Dan Baudoux from Freeland, started racing motocross in 1970 at the age of 15. He was born in Saginaw.
Dan’s interest for racing started as a youth riding Dirt Bikes. Ten years of motorcycle racing ended with back surgery. He had a part time job at Eric’s Service Station where he worked on Volkswagens. The next thing you know he was driving and building up his VWs to go faster, then his neighbor turned him on to Off-Road racing. He began racing Off-Road buggies after building his first car in 1984. The first track he raced buggies at was Bark River Int’l Raceway near Escanaba. He then began racing the Off-Road Trucks as well. He continues to race buggies and trucks today.
In the buggies and trucks he has more than 300 plus wins, 24 championship titles and 23 world championships. He has raced from coast-to-coast and in Canada.
In 2009 he won both limited races at the World Championship Off-Road races at the Crandon Int’l Raceway in northern Wisconsin. “It’s quite a big event, it’s the biggest off-road short-course event in the United States,” Baudoux said. “So coming out of there winning is truly the world championship of off-road racing.” He raced in the Pro 2 Series of the Traxxas TORC Off-Road Championship Series, which allows unlimited horsepower. He also competed in the Pro Division at 300 horsepower or less.
Dan has won six Michigan Sport Buggy Association championships, six Michigan Off-Road Racing Association titles and four Short Course Off-Road Drivers Association (SODA) titles along with the Lucas Oil CORR Sportsman 2 Championships in 2003, 2004 ad 2006.
In comparison, SODA is the NASCAR Cup of Off-Road racing. The series runs races in Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin. He is the only SODA driver to have raced in six different classes. In a race at Bark River, he won every class he raced in, the first driver to pull off that feat.
“Driving a truck is completely different,” Baudoux said. “I can’t remember my first year driving a truck, but I just wanted to quit. I just didn’t think I could drive them. It took me at least years to catch on.”
Dan Baudoux was born July 7, 1955.