GNCC Racing

Tuesday Toolbox: Levi Coen

Tuesday Toolbox: Levi Coen

Tuesday, March 21, 2023 | 4:30 PM
by:
Tuesday, March 21, 2023 | 4:30 PM

GNCCRacing.com: Levi! We’re finally making this happen! Let’s get started with the obvious… What was your first atv? When did you start riding? When did you first start racing?

Levi Coen: Hey Mikey, how's it going?! First ever Quad was a Suzuki lt80 , and first race I had to be about eight years old.

Levi considers himself a
Levi considers himself a "part-time" racer nowadays.  Jami G Photography

These days you mostly race for fun, making an appearance in the Sportsman class from time to time, but you do have several GNCC National Championships under your belt. What classes/years are those National Championships from?

Yeah, I'm a part-timer now , did manage to hop in at the Florida and Georgia round in the Sportsman A Row and get a couple of wins which is always fun , but yeah, I've been racing the GNCC circuit going on 16 years now. I've got three national championships and a youth rider of the year award , supermini in 2009 and 2010 then after my years in Pro Am I took a step back to Junior A and won that in 2018.

What are some of your best memories from racing GNCC?

I've got too many to list but just all the good families you meet along the way and relationships you make that last forever, but one particular racing memory that sticks out would probably be 2018 camp Coker, that's always one of my favorite tracks to race. But getting the win there and getting to share the podium that day with my buddy Matthew Blankenship and Jeff Pickens will be a race I'll always remember.

Levi has earned two wins this season as he races in the Sportsman A class on Saturday morning.
Levi has earned two wins this season as he races in the Sportsman A class on Saturday morning. Jami G Photography

Man, tugging on the heart strings with that podium. Always love hearing a story involving my fellow Hoosier, Matthew Blankenship. As mentioned prior, a race weekend looks a little different for you these days. What’s on the “To-Do” list for you at a GNCC? You seem to be doing everything from helping pit, turning a wrench here and there, you’re in the thick of it.

Yeah, race days are definitely different for me now, taking a step away from racing full time. Now the days mainly consist of making sure all the guys are ready to go, get them eating good foods, warmed up and in the right mind set to hit the track, once the race kicks off I'm usually back and forth between the Glauda pit and the Action team helping anyone who needs fuel/goggles then heading to the woods with water bottles , I travel with my good friend Matt Pierce a lot who's the mechanic for a lot of the guys so anytime he needs a hand with finishing something up I'm usually around but we leave all the serious wrenching to him. Lol

You recently started Outlier Performance. Your own fitness training program? How did that come about and how are things going for you?

Yeah, this is my first full time year putting all the focus in Outlier, I've always enjoyed the fitness and nutrition side of racing almost as much as the actual racing itself and I've spent quite a few of my winters over the years at the Glauda’s place in the Carolinas for my own training and work, which I can't thank them enough for, but last season John Sr. contacted me about helping James (Jimmy) for the year with his training, and it went great! James won the College A title, we had a good year and I enjoyed it, it just felt like it was for me, you have a ton of these trainers in the moto world, but you just don't see these guys doing it in GNCC for some reason especially on the ATV side. So that's the area I'm putting myself in.  since then I was fortunate enough to get with Jason Stewart at Action Off-Road, they've got an awesome program running this year that I'm happy to be a part of and it's just taken off from there.

This is Levi's first full year putting all of his focus in Outlier Performance.
This is Levi's first full year putting all of his focus in Outlier Performance. Jami G Photography

You work with multiple heavy hitters in the Pro and Amateur ranks. Who are some of those riders you’re helping with their training program?

Yeah, I've got a solid group of guys that I get the opportunity to work with, including 4 of the top 10 overall PM racers on a regular basis including Josh Merritt, John Glauda, Wyatt Wilkin, and Austin Abney, as well as a couple Pro Am guys with James Glauda and Layne McCormick now. Some of the top A riders with Charlie Stewart, Harrison Lyndsey, Damien Hawkins, Cory Vandelinder, and Alex Elioff, and 4x4 Pro Haedyn Mickelson then quite a few more guys all the way through the youth ranks to the morning all the way to the front row in the afternoon. They're all doing great, and I would love to shout them all out but might need a couple more pages. Lol But I gotta throw out there my buddy Landon Glauda who's swept the first 3 rounds in his youth class.

What are your goals with racing and fitness training moving forward?

Just keep growing and helping these guys towards their goals, seeing these guys progress week and then see them put it together on the weekends makes it all worth it. I think you'll be seeing a lot of those names listed above on the podium this year!

Let’s talk about life outside of the race track and training in the gym. What do you like to do for fun outside of the obvious, riding & training? 

Well it's funny because training was always my hobby outside of the race track but now being thrown in the deep end it seems like my phone is ringing every couple of minutes with one of the team guys talking about a workout (Which I enjoy discussing.) But I really do thoroughly enjoy training in all forms if it's cycling and you’re going for a 100-mile ride with the boys or a Thursday night deadlift session when you're really pushing yourself into that red zone. I think you can learn a lot about yourself in that place. lol Racing and training takes up 90% of my time but really besides that any chance I get to ride my BMX bike I'm on it.

Levi is always up for discussing training and/or workouts. 
Levi is always up for discussing training and/or workouts.  Jami G Photography

As a former “meat-head” turned “dad bod” and “announcer” I gotta know… What’s your max on bench and squats… bro?

Well my upper body has been through the ringer with some broken arms , elbows, and shoulders so my bench isn't great, but a good PR bench day is 335 , squat around 475 (500 on box squat lol) But my all-time favorite movement is the deadlift which is 525 (conventional of course none of that sumo pulling.) lol

Kindred spirits! You had me at “none of that sumo pulling”! Where can people find more information about your training programs?

They can contact me at [email protected] or send me a Message on Instagram through @Lcoen_369 or @Outlierperformance1, get a hold of me I'm always happy to chat and discuss working together, I still have a few spots open for the remainder of the season! And if you're looking to do some on the Quad training this summer little or big check out the Action Off-road camp it's great for all ages and you get to train alongside Myself and nearly every Xc1 pro on the line for a week!

Who are the sponsors and people you’d like to thank?

First off, I would like to thank my parents for being overly supportive in everything I do, and a huge thank you to the Glauda Family for everything over the years and the Stewart's, Jason, and Alicia, I can't thank them enough for everything, we've got a really good thing going over there at the Action Off-road racing team and only going up from here. Matt Pierce at Pierce Performance this guy’s been like a brother to me my whole racing career, Josh Merritt for all the pep talks over the years, plus JM, Wyatt Wilkin, and the Glauda boys for always being around when I want to try out a rough workout that I'm not sure about. lol My guy Mikey Daugherty for always being around when someone needs a hand, Fastraxx racing , Pierce Performance, Action Off-road, Eks goggles, GBC tires, Jami G Photography for all the great pictures, Moose racing, Active Waste, Griffith general construction, you Mikey Waynes for taking his time for this interview and all my friends family and anyone I may have forgotten for everything over the years, it's been a heck of a ride so let's keep it rolling!