Ballance Racing's Walker Fowler is arguably one of the fastest riders to hit the woods on four wheels, but that hasn't always been the case. The XC2 prodigy started his racing career on two wheels until realizing ATVs were his true calling in 2005. Since the beginning, Fowler has racked up nine National Championships and is well on his way to ten after going undefeated in the first half of his XC2 season. Fowler grabbed his first overall win at this year's Rock Run GNCC, followed by a podium performance at Snowshoe. Don't be fooled though, the ATV standout is still just a kid - graduating from High School only this spring. One of the nicest and most respected riders on the circuit, Fowler is making a name for himself in the world of professional racing. We caught up with Walker in between working on derby cars, ATVs and RC cars - three of his biggest projects over summer break.
So Summer Break, what have you been up to?
I went to Ballance's place in Kentucky to ride a little bit, hang out and do some bike set up stuff. I went to New York for a race and got to battle with [Chris] Borich, it was a lot fun. I latched onto him and learned some stuff so it was pretty cool. Then I went out to his [Borich] house and played with RC cars a little bit. RC cars are THE best, possibly one of the most addicting things in the world. We spent a lot of money and a lot of time at Lost Creek Cycles this month (laughs).
Photo By: Julie Bayne
Walker and the crew are SO good with the kids!
I do pretty decent. On that particular track, they say if the Pro guys get into the 0:00:39's that's really impressive and I ran a 0:00:40.37 and Borich ran a 0:00:40.33 or something. So we were within a couple tenths of a second behind the Pro guys.
How would rate everyone according to RC car skills?
Borich, [John] Rowling, Me, [Johnny] Gallagher (laughs). Johnny is more into going wide open and then trying to destroy the car into pieces. As soon as he makes a mistake, it's all about crashing the car!
Do you see yourself going Pro in RC car racing once your career in ATV racing comes to an end?
I guess it's a possibility, right? I mean it's always been in the back of my head since I was a kid, growing up riding 4 wheelers but wishing that RC cars would take off and be a big thing. I would probably be the Ryan Villopoto of RC car racing; I mean it is what it is (laughs).
I bet you could make bank! Speaking of fame, your lady situation must have sky rocketed after taking the overall win at Rock Run, right?
Not so much. You send them my way then, because they're not knocking on my door!
(Laughs) In all seriousness, this season has been spectacular for you. What's your secret?
Yeah, it's probably been one of the most spectacular years that I've ever had, I think. I've had one undefeated season before, I think it was on mini bikes in 2005 or 2006 but other than that it's been a "win some, lose some" type of deal. This year has been absolutely insane though. I thought maybe a third overall by Ironman or something but I had no intentions of doing it so soon. I didn't think my first real good overall this year would be a win and then to back it up at Snowshoe with a third was pretty much the icing on the cake. There was probably 98% of people that were pulling for me and super excited that I finally got the overall but there's still that 2% that said it was just luck. So I'm glad I could back it up and prove that I'm for real and I can hang with these guys. It's cool to be able to know that I'm where I need to be but I know I have to stay focused on winning the XC2 class. I want to have an undefeated season, that's never been done before so I'm going to focus on winning the XC2 championship and if another overall win or podium comes along then good deal but the main focus is XC2 and an undefeated season.
Photo By: Julie Bayne
Danny Fowler helped all week at GNCCU, showing dedication runs in the family
Yeah, I try to get out as far ahead as I can at the beginning because it's pretty much a given that something is going to happen during the race. I think that if you have a cushion it's nice to be able to use that if something goes wrong. I know that next year in XC1, that's not going to be plausible so I'm going to have to rethink that strategy a little bit. This year my mentality is just get a lead, make mistakes and be able to recover from it if you have a big enough lead.
How many National Championships do you have under your belt?
Nine total. Four on bikes and five on ATV's.
Do ever see yourself following in the steps of the Great Barry Hawk, as far as bike/ATV championships at the Pro level?
No. Everyone's career plateaus at a certain point, I think, and I got to the point on a dirtbike where I could almost win the A class and be in the top twenty overall and that's about as fast as I can get, so it was kind of a letdown there. When I was on the 4 wheeler, though, I always thought to myself "I know I can do this, I know I can get better" and that's why I went with the 4 wheelers. I think I made the right decision. I still want to get a bike and play around on it to do some local motocross stuff during the off-season, though.
What's your training schedule like?
The ideal thing that we came up with is ride three days a week for an hour. Go to the gym three or four times a week - about an hour of cardio and do different sections of the body for three days and on the fourth day do a total body workout. I don't really eat the way I probably should but right now it's working for me. I have a lot of home cooked meals, like if you know who Paula Dean is, my mom is a BIG fan of Paula Dean so we're always eating that down home cooking. It works for me now and I'm going to keep doing it until it stops working.
So what is it like riding under Bill Ballance?
It sucks, I hate it (laughs). JUST KIDDING! It's a blast! Basically, our A class year we almost 
Photo By: Shan Moore
Broc (mechanic) has a huge role in Walker's careerwent broke trying to go racing, I mean we put all of our effort and money hoping that someone would notice and thank god someone did because I probably wouldn't be racing if they hadn't. It's awesome that the Ballance team hooks me up with a factory ride. Not even just sponsor-wise, but the knowledge is HUGE. Bill has been doing this since he was born - I think he actually came out of the womb with a pair of Pro Tapers in his hands (laughs). I could literally call him and be like "Hey Bill, there's this hill and it's got five kickers and the last one is real big and the shock is doing this," and he'll be like "Oh - take two clicks here, go in on the rebound five and stiffen your clutch up two," and I'll go out and ride it and it's perfect. I mean, you don't even have to show him; he can think about it for a minute and have the correct answer. He can do this thing with his eyes closed and it's awesome to be a part of that and to get that much insight from the best of the best. The whole team is just awesome, we're always cracking jokes and keeping it fun. We're all about keeping it family; I mean that's really what it's all about.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Broc (mechanic) has a huge role in Walker's career
Let's take it back, how did you get started in GNCC?
There was an old quad Pro racer from the nineties/early 2000's and he owns a trucking company and my dad also owns one so they were friends. So when I was like three or four, my dad took me to one of his races - it was actually a GNCC in Lisbon, Ohio and they didn't even have a morning race or anything - it was all the ATVs together. So I was a little four year old punk walking around watching the races and I told my dad I thought it was pretty awesome and I asked him if I could do it. So for my birthday that year I got a Yamaha Zinger 60, it was pretty awesome!
I spent the winter riding it and did a race in the spring of 1996 and from then on I did a lot of locals and stuff. Now this is something Cory B. has made fun of me about before but I started thinking that if I could race a dirtbike too, that I could essentially get two trophies in one weekend. But the problem was, I couldn't ride a bicycle, so dad told me if I could learn 
Photo By: Shan Moore
Fowler is gunning for a perfect season in XC2 this yearto ride a bicycle I could have a dirtbike. Well once I learned how to ride the bicycle, he said that was too easy so he told me I had to do a wheelie from telephone pole to telephone pole, so I spent about two weeks trying to do these wheelies. I always had scratched toes and knees because I would wear flip-flops all the time (I don't wear them anymore). So once I got the wheelie down, dad went to the local KTM dealer and bought me a 50 Adventure that was macaroni orange and purple.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Fowler is gunning for a perfect season in XC2 this year
I started racing GNCCs in 2002 on a 65 with duct tape all over it, mismatched gear, zip ties holding the plastic and everything. I was thinking, "Oh man, I'm so done for." Basically, at the end of the day I ended up getting third on the podium and it was pretty awesome. I went home and got new plastic, gear and a new helmet and we got pretty serious after that.
Did you ever think this sport would evolve to what it is since you were racing locals as a kid?
No way. GNCC added a Youth ATV class in 2005 and that's when I started racing the ATVs and things got bigger. I never thought a bunch of rednecks with open-faced helmets that ride 1960 Indians in the woods would ever be 90-foot semis with TV coverage but here we are. It's pretty awesome that it's evolved to where we are now, for sure.
Photo By: Stolen from Walker's Facebook
The BEFORE pic of the derby-destined Cav
Well I've been busy building my demolition derby car for an upcoming race on August 3 at the Columbia County Fair, it's going to be wicked! It's going to be such an adrenaline rush. I'm scared of heights so rollercoasters don't work but I feel like this is going to be a rollercoaster on the ground, I'm so excited! I have a 1997 Chevy Cavalier that we're going to paint blue to match the race bikes. It's really cool, my sponsors are getting involved too and the cars are going to be 100% decked out. Yamaha sent me huge stickers to put on both my dad's car and mine and I'll be using my Leatt neckbrace, Fly helmet and as many other things I can use to show my sponsors out there. I'm really excited and it's cool that my sponsors are being so supportive.
Who's helping you out this year?
I'd like to first thank the good lord for keeping me safe and healthy, my parents, sister, and family for backing me 100%, my mechanic Broc Booth who puts countless hours into my race quads, the entire Ballance Racing team for all their help, Yamaha, Moto X-Perts, Maxxis, Vortex, Hiper, Tire Balls, Ohlins, JB Racing, Pro Armor, Fasst Co, Dragon Racing Fuels, Precision, DP Brakes, G4 Graphics, FMF, FLY, Leatt, Scott, Pro Taper, GYTR, Yamalube, Anti-Grivity Batteries, Wiseco, CV4, Cycra, IMS, Works Connection, N-Style. Thanks a bunch!
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