Monster Energy’s Greaves Clan Set to Launch 2026 AMSOIL Off‑Road Championship

Monster Energy’s Johnny Greaves, his short course off-road record holding son, CJ, and namesake cousin Kyle Greaves are set to get things rolling this weekend in Wheatland, Mo., as the 2025 AMSOIL Off-Road Championship series fires up with the Show-Me Off-Road Shootout at Lucas Oil Speedway, May 1-3.

For 22 years now Johnny Greaves has been a Monster Energy-backed athlete – far and away the longest running tenure with the classic glowing M-claw logo that began back in 2004 with a helmet wrap/can-on-the-podium handshake deal that’s roared through three different decades of short course, desert and rock racing – and isn’t slowing down one bit.

Well, maybe slowing just a bit at the start of the AMSOIL series this weekend as defending premier PRO 4 class 5-time defending champ CJ’s recovering from some off-season knee surgery.

“Yeah, he (CJ) went in for an ACL repair and, when they got in there, they found his meniscus was torn in such a way they had to go in further and do some fancier surgery in there,” explained Johnny Greaves. “Turned out to be a lot bigger deal, and the (the meniscus repair) slowed down the whole ACL recovery.”

Given all that Kyle Greaves is scheduled to take over the PRO 4 duties for the defending champion beginning this weekend in Missouri and, depending on how CJ’s knee rehab is progressing, possibly the Antigo (Wisc.) Off-Road National the weekend of May 29-31.

“We loaded everything up and took Kyle to Wheatland a couple weeks ago and got him up to speed. He’ll do fine while CJ’s out,” said Johnny Greaves. “I got to run some as well, and we also had another race, former Polaris employee Robert Loire, with us to fill in with CJ’s side-by-side vehicles.”

So with the Greaves’ Monster Energy-shod Toyota and Polaris rides all dialed and ready-to-go for this weekend, a couple new sponsors are on board according to Johnny Greaves, including Viper – a high end shop equipment manufacturer located nearby Greaves’ Johnny G Motorsports shop in Suamico, Wisc. Greaves has also teamed with Minnesota-based FXR, a highly popular MX/SX and snowmobile soft goods company out of neighboring Minnesota.

“FXR will also be making all of the team apparel and merch that we sell at the races – and they’ve come up with some really cool stuff that we’re excited to roll out beginning at Wheatland,” added Greaves.

For those Monster Energy/Monster Army fans and members not as familiar with short course off-road racing, Johnny Greaves came from the same background as a lot of y’all before he got involved in off-road. A former pro motocross and supercross racer, Greaves was asked how he could best explain the feeling of putting the boot to a 900 horsepower truck that’s tricked out, suspension-wise, to basically mimic how a dirt bike handles bumps, jumps, berms and whoops.

“What I tell everybody is that short course off-road is like supercross on four wheels,” said Greaves. “It’s just that kind of rush. I came from professional dirt bike racing, then moved on to (auto) dirt track and stock cars. Then, once I discovered short course off-road, I was like ‘This is it!’ Same kind of adrenaline rush that I got racing motocross and supercross.”

Greaves then gave a simple warning: “Be careful… once you get in once (short course off-road race truck or buggy, UTV, etc.) you’re going to want one. So addicting! And the PRO 4 trucks are at the top. Everyone wants an opportunity to get in a PRO 4. The acceleration, whoops, jumps, landing sideways – those trucks are just animals.”

And taming those animals for the past 22 years, Greaves reflected on his longstanding relationship with Monster Energy. “To be honest with you, you never know these days how long those relationships are going to last. Monster Energy fit our program really well, and I feel we fit theirs equally as well. And as we got to know each other better and better over the years, things kept snowballing. We’d understand Monster’s needs better, and just kept working and making stuff happen.

“And if you’d have asked me back then if I thought this would go on for 20-plus years? I’d have said ‘That’d be excellent!’”

Up next: The Greaves clan kicks off the 2026 AMSOIL Off-Road Championship with the running of the Show-Me Off-Road Shootout at Lucas Oil Speedway, May 1-3.