Championship off-road racing returns this week to Lena. Here's what to know.

LENA - Some of the best short-course off-road racers in the county, including a number of local favorites, are heading to Oconto County for the coming weekend when the Dirt City Motorplex in Lena hosts Rounds 7 and 8 of the AMSOIL Championship Off-Road Series on Saturday and Sunday, July 29 and 30.

Nearly 300 professional and sportsman racers came to last year's Dirt City Off-Road Nationals, and a similar number of vehicles are expected this year, the fourth time the the AMSOIL series has come to Lena. And besides seeing the racers on the track Saturday and Sunday, fans can see and meet them Friday night in downtown Lena.

Here's what you need to know.

The short of it

Short-course off-road racing blends traditional off-road racing with traditional motor racing seen on local dirt and paved race tracks and road courses across the state and around the country.

The race vehicles are similar to the pickup trucks, buggies and UTVs casual fans might know from more famous off-road races such as the Baja 1000, which thunders through the Mexican desert for approximately 1,000 miles from its starting point to a different finishing location.

But instead of racing from one location to another, short-course off-road racers, such as in the AMSOIL series, race on a specially designed course of less than a couple of miles for a set number of laps. The tracks feature a dirt surface, dirt-slinging, broadsliding corners, jumps and other off-road-type features.

Spectators thus are able to watch the entire race instead of seeing the racers go past them once, and with the action in a more confined area, the racing can be close and intense. Crandon International Raceway in Forest County, which also hosts rounds of the AMSOIL series, is considered one of the pioneer tracks of short-course racing, having held championship off-road races since 1970.

The AMSOIL series offers seven weekends of racing from June to late September with two rounds each weekend. Besides the Dirt City Motorplex, the series also visits Crandon twice; Antigo; Bark River, Michigan; Elk River, Minnesota; and Jay, Oklahoma.

The racers

If it's an off-road vehicle, it probably has a class in which it can race at the Lena track.

Eighteen classes of race vehicles are on the schedule for the weekend. They range from racebred, 900-horsepower Pro 4 and Pro 2 pickup trucks (four-wheel-drive and two-wheel-drive, respectively) and smaller Pro Lite trucks to less-modified stock and super stock trucks; the traditional lightweight, open-wheel off-road buggies; UTVs (called side-by-sides, or SXS) in a variety of classes based on engine type; and even heavily modified karts.

Many of the pro racers carry national sponsorships and/or backing from the manufacturers of their race vehicles. Backing them up on the schedule are a number of sportsman classes – men and women who race for fun and competition – and some classes for youth and beginner off-roaders.

Generally, the pro trucks have been considered the stars of the show with their huge horsepower and fender-banging, fender-shedding action, and if you've seen the series on TV, that's probably what you've seen. But Don Demeny, president of Lena track operator Dirt City LMC, said fans are attracted to all the classes.

"The Pro UTVs come from all over the world," Demeny said. "And there's probably as good a following for the Stock and Super Stock trucks."

The local favorites

Local off-road fans will have a lot of local off-road racers to cheer for across all classes, but the best-known locals are a father-and-son team who also are among the best off-roaders in the country.

Johnny Greaves of Suamico has been a mainstay of short-course racing for nearly 30 years, winning seven Pro 4 points championships and 100 races with a variety of sanctioning bodies, along with championships in buggies and what is now the Pro Lite class. Greaves continues to recover from a massive crash in practice for the opening race weekend in Algoma in early June, in which he sustained six broken ribs and a broken shoulder, but he came back with a fourth and seventh place in the most recent rounds in Elk River.

Joining Greaves is his son, CJ Greaves, in their Johnny G Motorsports team. CJ Greaves has won the Pro 4 championship seven of the past eight years, including 2022, and became the first driver to win Pro 4 and Pro 2 titles in the same year, doing it both in 2015 and '16. He also leads this year's Pro 4 points, having won three of the six rounds, and on top of that currently leads the points in the Pro Stock SXS and Pro Turbo SXS classes this year.

Likely to challenge the Greaveses are Jimmy Henderson of Georgia, who swept both Pro 4 rounds in the Brush Run at Crandon last month, and RJ Anderson of California, who beat CJ in one of the Elk River rounds.

There's also Johnny's nephew, Kyle Greaves of De Pere, who's the defending champion in the Pro Lite class and who subbed for Johnny in Pro 4 while Johnny was out with his injuries. Greaves is leading the Pro Lite points again so far in 2023.

Demeny mentioned the Holtger family as a popular clan with local fans. Not only are several of the Holtgers on Dirt City's board, but the family also has a member racing "pretty much in every class," Demeny said. They include Cory Holtger of Oconto Falls, who leads a host of Wisconsin drivers in the AMSOIL Stock Truck points race, and Johnny Holtger of Abrams, sixth in both Pro Lite and Pro 2 points.

Among many other local contenders are Scott Boulanger of Luxemburg, points leader in the Super Stock Truck class, and Tyson Marquardt and Dylan Marquardt of Lena, currently third and sixth in Pro Stock SXS.

So what's going on downtown Friday night?

That would be "Thunder on Main," a parade and show for the racers and their fans that's become a special race weekend event in Lena.

After Friday practice, teams will cruise their race vehicles along Main Street from the track to downtown Lena at about 6:30 p.m. The racers will be parked on the street, and fans can get an up-close look at them, meet their drivers and maybe get a few autographs. Food trucks will be on hand and downtown businesses will have food and drink specials during the event, which runs until about 8:30 p.m.

How do I watch?

Dirt City Motorplex is at 414 E. Main St. (County A), just east of its intersection with U.S. 141, Lena. Opening ceremonies for the Dirt City Off-Road Nationals are at 9:45 a.m. Saturday, July 29, and 8:45 a.m. Sunday, July 30, with all 18 classes racing both days; the professional classes are scheduled to race later in the day.

Daily tickets are $30 for ages 13 to 74, $20 for military personnel; $50 ages 13 to 74, $40 for military personnel for a weekend pass. Ages 12 and younger and 75 and older are admitted free both days.

Some grandstand seating is available, but race goers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and umbrellas. A covered accessible section is available for spectators with mobility issues, and a tram is available to transport fans, including those with mobility issues, from the parking lot to the spectator area. Food and beverages are available on-site; carry-ins are not allowed except for portable seats and umbrellas. Spectator campsites are available across the road from the track.

For advance tickets, campsites or more information, visit dirtcitylmc.com. For more on the AMSOIL Championship Off-Road Series, visit champoffroad.com.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: AMSOIL Championship off-road racing returns to Lena, Oconto County