Dustin Nelson grew up in a family of desert enthusiasts and began racing motorcycles on the local motocross track at age six. That first race was all he needed to be addicted to motocross for the rest of his life. Nelson spent many years racing both the local races and amateur nationals, winning Loretta Lynn’s in 1993 riding the 85cc Stock class. Nelson turned pro at the end of 1994 just after his 17th birthday. Nelson’s AMA Supercross and National MX career lasted from 1996 to 2004, with his best SX finish being an 8th and best National MX finish being 12th.

In 1999 Nelson became a test rider for Yamaha, evaluating the prototype and pre-production YZ motorcycles. This was also a good year for racing as he won the AMA 4 Stroke Nationals on a YZ400F. Another great thing came from being a test rider for Yamaha … his introduction to ATV racing. In 2002, the testing staff asked if Nelson would be interested in being involved with the development of a pure sport quad with racing in mind. Before he threw a leg over what would ultimately become the YFZ450, Nelson had never ridden a quad on a motocross track. He was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the ATV could get around some of the Southern California tracks.

Nelson’s first ATV race was in November of 2003. Some of Yamaha’s testing staff talked him into going to a QuadCross race at Glen Helen and giving it a shot. That day changed his life. Nelson left there with a second place check from the pro class and a lot of thinking to do. In 2004 he had a commitment to race the 4 Stroke Nationals so he raced every off weekend he could on a YFZ450 trying to build his skills. He faced a hard decision for the 2005 season: After finishing 3rd in the championship on two wheels, he hung it up, focusing all his attention on ATV racing. In Nelson’s first full year racing ATVs he finished 3rd in the QuadCross series.

At the start of 2006, Nelson felt that he had stepped up his game and would be the man to beat when it came to the QuadCross series – and he was right winning his first pro class championship.  He followed that up with two more championships in 2008 and 2009 while also helping to develop the all-new YFZ450R. 

CAREER RACING RESULTS
2010 - Yamaha/ITP QuadCross Series - 1st
2009 - Yamaha/ITP QuadCross Series - 1st
2008 - Yamaha/ITP QuadCross Series - 1st
2006 - Yamaha/ITP QuadCross Series - 1st
2005 - Yamaha/ITP QuadCross Series - 3rd
1999 - AMA 4 Stroke National Champion (Motorcycle)
1993 - AMA Amateur National Champion 85cc (Motorcycle)

RIDER PROFILE
Dustin Nelson	#94
Age	33
Hometown	El Cajon, CA
Current Residency	Ramona, CA
Height	5’9”
Weight	175 lbs.
Year Turned Pro	Motorcycle: 1994 ATV: 2003
Training	Chasing my kids around and riding
Favorite Track	Speedworld MX, Surprise, AZ
Favorite Obstacle	Technical jump sections
Favorite Music	Green Day
Favorite Food	Mexican
First Race	Motorcycle: 1984 Barona Oaks ATV: 2003 Glen Helen
Hobbies	Ping Pong, Taking the buggy to the desert.
Marital Status	Married
Sponsors	Yamaha Motor Corporation, Motoworks, Yamalube, DWT, One, Golden West, Elka, Roll Design, Motoworld, GPR, IMS, Flexx, Spider grips, Quad Tech, Streamline, Velocity Filters, EKS Brand 661, Injectioneering