper did a big article about my 12 hour effort. They even included a whole bunch of pictures from the event, including the picture on my award plaque! The big kicker is they put the picture and article on the front page of State Farm’s internal homepage for all 80,000 employees to see and read about! This is awesome to have a guy with a disability who races ATVs making the front page news at the world’s largest insurance company!
What are yours and ART’s plans in 2008?
I will be coaching Cody Shelton during selected WPSA events. I will travel to Cody’s house in Chattanooga TN this Fall to begin his training. I have a new member of ART, his name is Ben Brown from Canada. Ben is paralyzed from the upper chest down and rides a YFZ on motocross tracks. I will sponsor him to bring him down to a selected WPSA event of his choice and I will work with the WPSA to allow ART members to compete in our own special class (Open Disabilities 50cc on up). I hope to draw a few more riders to ART and this new class. Ben Brown would like to meet all the WPSA Pro riders that he reads about on a daily basis. I will make that dream come true for him! FLY race gear will be ART racing choice of clothing, along with FASST Co. FLEXX handlebars. Ross Dantonio is designing new ART racing graphics for all ART members. We will have new fliers to hand out at WPSA events to raise awareness. We welcome new sponsors to come on board. Also I plan to approach an ATV manufacturer about getting factory support for the next 12 Hours of America. I should have a new ART website soon for donations and updates. For now you can find me on MySpace/todd_macke.
