Gary Ellis

As of November 2008 he has been as good as his word and not raced BMX in any capacity.

However, this does not mean he totally abandoned BMX. He became the non racing team manager of the Nirve BMX Team in early June 1999.

He retired November 1998, after the 1998 ABA Grand National, age 32.

Like many former BMXers they have either returned to Motorcycle Motocross or picked it up for the first time. Gary Ellis revisited it. He also likes to relax riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Unlike many former top pro BMXers, he has never raced again in BMX after his retirement in 1998, not even the Veteran and Masters classes in the ABA and NBL respectively, not even for fun. On the occasion of his last NBL race the 1998 NBL Grand National in which he scored a perfect 1-1-1 score, i.e. winning all three of the mains he made a vow not to come back after he retired. Many pros like Turnell Henry, Frank Post and Brian Patterson raced after their official or unofficial retirements from BMX racing. Many like Stu Thomsen just raced basically for fun once or twice a year. Some like Eric Rupe and Harry Leary made it a second career to race in the junior "A" pros and/or ABA's Veteran Pro and NBL's Masters classes. Unlike them Gary Ellis did not to come back:

His first senior pro** race result was a seventh place in "A" Pro at the National Bicycle League (NBL) Celebrity Race For Childhelp USA/International in Azusa, California on January 22, 1984. He moved himself up to "A" pro after the 1983 Jag World Super Bowl Championship which was held on December 29, 1983. This was a charity event. His first Senior Pro win was in 1989 Gary Ellis became the first ABA pro national No.1 in its history come from outside of California.

His first pro race result was a first place in junior "A" pro at the joint 1983 American Bicycle Association (ABA)/Canadian American Bicycle Association (CABA) Canadian-American BMX Championships pre race in Monroe, Washington on December 10, 1983.

He started racing in 1977 at age 11 after He saw a BMX display at a car show and he asked his father if he could race. His father, Gary Leo Ellis Sr., is a 1987 ABA Hall of Fame Inductee for the track operator with the longest continuously operating track in the country. His first race bicycle was a Schwinn Sting-Ray. His first local race result was fourth place at the Tacoma Jaycees BMX track. The sanctioning body was Northwest Bicycle Motocross Association (NWBMXA), a short lived regional governing body in Washington State. His first national amateur win was at an American Bicycle Association (ABA) in 15 Expert in Portland, Oregon in 1981. His first sponsor was Pedal Pushers Bike Shop in 1979. He turned Professional on December 1983 at age 17.

Gary Leo Ellis Jr. (born March 21, 1966 in Tacoma, Washington U.S.) was one of the last American "Old School" professional bicycle motocross (BMX) racer whose careers started in the 1970s to early 1980s. His prime competitive years were from 1982–1996. He was nicknamed "The Lumberjack".