Biography
Beginning at the age of 12 in motocross, Johnny Greaves has won races and championships in every level of competition. At 23, he soon earned success while buggy racing in SCORE off-road desert and SODA short-course off-road series (the precursor to Championship Off-Road Racing — CORR).
In the early ’90s, Greaves, from DePere, Wis., earned multiple buggy-class championships. That same year, Greaves took his first steps in compact trucks by racing select events in Class 7s. In 1993, he began racing trucks exclusively and debuted a Toyota SR-5. With his energies devoted full-time to truck racing, Greaves finished the season in the winner’s circle at the final two events of the SODA season.
From 1994 to 1996, Greaves won two championships and more than 70 percent of the races he entered. He developed a two-truck Toyota team with his closest rival, Jeff Kincaid, in 1997. Greaves/Kincaid Motorsports won 19 out of 20 races while capturing the championship (Greaves) and a second-place finish (Kincaid) in both the SODA Series and CORR Winter Series.
The 1998 and 1999 seasons were a continuation of the Greaves/Kincaid team’s incredible success as they dominated the CORR PRO Light compact truck class in their Toyota Tacomas. In 1998, Greaves was victorious in 10 of 16 races and upstaged himself in 1999 with 11 wins, capturing his third PRO Light championship.
In 2000, Greaves made the move to full-size trucks with a 2-wheel-drive PRO 2 Class Toyota Tundra. Season highlights included a win at the finale in Topeka, Kan., and the top PRO 2 truck (third overall with the PRO 4s) in the BorgWarner Cup at Crandon.
Greaves made another jump in 2001 up to the PRO 4 (full-size, 4WD) class with great results. His three victories were the second most in the class, placing him third overall in his first season. He is the only racer in the series’ history to have race wins in each of the three professional classes.
Greaves reached another milestone in 2002 with a PRO 4 class championship in his Forest County Potawatomi Toyota Tundra 4x4 and led the class with three victories. In 2003, Greaves earned four wins to tie for the division lead. He also had nine top-five finishes in 13 races to finish fourth overall in the PRO 4 division.
In 2004, Greaves captured the BorgWarner Cup at Crandon as well as four wins and 11 top-five finishes in 14 races. He finished fifth overall in the PRO 4 division.
In 2005 and 2006, Greaves secured the PRO 4 class championship in his Forest County Potawatomi Toyota Tundra 4x4 and in 2005, set a new CORR record with seven consecutive wins — eight total for the year. His performance, along with that of Toyota driver Rick Huseman, netted Toyota the PRO 4 Manufacturer’s Championship in 2005.
In 2006 Greaves was named “Driver of the Year.”
With the 2007 entry of WSORR into the world of short-course off-road racing, it was a busy year for Greaves and his team. He was the only Tundra driver to compete in both series. He won the WSORR PRO 4x4 Driver Championship with six wins and 11 top-five finishes in 11 races. He also won the 13th annual BorgWarner Manufacturer’s Challenge Cup. This marks Johnny’s second consecutive win of this prestigious race. Winning was a family affair these past three seasons with his brother Curt Greaves being named 2005, 2006 and 2007 “Crew Chief of the Year.”
In 2008, Greaves Motorsports took their racing program to another level by adding a second truck to the mix in the PRO 2 class. The season proved to be a challenge for the Monster Energy Potawatomi Toyota BFG team, as one of Greaves worst career crashes came at Pomona, flipping nearly 8 times and sending him to the hospital. He was unable to run in the Sunday race. But, Greaves and his team proved their resilience by coming back and winning at Crandon two weeks later after having to completely rebuild the truck.
The team made significant progress with several podium finishes and a win in Primm, NV along with 13 top five finishes. By the end of the season, Greaves had one win in PRO 4, finished 5th in the final standings in CORR, and had four victories in WSORR.
With the demise of CORR, Johnny and a group of pro drivers formed the Professional Drivers Group (PDG). This group organized with the goal of developing a united, short-course off-road racing series. Out of that emerged The Off-Road Championship Series (TORC) headed up by supercross legend, Ricky Johnson and Johnny’s agent, Mitch Covington. The 2009 inaugural season remarkably came together in a very short time with a great TV package and top national venues.
Before the season began, a great opportunity presented itself to Johnny Greaves Motorsports, with supercross superstar Jeremy McGrath joining the team to drive Johnny’s PRO 2WD class Toyota.
Johnny’s 2009 TORC Series PRO 4X4 season was filled with near misses, spectacular crashes, and exciting victories. He earned his first win in the second race weekend at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, Calif. He managed a weekend sweep at the Bark River International Raceway in rounds 7 and 8. Johnny finished the season in a respectable 4th place in points.
In the off season, Monster Energy/Toyota/BFG pulled together to attempt a record jump in a 4-wheeled vehicle. Johnny not only beat the record – he shattered it by jumping to a new World Record: 301 feet!
Johnny tore into the 2010 TORC Series season with a vengeance on Father’s Day weekend by winning the opening round at Crandon International Off-road Raceway. His son, CJ, also took the top podium spot in the Super Buggy for a great Father/Son victory sweep. Johnny followed his Crandon success with back-to-back victories in Bark River. He also earned the Oakley Bomb award for the fastest lap in both races and finished the season with an impressive 6 awards. He also won at Chicagoland’s Route 66 track in TORC’s first trip to the windy city. Greaves finished the season with 5 wins and 8 podiums to clinch another Pro 4 off-road championship. CJ won the Super Buggy championship to complete the first short-course father/son championship combination.
Greaves currently holds the most all-time short-course off-road racing victories with 80 off-road victories since 1998.
