About 40 minutes into the Raceday Live coverage at Ironman, I was caught off guard to hear Ted Parks tell JT that he was shutting down his TPJ Privateer Journey after this event. For over fifteen years Ted has been providing countless valuable resources to the struggling privateers who comprise the majority of the field at every MX National or Supercross event.
Ted’s son, Teddy, raced out of our Wonder Warthog rig and his dad was integral in helping our team logistically to survive. He learned a little bit from our mistakes, put together a program loosely based on our concept and turned it into a sustainable oasis for hundreds of racers and their families. His genuine, no-bullshit likability, coupled with his business savvy fueled by an unmatched work ethic and love for the sport made him a pleasure to be around.
His exit from the sport will leave a void that will be hard to fill. Thank you, Ted, and enjoy life back home in Texas with your family. It has been an honor to know you and the sport owes you a debt of gratitude. See you soon, my friend.
Seconded.
Also, from one Steve (Dye) to another, Bauer my old friend, hope all is well. It's been a minute.
Well said. The man is a massive influence on our sport. They broke the mold when he was created. Great man.
Well said Steve, hope you're doing well.
Bird man, good guy.
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Free shipping: VITALMX
Hiya Steve, it has been a long, strange trip for sure! Nice to hear from you…I have a great photo of you, me, Schutte, DC and TFS I need to dig up and post in this thread. I’d do it now, but I’m not at home. I hope you’re doing well. We need to catch up before one of us is tits up, you know? This old age shit is not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure.
I had the pleasure of meeting and running into Ted at the races over the past couple of years.
His and TPJ's departure will leave a big hole in the pits that will be hard for anyone to fill.
No doubt. Lotta miles on the odometer these days, huh brother? But we had some good times back in the day.
A catch up would be good.
I love Ted!
He will stop and talk your ear off about oddball things, like the quality of tri-tip steak you can buy at Walmart, or how shitty California prices can be, to stories about his days in the construction business.
I will miss talking to him, getting advice about how to deal with stuff, and shooting the shit about Texas vs California.
His generosity toward his riders and his good heart cannot be replaced in this sport..
For what it is worth, at Hangtown this year he told me one of the reasons he is leaving because he is getting tired of dealing with Feld In the Supercross series…
Glad I was able to talk to Ted at Budds Creek.
Dieing breed helping the Privateers. Bauer, Gus and Ted
The list of guys he helped would be amazing to see
Sad to see him leave , thanks teddy
Gotta nudge this back up…
The good news is someone is already working on a new program for the racers. Ted is helping the new guy get things rolling.
TPJ, Ted, Teddy, and Kathy have always been awesome people, and helpful to a goon like me
From hooking my daughter and myself up for our first ever track walk, letting my wife use their restroom instead of the porta potties, letting me ride their track (showing me that I have zero supercross skills) and allowing me to pit with them at a local race.
Thanks TPJ for what you’ve done for my family, and the motocross community
What a big loss to the MX community.
A legend! He will be missed!!!
Ted just lives right up the street from me and had a supercross track in his backyard for years in the middle of a neighborhood on Lake Lavon. I asked him how he gets away with it because there are several houses surrounding the track and he said he owns most of the houses in that area and not complaining about the track is in the lease agreement.
The company I worked for was a pretty big sponsor of his, so I got pressbox tickets to the Atlanta SX years ago. Met him for a few minutes to thank him before track walk and wouldn't you know it after track walk a couple security guards were getting out of hand. The unfortunate part for them was Teddy happened to see it and I didn't have to say a word in my defense, he tore those dudes a new one. Super solid dude.
Post a reply to: Kudos to Ted Parks, an American hero!