Next week, the X Games start in Austin. The tournament is big business – some people pay as much as $1000 for tickets. But what about for the extreme athletes at the games? Charles Dorrance is an Austin resident that will be competing in off road truck racing for the second time this year. He says it’s a costly sport, both physically and financially, but making money is becoming more of a possibility.
Dorrance joins the Texas Standard to talk about why he got into the sport and what it’s like being an extreme athlete.
On how dangerous it is:
“Well, that’s a relative question. It is an X Game. I was in a car crash about a year ago. I went over four and a half times in one of these little trucks. I walked out with some broken ribs and a sprained ankle – and two weeks later I raced the X Games…I think [my kids] are on my side, and my wife almost certainly worries about it, but she also understands that this is what I love to do.”
On being inspired to race super trucks:
“I’ve always liked to go fast. I grew up on ranch roads, driving in the dirt…it just kinda stuck with me. You go through it, these long desert races, you get out and you’re just beat, exhausted. And then, you come back like a month later and go, ‘that was really cool.’”
On whether you can make a living racing these trucks:
“It’s hard to say because this sport is so new. I think if you give it five years, I think it will be much easier because people will know more of what it is and will get better and better each time.”