An ATV is a very powerful machine. The first four-wheelers were engineered for utility uses such as pulling tractors out ditches in the middle of a snowstorm or taking lumber workers deep into the woods to do their jobs. But in the last couple of decades, the use of ATVs for recreational purposes has really taken off. And perhaps one of the most exciting sports to grow up around four-wheelers is that of ATV racing. It is a sport that is easy to get hooked on either as a participant or as a spectator.
Much of the reason for the popularity of off road racing is also the reasons don't want their youngsters involved in the thrilling hobby. There is just no getting around the fact that racing four-wheelers is a dangerous passion to have. Even an amateur ATV race will, by the very nature of the sport take the four-wheeler and its driver over rough terrain that could include ravines, rocks, fallen trees and just about anything else you might find in nature.
It is one thing to take an ATV out for a recreational tour of the wilderness. It is dangerous enough when you have the liberty to go slow, turn back or get out and clear the route before you take your four-wheeler over that terrain. In a racing situation, you are pushing that ATV to its speed limits and the driver will commonly charge right into unfamiliar terrain that may have hidden dangers because of the need to move quickly to win the race.
