89-year-old motocross rider is forever Young
The Lewiston motocross veteran is still riding and has founded family dynasty
Wayne Young of Lewiston entered his first motocross racing event in Orofino at the age of 19.
Seventy years later, he was still at it, competing in an old-timers’ race last month at EC Enterprises Motorsports Park with three generations of his descendants among those in attendance.
In what was hailed as the highlight of the day, the 89-year-old Young rode in 90-plus degree heat, navigated numerous hills and jumps, and successfully recovered from a crash en route to the finish on the track located just outside Lewiston on Albright Grade.
“I know all you ol’ timers remember Wayne,” EC Enterprises founder Eric Christiansen wrote afterward on the motosports park’s Facebook page. “My hat is off to this legend!”
There is much to remember. Over the course of his seven decades of motorsports participation, Young has competed in races across the northwestern states and as far south as California and Nevada. During the 1980s and ‘90s, he served as an event organizer in Orofino and Clarkia, Idaho. As recently as 2016, he won top honors in the 80-plus age division of the Old-Timer Nationals in Fernley, Nev.
“He’s won a lot,” said Young’s grandson Tyson Larsen, who now lives in Meridian, but came to Lewiston with his own children to catch the EC Enterprises program. “He’s done well; a lot of different titles, a lot of places. Good days, bad days — that’s racing, and he knows that better than anybody.”
Young’s motorsports passion has proven infectious within his family. His wife, 84-year-old Carolyn, was a trail rider until the age of 77, and all of their three children and five grandchildren have spent ample time of their own atop motorcycles. Some of Young’s eight great-grandchildren have already been initiated into the family tradition, with three having ridden at the same motocross event he did last month.
“(Young) just enjoys riding, enjoys his family and riding with them, and this became just a huge family activity that everybody enjoys — and it all started with him,” Larsen said.
Larsen recalls having his own interest sparked many years ago when he saw Young come out victorious in a race in Spokane.
“I remember being a kid there, and the feeling of watching him go down the runways and beat guy after guy after guy and eventually win it all was pretty neat,” he said.
When not competing, Young stayed close to the engines he cherished, working at Lewiston’s Ford dealership for some time before eventually buying the Orchards Body Shop, which he operated for more than two decades until he retired in his 70s.
“For those years he owned the body shop — early ’80s to 2000s — every day, he rode his Honda Goldwing 600cc to work and back,” Larsen said.
Even a stalwart such as Young has ultimately had to slow down his motocross participation with the advance of age. The EC Enterprises outing last month was his first in two years, and his first since having knee replacement surgery. Whether he will pass yet another milestone and carry on manning a cycle into his 90s remains to be seen, but either way, his legacy should be present on the track for a long time to come.
“The motorcycle has always been his passion — been his love, his children’s love, his grandchildren’s love, his great-grandchildren’s love,” Larsen said. “He started it, created a tradition. ... It’s just a lot of accomplishment for him, and we’re all pretty proud of him.”