Part daredevil, part fitness nut, part mechanic, part salesman and part traveler.

And wholly successful.

Windsor senior Devon Feehan has emerged as one of the top riders on the Grand National Cross Country ATV XC2 Pro-Am circuit. The young man’s been racing for five years, but 2017 has sent him to the top of the points standings through events held in Union, South Carolina; Palatka, Florida; Sparta, Georgia; Morganton, North Carolina; Society Hill, South Carolina; and Peru, Indiana.

For sure, the Feehans’ RV has logged plenty of miles this spring. As has Devon’s “quad,” one on which he does all the repairs despite having no formal training.

The mild-mannered Feehan has earned three victories, negotiating sand, woods, trees, fields, mud and creeks, along with jumps that send his machine 20 feet over the surface of demanding courses that take two hours-plus to complete. March brought wins in South Carolina and Florida, and a second-place showing in Georgia. April yielded a first-place finish in North Carolina and a fourth-place showing in South Carolina. Through six events, he has a three-point lead over Newfield native Hunter Hart in the points’ standings, with Ithaca rider Greg Covert sitting fourth in points – 18 behind Feehan.

Admitting to having a one-track mind when it comes to riding, Feehan is the CEO of his operation and oversees all things involved in his success. Atop that singularly-focused head sits myriad hats.

If he only had to compete, or prepare his body, or fix his quads, or glad-hand sponsors, or prepare a schedule that allows him time to travel without missing much school … if it was just one of those things. That fact it’s all of those things makes it a 24/7/365 venture.

The question is why?

Feehan, 17, thought about turning pro – he’s currently competing one level below the pro ranks – this season after being named 2016 Amateur Rider of the Year. His class starts at the same time as the pros and GNCC director of media relations Chelsea Taylor said Feehan would be seventh in points among pros after five races.

But these ATV pros ain’t water skiing behind yachts. The purses are paltry, $6,300 in prize money per event with the winner earning $1,250.

As Feehan said, “There are people who do make a living out of it but not very many.” Taylor added the top six or seven guys can pay the bills through racing, their incomes supplemented by sponsorship and equipment deals.

So what’s the motivation? Feehan’s closest rival, Hart, summed it up best.

“It’s grueling, but it’s what we love to do,” said Hart, who has two wins this season.

Added Feehan: “You have to put everything you have into it. It’s pretty much all I do, pretty much all I think about. I’ve trained for it, I’ve pretty much changed my whole lifestyle for it. It’s a lot of sacrifice.”

Getting started

In Windsor, one doesn’t have to look far to find four-wheelers. They’re everywhere, so it’s not surprising Feehan got the itch to ride through seeing his buddies do it.

Of course he wanted a quad, but parents Maureen and Peter weren’t keen on the idea.

“Probably about four to six months of convincing,” Feehan said of the wearing-down process. “I showed them a Go-Pro video someone had posted on YouTube and said, ‘Look, it’s not that bad.’ I think that was the point (my father) gave in.”

By 2012, he started racing at Broome-Tioga Sports Center in Center Lisle.

“I had to beg my dad to do that,” he said. “He didn’t want any part of it. You don’t want to get hurt and all that stuff. (My parents) seemed to think it was really dangerous, which obviously it is, but …”

Feehan shared two incidents that prove just how harrowing the sport can be. Racing in a Western New York Offroad Association event in 2014 … well, here’s how he described it:

“I was in fourth place, trying to make up time going through a field in a very fast segment at max speed. It was dusty. A banner race officials said would be removed when we came back through was not removed. The dust cleared and the banner was still there. At the last second, I saw the banner and panicked a bit and turned left. There was a divot and the quad went out from underneath me. I went up and over the bars. That was definitely the scariest crash I’ve been involved in.”

The same year in a race at Unadilla MX, Feehan passed out during a race. It was before he started to take racing seriously and Feehan said he didn’t eat well at the time.

“My blood sugar was low,” he said. “On the last lap, I just lost all my energy. I started to feel sick, got dizzy and then I just shut down. My head just went down on the bars (while the quad was still in motion).”

Still, Feehan has never broken a bone or suffered any serious injuries in five years of competitive racing.

“I know a lot of people who have broken a lot of stuff and I always tell myself, ‘I don’t want to get hurt,’” Feehan said. “No one wants to get hurt, but I see everybody else getting hurt and if I just ride smart and stay focused, because the second you lose focus, that’s the second you make a mistake.”

Fitness fanatic

He’s not a big kid – 5-foot-8 and maybe 140 pounds, but it’s a muscular frame that screams “fitness.”

Feehan spends about two hours a day preparing his body for the rigors of competition. In victories this spring in South Carolina, Florida and North Carolina, he finished in respective times of 2:07:47.828, 1:59:42.437 and 2:04:12.484. He described race days as an hour of fun and an hour of pain. In his most recent GNCC event, Feehan placed fourth in 2:26:43.046 on April 22 at Society Hill, South Carolina.

“I don’t think I’ve ever done anything more physically demanding than the race,” he said. “If you don’t have the stamina to ride, you have nothing.”

Oddly, he practices on a quad only once a week. The rest of the time he spends in Windsor High School’s weight and aerobics rooms, on mountain bikes, and at American Family Fitness, focusing on strength and endurance training. He mentioned mountain biking, weight training, jumping rope, using a rowing machine and a stationary bike, sprinting on a treadmill and throwing slam balls.

Courses are 8- to 12-mile loops that riders will complete four to five times in a competition. Once it starts there are no breaks as riders attempt to control quads that max out at around 65 mph.

It’s those last laps where “the men are separated from the boys,” said Feehan, who beat Covert by about a second March 4 in Union, South Carolina, and finished runner-up to Hart by about a second March 25 in Sparta, Georgia.

“You can be a talented rider, but as far as our races go, you have to be mentally tough,” Feehan said. “I race against a guy who rides four times a week. I’m in the gym while he’s out riding. That’s a talent thing, he knows how to ride, but I’m in the gym six to seven days a week trying to improve my fitness and conditioning. That’s what it comes down to – physical fitness is the main part.”

Taylor said Feehan is well known throughout the circuit for his ability chase down front-runners during a race.

Mr. Fix It

Feehan has one squad for GNCC races, another for WYNOA races and a third for practice. He handles maintenance on three machines, a skill he developed through trial and error.

“Something would go wrong and I’d just look at it,” he said. “I’d take it apart and figure out how it all goes back together.”

He didn’t argue when the term “control freak” was thrown in his direction. If something goes awry, the image he stares back at in the mirror is to blame. Thing is, nothing’s gone wrong. He’s been using the same quads for two years. A detailed checklist hangs in his garage, one that lets him know what needs replacing and he does so dutifully.

“I have every race scouted out,” he said. “What part needs to go on before which race, a checklist for every bolt, all the air pressures and once the checklist is done, I know it’s ready.”

Outside of getting his body ready, making sure his quad is running optimally is paramount to Feehan’s success.

“I’ve tried to make it as bulletproof as possible,” he said. “If the set-up is perfect, that gives me a sense of confidence that other people don’t have. I know every nut, every bolt and I think that gives me an advantage over other riders.”

Selling himself

Feehan’s future goal is to become a successful pro and it’s about a lot more than winning races.

For Feehan, race day also means mingling with sponsors, seeking new sponsors, and staying in touch with them through phone calls and emails.

It seems to be paying off.

“I can’t say enough good things about him and his family,” Taylor said. “On the track and off the track, you have to be good at racing, but you have to be a good promoter, too. He’s perfect at it.

“When Hunter (Hart) wins, he’s over there congratulating him. I’ve never seen him down in the dumps.”

Hart and Feehan spend time together away from the racing scene. Feehan has visited Hart’s home outside of Tampa and they’ve climbed mountains at Greek Peek.

“Devon is a good friend of mine,” Hart said. “We hang out a lot and it’s fun. But once we’re on the race track, as they say, there are no friends on the race track.”

That sleek red Honda Feehan rides is filled with decals from various sponsors. He’s not to the point where he’s getting money from sponsors, but free parts in exchange for a spot on his quad will do for now. Feehan said he was going through tires every three or four races and paid $300 to $400 to replace them. That is until a tire company agreed to supply him with two sets for each race.

“I’ve definitely seen the amount of support grow and it just keeps on growing, just through saying I’m going to run your product,” Feehan said. “That was probably the coolest thing, them saying we want you as a rider.”

Obviously, success on the track doesn’t hurt. As Feehan said, a points’ championship would good on the resume.

Balancing act

The GNCC series visits seven states through its 13-race season that runs from early March through late October. It goes as far south as Florida and as far west as Indiana.

But Feehan said his studies haven’t been affected too much. He missed one week of school in March, staying down south for races in back-to-back weeks in South Carolina and Florida. On weeks he has GNCC races, he hops in the RV with mom and dad following school Thursday and only misses one day.

By the way, the folks have done a 180 as it relates to the competitive-racing gig.

“My dad, especially this year, seems to have lightened up and is really starting to enjoy it,” Feehan said.

Feehan said he’s learned about responsibility, interacting with people and has gained self-confidence he never had before he started racing.

This fall, Feehan will take classes at SUNY Broome, majoring in business administration while he continues to race. Then, if all goes well, it’s off to the pro circuit in 2018.

“I didn’t really expect (to win three of the first five GNCC races this season),” he said. “It was definitely a goal I had. I set goals that are achievable, not too up in the air. I set goals, but I don’t say they have to happen. If I can’t achieve them, then I can’t, but if I work my hardest, then I did what I could. Having three wins already this season, if I can build some more on there, I can go for the championship and we’re on the road for it.”