Unconventional, highly competitive occupations can be quite lucrative for certain individuals. Professional poker players, competing gamers, and professional drivers all compete for cash, prizes, and glory. Giving reason to believe that sometimes it truly does pay to play. This is especially true if you are chasing a few “Red Rider Rewards” for fun.

Those who have competed in Honda’s world-class “Red Rider Rewards” program, are fully aware of what is at stake. This is a Honda factory-backed contingency plan designed to accelerate and facilitate powersports racing. We all know racing costs large sums of money. This is a program to help offset those costs and maybe even stack up some bank. The Red Riders Rewards (R3) 2023 season looks more lucrative than ever too with more than $7 million being up for grabs this year. Much of that is dedicated to Honda Talon sport side-by-side racers.

This makes for a $500,000 increase in payouts compared to last year’s figures. Making the Honda R3 competition the powersports industry’s “richest racing contingency package.”

Off-road racers who are the original owner of a Honda product and over 16 years old are eligible.

The Dirty Details

However, there is a catch. Well, sort of. To be recognized as a verified competitor, you must enroll and provide registered proof of purchase of one of the following Honda products. A VIN pulled from any of the qualifying vehicles proving that you are the original owner immediately makes you eligible.

So if you own a U.S.-certified CRF, CBR, COTA 4RT260, COTA 4RT RR, GROM 125, TRX, TALON X, or TALON R model, and bought it from an authorized Honda dealer you can compete. If you are old enough…

Honda’s R3 rules recommend that only highly experienced riders 16 years and older be allowed to compete. All ATV riders must take a training course and read their owner’s manual thoroughly as well.

Side-by-Side Drivers Get Ready!

Regarding the payout portion of the program, which covers roughly 200 racing series events. Motocross, off-road, dirt track, road racing, ATV, and side-by-side categories are all supported. Perhaps the most promising of these is the side-by-side segment, which features a whopping $500,000 for racers piloting Talon Sport models. According to Honda, that is well over double last year’s overall figures for this series.

Within this industry-leading SxS segment, you can find 18 racing series opportunities, some of which include:

We’re happy to grow the Red Rider Rewards package again for 2023, with particular emphasis on the Talon. Given the growing popularity of side-by-side racing and the Talon family over the past few years, it only makes sense to increase our support of that category. —Brandon Wilson, Manager of Sports & Experiential at American Honda

The year 2023 brings with it a few fun new series options too, with the following being the most notable:

Within every one of these new series, a $15,000 prize is offered for any Talon driver who wins a championship. For individual series events, prizes range from $1,500 per race win in any class, to $400 for fourth place.

Where is Honda Headed?

According to Honda’s PR department, the company’s Red Rider Rewards racing contingency program is intended to “benefit racers of various skill levels by targeting payouts deeper into the results—not just to those battling for wins.” This is a nice perk, considering that not everyone is going to get their chance to stand on the podium after every race.

Honda also says that it will continue to offer extended trackside support at a multitude of races. These are accomplished via partnerships with JCR Honda, SLR Honda, Phoenix Racing Honda, Honda Talon Factory Racing, and DR Powersports.