Marion motocross track offering fun for all ages

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN TOM STOPPEL
Ron and Shirley Hardey have made a very good thing out of what first appeared to be a bad thing.

The Hardeys were handed a proverbial bowl of lemons in the early 1990s when construction on U.S. Highway 56 took nearly 33,000 yards of dirt from their backyard.

Instead of complaining, the couple simply incorporated the terrain into their fledgling motocross track called Green Acres Raceway.

“It went from pretty good farm ground to just a big hole in the ground,” Ron Hardey said about the effect of the highway project. “We ended up letting them dig it because we were riding on it anyway.”

Located on the northwest corner of Marion, Green Acres has become one of the most challenging motocross tracks in this part of the country.

Green Acres Raceway is a mile-long complex of humps, jumps and curves that both physically and mentally challenge riders of all skill levels.

“This is more of an outdoor track,” Ron said. “It doesn’t have much super-cross stuff on it. I have to make it ridable for everyone.”

Ron, who works at AGCO in Hesston, and Shelli take pride in the fact that Green Acres Raceway is unique.

“The fact that it’s in my backyard makes it kind of unusual,” Ron said. “People just like the homey atmosphere around here and they like to come out and be around friends.”

Hardey said they named the track after the previous owners of the land, the Greenemeyers-and the popular 1970s sitcom.

Like the theme song of the sitcom said, “Green Acres is the place to be,” Hardey thinks their track is the place to be when motocross is in your blood.

“It’s a family deal,” he said. “Most of the people who come out to ride are with their kids or their mom and dads.”

Indeed, the track offers a venue for riders of all ages.

“We’ve had kids as young as 4 ride here,” Ron said. “If they can get around the track safely, they’re allowed to ride.

“The biggest satisfaction I get out of having this track is seeing the kids.”

Green Acres Raceway is open to riders on Thursdays, beginning at about 4 p.m., and Sundays.

Hardey said the easiest way to get to the track is to come in to Marion on Main Street, head north on Walnut Street, “and just keep driving until you’re about to go under the new highway.”

Hardey said everyone is invited to ride at Green Acres Raceway.

“People can pay a $25 yearly fee to ride and that’s for the whole family,” he said. “We don’t make much money and we don’t care. We just want people to have a good place to ride.”

Hardey credits-or blames-his brother Randy for getting him interested in riding.

“We grew up in Florence and they had the Florence Flint Hills Bent Rims over there and they ran from about 1970 until around 1979,” he said.

Hardey said Florence had about 1,600 people at that time, and there were close to 40 racers.

But for all the recognition Green Acres Raceway gets from local riders, it’s on four weekends per year that the track gains notoriety from around the central United States.

Green Acres Raceway is the host site for races in conjunction with Kansas Off Road Riders. The races draw riders from across Kansas and as many as eight other states.

Green Acres Raceway is one of seven tracks across Kansas to be a host site.

Hardey said this year’s racing format at Green Acres has been restricted to motocross races.

“In years past we’ve also ran what they call a hair scramble or a moto scramble,” he said. “It was more of a two- or three-hour endurance race.

“You’d run as fast as you could for as long as you could,” he said. “This year’s races are a certain number of laps rather than an endurance test for the riders.”

On race day, riders of all ages compete. Children age 4 to 8 compete in three mini-bike classes with classes for older age groups extending into adulthood.

“One of our biggest races is the over-30 and over-40 classes,” he said. “We even average about 10 riders in the over-50 class.

“The first thing people think is that it’s just a bunch of teenage kids, but that’s just not the case,” he said. “There are teenagers, but there are 60-year-old men, and I have a lot of friends that are women that ride, too.”

Hardey said the number of participants varies, often with the weather.

“Rain keeps the number down sometimes,” he said. “We have shortened races because of lightning or something like that, but we’ve never cancelled one because the track is muddy or snowy or anything like that.

“Racing in the snow is some of the best rides.”

The number of riders is directly correlated with the weather.

“We’ve had as few as 70 riders at one of our events and we’ve had as many as 417 riders here on one day,” he said. “We also have about 300 spectators here just to watch.”

Hardey said although the number of riders is sometimes phenomenal, it doesn’t guarantee him a profit.

“It depends on the day whether we make money- it’s kind of like farming,” he said. “If it cost me money to do it, I wouldn’t get to do it, but I also don’t make much of anything either.”

While Hardey gets the track ready for competition, KORR actually orchestrates the racing.

“I prepare the track for the organization and they come and put it on,” he said. “KORR furnishes all the trophies and prizes, plus do all the work securing sponsors.”

The primary sponsors are engine, boat and cycle shops from across the state. Souvenir items such as hats and T-shirts are also sold on race days.

Safety is at the top of Hardey’s preparation list.

“During races, we try to keep all the spectators fenced in,” he said. “We have a jump tunnel that you can walk under. That gets you from one side of the track to the other.”

Hardey estimated the cost of building the 91/2-foot tunnel-jump was around $2,000, not counting the dirt work.

As an extra precaution, a licensed emergency medical technician is on site at all times.

Hardey said concessions are available, as are restrooms.

“We have bleachers here and a good P.A. system to let people know who’s doing what and what event it is.”

Race-day gates open at 7 a.m. with practices at 8 a.m. and racing at 10 a.m. Admission is $7 for adults with kids 6 and under free.

A race was held this past Sunday. Hardey said another one is scheduled “toward the end of October.”More information can be obtained at www.korrksmxracer.org.

“We have a lot of people tell us this is their favorite track,” Shelli said.

Ron added: “When they leave our track, we hope they leave saying, ‘That was fun.'”

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