As soon as the consent decree expired, Honda picked up right where it left off. In 1998, the Honda 400EX was released. Ironically, it was no match for the nine-year-old aftermarket-based 250R machines.
Enter Cannondale
Even though Honda was the first OEM to release a '90s model sport quad, it was Cannondale that built the first showroom race-ready machine. The fact that it took a company that specialized in bicycles to release a truly racetrack-worthy ATV didn't seem to matter. Cannondale's aggressive attitude toward racing was the shot in the arm the industry needed. The Nac's Cannondale team single-handedly brought back factory ATV racing. The weight of the industry now rested on the shoulders of Brad Warner, team manager of the Nac's Racing/Factory Cannondale Team that had to make production-based machines compete against hybrids.
ATVR: How much pressure was there to succeed, being the first true factory team since the '80s?
Brad Warner: The talk was that there was no pressure, but there was pressure for me. Winning meant we could prove that factory race teams were a thing of the future, not just the past. I did everything that I could to help prove that very fact.
ATVR: Who rode for you and how did they do?
BW: It was Kim Khunle and Tyson Thomas in GNCC. In MX Mark Burns gave Cannondale both its first win and championship, and Nate Leverenz won the A class the first year out and Ben Jackson was our first year MX pro. Ben did a great job; I only wish we could've given him a machine that could compete with the other machines of the time.
ATVR: Did you believe that production-based machines could truly compete against the hybrids of that era?
BW: No, and that was the biggest problem with Cannondale. The company was going after those hybrids when Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki proved that there was a huge sport market that had no competition. I don't think we should've even had a pro-class entry. If we would've skipped the pro class, we would've had no major defeats our first year, and that would've been something to talk about.
ATVR: How would you say the Nac's/Cannondale factory team changed ATV racing?
BW: I think the vision that Darren Naccarato had was right, and though there were many things that happened along the road, I think that Jim and Shirley Naccarato played a huge part in what you see today with all the factory support. I know there were many disappointments in the end, but no matter what, Nac's Racing paved the way for many pro riders to succeed today. I don't think we owe it all to them, but what they did sure turned a lot of heads.
The New Pro Class
Not only did Cannondale turn heads, it caused change. Longtime race promoter and ATV racing advocate Donnie "Bulldog" Banks was first to see the writing on the wall. Banks saw the need for a production-based pro class and, staying true to his "Bulldog" moniker, stood up and demanded that the AMA congress meet where rules are made.
Team Kawasaki's Jimmy White...
Team Kawasaki's Jimmy White offers Josh Creamer some encouraging words before his moto.
"I told them, the time is now. Not next year, or the one after that. Now!" Banks said of the meeting. "Back then there was no reason for any OEM to get involved, we weren't racing OEM equipment. No OEMs meant no TV, no growth, no future. There were those who thought it wouldn't be fair to the aftermarket. I said, 'Let them build A-arms. Trust me, they'll have plenty to do.'"
Banks' vision was dead on. The 2003 pro production class tapped the egos of the OEMs, and suddenly the brash Banks seemed more "pundit" than "big mouth." When Tim Farr opted to contest the new pro production class with factory support from Suzuki, as opposed to defending his No. 1 plate in the pro class, the entire ATV community took notice. Change was coming.