BUCHANAN, Mich. – A quarter century ago three wild and crazy guys – Oscar Azevedo, “Mean” Gene Ritchie and RedBud referee Drex Akin – came up with an idea so hair-brained and far-fetched that, in the world of motocross, it was destined to be a hit!
RedBud’s annual Throttle Jockey Grass Race, celebrating its twenty-fifth year this weekend at the hallowed grounds of America’s Motocross Track, brings competitors back to the roots of the sport, re-creating how tracks used to look – natural, grass covered terrain churned black for a weekend by legions of angry knobby tires. With Michigan’s fall colors creating an epic backdrop for the racers, RedBud’s famed MX National track comes alive one more time in a celebration of the sport.
The race itself almost never came to be, according to Azevedo, had it not been for some ‘gentle’ persuasion from Gene Ritchie’s wife, Nancy.
“For many months I had been lobbying with Gene to have an old school, all natural track race to emulate the seventies,” recalled Azevedo. “At first he showed no interest, and later irritation about the whole idea. But at the time I used to spend a few hours in the mornings at the RedBud office and keep Nancy (Ritchie) company. She actually liked the idea of the Grass Race and told me ‘Never to underestimate the power of pillow talk.’
Azevedo, who was relatively new to the States, didn’t quite grasp what “pillow talk” meant, wondering “A pillow talking … talking to a pillow?” “It wasn’t until later that my ever patient wife explained to me the meaning of the expression.”
Longtime sponsor Nine One One MX Shop (owned by Azevedo) was the Grass Race’s first and longtime sponsor, eventually yielding to the Brothers Davis (Matt & Rob) and Throttle Jockey (when Azevedo closed up shop). The Davis’ lit a fire under the event a number of years back, doing a great job recruiting sponsors and offering lots of extra goodies for the racers – including the must-have annual event stickers by TJ.
The culmination of seven months of dirt bike racing action at RedBud, the Grass Race annually marks a passage of time, a calendar social/competition event for the racers who bang bars all summer long to, well, bang bars one more time before hunting rifles and snowmobiles take center stage ahead of their dirt bikes. One last bench race, where stories are passed down as the stuff of legend at RedBud – like the time RedBud’s Tim Ritchie first ran into Michigan motocross legend Dick Burleson.
“The first time we ever met him (Burleson) was at the Grass Race,” recalled Ritchie. “He won the 250 B class that day, which happened to be the same class I was racing. When I got back to the pits my buddies were saying ‘Not only did he (Burleson) beat your, he changed a tire out there and still beat you!’”
This year’s Grass Race track, designed and built by Ritchie, is again about a mile in length, and will run backwards from last year’s track. It utilizes a portion of RedBud’s famed MX National track, and includes the dreaded (though anticipated) steaming/stinking pile of mulch, lots of step-ups and step-downs, off-cambers, multiple lines through the trees and more.”
The mythical XR National Championship races will be back by popular demand, one class for single shock XR 75s and 80s and the other for the old school twin shockers. It's a three-tenths-mile course within the grass track, with a hand-on-the-helmet flag start that fits the bike era, and all of the action right in front of the spectators. Past XR champions include the likes of Stanton, LaRocco, Wagner, Akin-Wagner, Rose, Borcherding, Flickinger, Weatherholt, and Sodetz, along with fellow Michigan Mafia members Burleson, Bowen, DeHoop, Feist, Grewe, Smith, Wey, and Witmer – you never know who’s gonna be in town and lined up on the gate next to you!
Grass Race Information
What: 25th annual Throttle Jockey RedBud Grass Race
When: Saturday & Sunday, Oct. 11-12
Time: Saturday practice on the pro track (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) for bikes and ATVs. Racing on the Grass Track Sunday, along with the XR Championships. Practice starts at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday
Where: RedBud, Buchanan, Mich.
Format: Open Riding on the pro track & KTM Kids Track Saturday. Racing on the Grass Track & KTM Kids Track Sunday.
For the Kids: Trick-or-Treating and pumpkin carving in the pits Saturday after Trick –or-Treat.
Prizes by: Throttle Jockey, Hammer Nutrition, Racer X, Renthal, Strider, Bridgestone and Fasst Company.
XR Championship: Sunday at intermission. XR 75 or 80 frame, engine and wheels. All mods are legal! Twin and Single shock classes. Qualifiers, if needed, will run on Sunday morning.
Further information: http://www.redbudmx.com
