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Rupert X Ruport: Chillitown 7


Motocross Track. Build It And They Will Come? Or Will They?

‘Twas a brisk Sunday afternoon in late October, and we were loading up our dirty bikes and gear at the Chillitown MX park – when an announcement from the many pit-speakers mentioned that riders were welcome to take home any – of the hundreds of pumpkins - that were lining the track OR, any of the many trackside banners they may be attracted to. Really?  For reals? Like just take YOUR shtuff home? Nobody gonna shoot or tackle me? What the hell kind of motocross track is this?

[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2014/01/15/42036/s1200_Chilitown_Battle_JULY2013_071.jpg[/img]

We’ve spent two days here and you’re confusing me. We’ve been a part of a very fun weekend of practice and racing, I’ve seen your offered hay-rides, pumpkin judging, costume contest, free giveaways, two (2) heated tent-loads of free late night live TV Monster Energy Cup racing from Vegas (kids tent and adults tent!) and witnessed the giveaways and very special accoutrements (fancy French word for “everything else’). Why is this motocross track and its promoters - very different and unique in their approach, to delivering this filthy hobby of ours?

[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2014/01/15/42040/s1200_Chilitown_Battle_JULY2013_120.jpg[/img]

We’d actually pondered the same query back in the summer, at the OMA’s Battle Of Ohio event here. It was a big race. VERY big for Ohio, or, for ‘local” racing these days – over 400 entries, racers coming from all over Ohio and nearby states (Hell, “Mad” Mike Jones showed up!) – a balmy Mid-July day and this promoter and his gang had pretty much thought of everything, well, not quite everything – but here’s what they did offer: 1. A $4,000 Purse with NO race entry fee for the almost thirty A riders, expert and pros signed up. That’s right, nothing; 2. Pros had special parking area, very close to track entrance; 3. Everything else – free bike wash, permanent washrooms with showers and hot water(!), paved roadways with thirteen-hundred (1300!!) RV hookups, water and electric, RV dumping station, misting tent to cool riders on hot days – yes and more, much more!

[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2014/01/15/42035/s1200_Chilitown_Battle_JULY2013_006.jpg[/img]

So, what’s the catch? Well. The track is located on a mostly-flat area of south-central Ohio, just outside of Chillicothe and, well, the lack of elevation change definitely hurts the prospect of an ideal motocross track. Sure, it is fun, lots of corners, jumps, whoops and obstacles of all types, but you won’t mistake it for Unadilla, that’s for sure. Chillitown MX is located inside of the Ross County Fairgrounds, approximately an hour south from the state capital, Columbus – and, about 2247 miles from Glen Helen, in California.

[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2014/01/15/42043/s1200_Chilitown_Battle_JULY2013_156.jpg[/img]

Anyway, after having a couple months to digest all of this Chillitown nonsense and, a lot of pondering how and why they do it, I decided to interrogate the man behind all of this and find out how a very young (three years now) motocross facility, has been raised, nurtured and grown into a thriving, very different sort of a joint, where many smiles and complementing words, accompany the very critical eyes and hearts, of the motocross crowd.

Chillitown Motocross Boss -Jeremy Forcum, tells all:

“Santa brought me an ATC 70 three-wheeler when I was in the first grade, rode the wheels off of something ever since.  Growing up, I always had something with more than two wheels, but always wanted dirt-bikes. Once we had our first son we bought him a dirt bike and started racing hare scrambles events.  My wife also loved the smell of two-strokes, which brings me to a good story.  My wife and I both had horses growing up, she has a deep passion for them, I however do not like "hayburners." One day I came home from work and she had bought two horses to nestle in to our small yard. Yes, two. The horse business went on for about a year, over that year we spent a lot of time taking our five-year-old to hare scrambles and some moto events at Fast Traxx Raceway (Nelsonville, Ohio).  During this time we were also going to a lot of pro type races (MX, AX and SX), my cousin "Bubba" also raced local motocross races and his roommate and best friend, was Arenacross star and local pro Nathan Skaggs.  My wife and son fell in love with Nathan, so, one fine day, my wife tells me that she will get rid of the horses if I buy her a dirt bike!  Bubba and I IMMEDIATELY went, that evening, and purchased a Honda 125, used, but still a jewel.  Within the next year I bought some land beside my house and, of course, we had to build an Arenacross track in the back yard and, then, of course, linked in another 3/4 mile of trails and had some races at our house.  We only had a handful of invitational type races at the house, but I'd throw up some cash and all my family and friends would come to watch.  It was much fun building and hosting these type events for me, I knew then that this was something I wanted to take to the next level.

[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2014/01/15/42039/s1200_Chilitown_Battle_JULY2013_103.jpg[/img]

I went into business for myself at the age of 16 mowing yards.  Over the years customers would want more than just a lawn mowed.  That led me into excavation, concrete and all sorts of other ventures. I learned from an early age in order to increase business, one must "brown nose," mingle with the big players. So that’s kinda what I did, from The Chamber of Commerce, Jaycees, Homebuilder Association to others, I would go to these meetings, play in the golf tournaments, dance at the Christmas parties, etc…  I built up relationships with these people, made great friends and, most importantly, earned respect as a hardworking fellow that was very passionate about anything I ventured into.  A couple of these folks just happened to be members of the Ross County (Ohio) Agricultural Society.  At some point, I found about a groundskeeper opening at the fairgrounds and my lifelong friend  "Scooter" was a long time employee of the Walmart Distribution Center, he wanted change and, felt this new job may be to his liking.  I had gone to bat for Scooter, when they had asked about his qualifications for the groundskeeper position.  And, well, Scooter ended up with the job!  Over that first year, I helped Scooter quite a bit working on the fairgrounds.  We, as friends do, would sit back and enjoy our cold drinks in the evening and, naturally, we often talked about how cool it would be to build a motocross track on the fairgrounds.  But, it had been attempted before, the twenty-three member board had turned away such propositions before.  So in 2009 I began a yearlong journey of getting my "ducks in a row," to spearhead another attempt at the board members.  This is really when the CTMX team began to assemble, I enlisted my friends, "Slimy and Lew," to help with a Powerpoint to present to the fair board.  The Powerpoint was a little over the top, the average age of the fair board member at the time was probably 65, needless to say- they thought I was very professional with the presentation of my proposal.  I got the green light to proceed into construction of the track, contracts were signed and dirt was ready to be moved.

[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2014/01/15/42030/s1200_chiltown_June2012_020.jpg[/img]

Once I had my approval, I reached out to all of my friends and others to seek help.  I scheduled a meeting to go over logistics and staffing, we had over thirty (30!) people showing up with an interest.  This is where I first officially met Joe Easter, a very passionate individual for the sport.  Joe has been a key player for the CTMX crew, he could talk about MX all day, every day.  He always has multiple, over-the-top ideas for us to try.  Most of the time I do not approve of them, but he never gets discouraged and always gives 110 percent to the track.  Joe is number one when it comes to promoting our events, he is the guy that works on flyers, stays up with the internet forums, talks to the industry type sponsors, etc.  Joe definitely has some crazy ideas some times, most of which cost me money, but how can you hit home runs if you don’t swing hard?

[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2014/01/15/42042/s1200_Chilitown_Battle_JULY2013_141.jpg[/img]

The track had many struggles up to the current year. I originally thought $25K would be enough start-up ca$h to build the place, but boy, was I wrong.  After we made it through the construction process we thought we would come out of the gate swinging.  Already financially drained, I mustered up some cash to do some very special things for that first race.  The problem was, Fast Traxx had an Area Qualifier scheduled a few weeks before that had got rained out, and they then rescheduled the same weekend as our first race.  Turnouts were very low, it was a financial disaster, but the look on all of my family and friends that had helped from day one was none of disappointment, it was Pride with a capital P! They believed in me, they believed in us. Cut to this summer, July 14 - The 2013 Battle for Ohio, first moto, the OPEN Pro class gate drop. This was the first time I emotionally felt like we succeeded.  I was helping with the 30 second card, helicopters flying around, fenceline plumb packed with spectators, cameras in hand, excitement on the P.A. system and, the gate looking well stacked with talent (28 Pro racers!).  In that one very special moment of my life, I had a feeling that not many people can experience, it was awesome.  You see, as a promoter, you stick your neck out to get it cut off, a lot of people like to complain. In a race day, hell, just in one moto, I will have folks yell at me, constantly - "The track is too dusty," "The track is too wet,” or, "Too may ruts,” "Too hard-packed.”  These complaints, along with the constant financial and time struggles, all added up, get trumped by that one moment of absolute, "HELL YEAH, WE DID IT!"

[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2014/01/15/42032/s1200_chiltown_June2012_113.jpg[/img]

Continuing into the future, I would like to maintain the basic approaches we began with.  I want the place to be perfect every time, I want to provide the best experience every time, I want to provide the best racing every time.  It's no secret to me or anyone else, our track is tight and small.  We will continue to give all we have with what we have.  We treat the grass like it’s our yard, we paint all structures every year, we constantly change the track, we look for better equipment, we try to get more sponsors, we try, try, try. We are still giving it a hundred and ten, and as long as I'm in charge that’s what it will be.  Will we get more land?  Maybe. I have no immediate plans to ask for more at this time.  I would like to think we could almost hold an AMA Motocross Youth Regional LL Qualifier.  I firmly believe, the regional youth crowd would fall in love with our little Chillitown.

[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2014/01/15/42041/s1200_Chilitown_Battle_JULY2013_099.jpg[/img]

In closing, I hope this summarization will be helpful;  People have been the ultimate "builder" of Chillitown, I just facilitate and regulate the behind the scenes stuff …”

Well said, Jeremy.

*For all of us motocross racers that have ever wondered about starting our own little motocross track, this should be both a warning, an infomercial and, a source of encouragement. Carry, on Chillitown.

•  Never before, have I seen a 28-rider pro class take advantage of FREE SIGN-UPS and a a $4000 purse. Granted, I’ve only been around this filthy sport 40+ years, but I’d like to see a lot more of that…

[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2014/01/15/42033/s1200_Chilitown_Battle_JULY2013_001.jpg[/img]







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