Sam Varner is a 38-year-old electrician from near Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and the newly crowned Mens Pro Grand champion at Wheel Life Rally, held August 8, 2026, at The Wick 338 in Southwick, Massachusetts. It's his first Grand Champion title there after finishing second in his debut year. He competes under USA FLT, the national sanctioning body for Onewheel racing.
How Sam Varner Got Into Racing
Varner didn't set out to buy a Onewheel. He ordered an electric longboard from China during the early days of COVID and got stuck behind shipping delays. Looking for something to do in the meantime, he found a different kind of ad.
a one-wheel ad popped up and I saw them riding literally off-roading through water all kinds of stuff
He ordered one that night, then went and bought a Pint from a local dealer to hold him over until his longer-range board arrived.
I found somebody and I went and I bought a pint. And so I got that to hold me over until my XR came.
The first ride was a reality check.
"I got on for the first time, I thought I was going to be better than I was," Varner said.
It didn't take long. He was chasing trails within weeks, and racing not long after that, jumping into what he believes was his first Wheel Scorcher event.
Building Toward His First Title
This is Varner's third year racing Wheel Life Rally. He finished second his first year there, behind Mike Tirpack, and had never won it before this season. He arrived off a second-place finish in Onewheel Open at Wheelscorcher, held June 27-28 at Fire Mountain Trails, behind Josh Ledford. He credits a low-cost gear change for most of his recent improvement: mountain-board bindings, bought off Amazon and DIY-installed on his foot pads roughly six months ago.
the bindings allow me to almost forget about changing my settings so much just because I can manipulate the board a lot
He runs a remote and a 12-by-8 tire for stability, and said the bindings changed his riding style more than his hardware settings: knowing when to push and when to hold back on technical terrain.
By Half a Board Length
Wheel Life Rally split into two formats: a morning Off-Road time trials session scored on best times across the Woods, Flat, and Obstacle tracks, and an afternoon mass-start on each course. Varner won Off-Road outright in 04:33.020, with Ledford second and Smith third. Smith flipped the order in Enduro, winning in 04:57.800 with Varner second, less than two seconds back.
Varner and Ledford went 1-2 in the Flat and Woods mass-start races, with Smith taking third both times, before Smith reversed it in Enduro. After points were totaled across all four tracks, Varner was named Mens Pro mass-start grand champion for the first time.
The tightest moment of the day came on the Obstacle Track, where Varner and Smith crossed the line separated by inches. Race officials had to review finish-line camera footage to sort it out, because the shared elastic-band mass start release meant Smith's recorded time was a tenth of a second faster even though Varner crossed first. Varner didn't get to see the footage until a week later.
I didn't get to see it until... a week later. So once I saw it, I was like, oh my God, I cannot believe that... that was so close.
He described making up the ground through the tunnel section, where he sensed Smith easing off and pushed through the loose sand on the other side.
I gunned it through the tunnel, and right as we came out. It was loose sand, so it was hard to turn to begin with, and we kinda... our boards clipped, and he lost control.
What's Next for Sam Varner
When asked, Varner said he's headed to Camp Shred next.
I am going to Camp Shred, which is the Ohio event. Yeah. That one's super fun. I like people come out to it because, I mean, the trails are really good.
Asked about sponsors, Varner named the one that's been with him the whole way.
Oh, my mom. Shout out, mom. She's my best sponsor
Results from official USA FLT timing at Wheel Life Rally, The Wick 338, Southwick, Massachusetts, August 8, 2026, and from Onewheel Open results at Wheelscorcher, Fire Mountain Trails, June 27-28, 2026. Full standings at usaflt.com/standings.
