William Yokley

UTV Rider

2013 Coastal Racing - CST - Polaris Racing UTV Machine

Mechanic: Tyler King
Born: June 9, 1977
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 210 lbs
Hometown: Tompkinsville, KY
Wife: Tina
Children: Gage and Carlee

wyokley03@hotmail.com

I grew up in Tompkinsville, Kentucky and still live there. I started riding at the age of nine and gained experience riding multiple brands and sizes over the years. During my childhood, I enjoyed and respected all types of riding and racing, but focused mostly on motocross.

At the age of fifteen, I started running in GNCC events, and started desert racing at the age of eighteen in the Baja 1000. With a twenty-four year career under my belt, pro class for the last fourteen years, I made the decision to retire from full time racing in the XC1 Pro Class at the end of the 2009 season. This year, I am racing in the GNCC UTV Series, as well as focusing more on managing and building the Yokley Racing Team.

I've been called a Pro Quad racing icon. I don't know about icon, but I do know I have the most tremendous fans of any Pro Rider. I've been fortunate to be featured often in the media; ATV magazine publications, broadcast coverage of GNCC events, appearances on Moto World, The Outdoor Channel, GNCC TV, Versus, ATV Television, ESPN2 and ABC, along with various websites and magazines. I have been featured on GNCC TV within select sponsors “Feature Product of the Week” segments, on GNCCcast.com giving video race recaps, and frequent articles and interviews on ATVriders.com.

An area of my career I’m really excited about is my work with sponsors on product development. They are some of the most important companies serving the ATV and UTV industry. I help sponsors as a performance tester of their products for both racing and recreational uses. Because racing has been my lifelong passion, my experience gives me a unique insight about how a part or product performs under different terrain and weather conditions. This intuition allows me to give feedback to a manufacturer that is invaluable to engineering adjustments with extraordinary results in performance and safety.

Yes, safety is very important to me; that’s one reason I work with kids. I regularly volunteer my time teaching children “safety awareness” to remember to always wear a helmet and other tips to prevent accidents. On numerous occasions, I go to area classrooms speaking to students about the importance of their education now and in the future, regardless of what career they choose.

I’m excited to be able to mentor some younger riders this year, and help them succeed in reaching their goals. I have Jarrod McClure on the team, who will be racing in the XC1 Pro Class, and John Yokley who will be racing in the amateur division. They both are talented riders, and I feel that my experience will be a help with their careers. I also will have more time to spend with other racers and fans. In years past, it was tough spending time with folks around the track when most of my time involved either preparing for the races or recovering, and I was always under time constraints. Now that my focus has changed, I can carry my children around instead of a helmet; there is no better feeling than that!

I'm honored to welcome back the Army National Guard as our 2010 Title sponsor. I'm proud to work with the National Guard at races, military base visits and other select events for them. I’ll see you at the races, stop by and say hello, I’ve got the time!

My past accomplishments include:

• Multi-Time Pro and Pro Production GNCC Winner
• 1998 Silver State Pro Class Champion
• 1999 Silver State Pro Class Champion
• 2000 Silver State Pro Class Champion
• 2002 Silver State Pro Class Champion
• 2003 Las Vegas 200 Overall ATV Winner (Solo)
• 2001 BAJA 1000 Overall Winning Team
• 2005 BAJA 1000 3rd Overall ATV
• 2001 GNCC Banquet Swampfox Award
• 2002 GNCC Banquet Sportsmanship Award
• 2004 GNCC Banquet Sportsmanship Award
• 2010 GNCC Banquet Sport Ambassador Award
• 2000 GNCC Pro Class Ranked 2nd
• 2001 GNCC Pro Class Ranked 4th
• 2002 GNCC Pro Class Ranked 3rd
• 2003 GNCC Pro Class Ranked 3rd
• 2004 GNCC Pro Class Ranked 2nd
• 2005 GNCC Pro Class Ranked 3rd
• 2006 GNCC Pro Class Ranked 5th
• 2006 WPSA ProQuad Terrain Challenge Ranked 3rd
• 2007 GNCC Pro Class Ranked 11th
• 2008 GNCC Pro Class Ranked 8th
• 2008 GNCC National Side-by-Side Champion
• 2009 GNCC National Side-by-Side Ranked 4th
• 2009 GNCC Pro Class Ranked 18th
• 2010 GNCC National Side-by-Side Champion
• 2011 GNCC National Side-by-Side Champion
• 2011 WORCS National Side-by-Side Champion
• 2012 GNCC National Side-by-Side Champion