Buckeye Series returning Grear's Motorsports Park this weekend
ZANESVILLE — If you hear a commotion from the west, need not be alarmed.
It's simply motocross time at Grear's Motorsports Park.
The Race Mx Parts Unlimited Buckeye Series will make another stop at the track in Falls Township this weekend, with racing starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday and resuming again Sunday morning. The event is sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association.
Co-owners David and Robin Grear have spent much of recent weeks preparing the 1.2 track, located off Kopchak Road, just west of Zanesville. Built in 2019, the highly regarded facility by riders and Series administrators alike is located on the former estate of the late Terry Thompson.
The race is the third stop in the 2022 series. The previous two were held at East Fork Motocross Park, in Clinton County, and Central Ohio Competition Riders, in Sugar Grove. Others will be held at Chili Town Mx, in Chillicothe, and at Buckeye Hills, in Hillsboro. A second race at Grear's will be held September 24-25.
Getting the track ready for the event has made for many long days, especially in hotter-than-usual temperatures in recent weeks. Despite the challenges, the couple is seeing the fruits of their labor.
The couple recently installed a new starting gate this week.
"I'm pretty excited," David Grear said during a break in track prep earlier in the week. "This is what we live for, man. This is the coolness of it."
They had upwards of 500 entries in the Buckeye Series race it hosted last year, with some 2,000 people in attendance between drivers and spectators.
They expect a similar crowd this weekend, possibly more with cooperative weather. Cost is $20 for a two-day ticket, $15 for Saturday only and $10 for Sunday only.
"East Fork and Briar Cliff both have a (series) qualifier and that's what we are trying to get for next year," Robin Grear said. "So it is big. People don't realize how big that is. That's why we want to get it out more. Hopefully (this race) gets more people out here this weekend."
Among the top professional riders expected to participate include Michael Wheeler, Jeff Gibson, Willie Brown and Levi Kilbarger. There are 25 classes, which are determined by age a bike size, ranging from 5 to 60-and-over.
There is also a warrior veteran class that allows any veteran with a military ID to race for free. Practice will be held on Saturday morning and the track will be prepped again for Sunday.
In addition, the ever-popular Horns, Fins and Feathers food truck will be operating near the entry gate beginning at 11 a.m. both days.
"There are a lot of people in Zanesville that probably don't even know it's going on," David Grear said. "Hopefully they will come out and watch."
sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Buckeye Series motocross returning to Grear's Motorsports Park
