By Joe Stumpe
Wichita Eagle correspondent
Bruce Richardson bought Bar 2 Bar MX Park on 61st Street near Ridge Road to give his son a better place to ride. Now he and his track will host one of the biggest motocross races in the Midwest, with nearly 800 competitors. Bruce Richardson is a big fan of Loretta Lynn, and it has nothing to do with country music. Lynn, as not everybody knows, hosts a national motocross championship on her ranch in Tennessee. Richardson, who owns the Bar 2 Bar MX Park in Maize, is hosting a preliminary qualifier on March 27-29 for Lynn’s championship.
“Any time you can say, in our world, that you can get on the Loretta Lynn National Championship series, that constitutes a national caliber race,” Richardson said. “It makes people stand up and listen.”
About 800 riders in 38 different classes are expected to take part, he said. Last year – the track’s first to hold the qualifier – the event drew racers from 32 states and two foreign countries.
Holding such races was one goal Richardson had when he bought the track. He was also looking for a place for his son, Conner, to ride and train. Conner, now 18, will take part in the qualifier.
The track itself has been around in some form or another for about 20 years, with several different owners. Richardson bought it in 2012 and has since added 20 acres to the grounds.
About half of that is used for the track; the rest is for parking, concessions and a grandstand.
Richardson stages several amateur races a year. The track is also open three or four times a month for motocross riders to train on for a fee. The track features a variety of big jumps and small jumps, straightaways and turns, and series of mounts known as “rhythm bumps.”
Richardson uses bulldozers and an “expert track builder” named Kim Holden to change the layout monthly. One feature that doesn’t change is a tunnel under one jump that spectators can walk through as the race is going on.
“It’s a neat view, and it’s fun for the riders,” Richardson said.
But Richardson said the track’s soil condition “is what makes it so inviting for everybody. It’s a soft, sandy, loamy soil because we’re right on the river.”
It’s 1.4 miles around, with the average lap time being about two minutes. That can vary greatly, though, as the ages of riders in this month’s qualifier will range from 4 to 60.
Many riders will arrive for the event next Thursday afternoon and on Friday, March 27. Friday will be a free admission day for the public, and people can watch the racers practice.
Admission to the races Saturday and Sunday is $10 per day. There will 38 races each day. Some may feature only a few riders; others will have a couple of dozen racers.
“When you get that many motorcyclists on the track, the ground just shakes; it’s crazy,” Richardson said.
Richardson said he recently beefed up concessions at the track by bringing in food from the Blue River Mexican Grill, owned by former Papa John’s franchisee Terry Newman, who Richardson said is a big motocross fan. Attendees are also welcome to bring their own coolers and lawn chairs “and make a day of it.”
There will be a concert Saturday night sponsored by Red Bull.
Richardson said the track makes him feel a little like the Loretta Lynn of motocross racing in Wichita – well known to riders, but not to the general public.
“I bet if you were to ask 20 people in Wichita, only one would know about it.”
He said the track has been voted Kansas’ best track by motoplayground.com.
“We just kept building it and building it, and the next thing you know, it’s taken off,” he said.
Website: bar2barmx.com