Kenworthy's What's left

What is the story with this place why did it ever shutdown or be moved off the schedule?

Saddleback Park:

33°46'27.2"N 117°44'22.4"W

Sorry for the derail, schmacky.

GI FRO threw such a legendary beat down there in 97' when it was 425 degrees outside wearing a black cotton Shift jersey that the moto gods decided awesomeness of that magnitude could not be topped and proceeded to flood the track the following 6 years so no races could take place. This really happened, just ask Langston or Ryno...

From my understanding Don Kenworthy was told to make updates to the facilities and wouldn't. The flooding was the final nail in the coffin. The track lost its luster after the national was gone.

A bit eerie. It's like a motocross version of Chernobyl.

259

That's impossible, it's growing green. How can that be with all the non-biodegradable tear offs polluting the environment from years of racing?

We all know dirt bikes destroy Mother Earth. This sure is an anomaly

Kenworthy's satellite shot.

Honda Hills MX

Muskingum Valley MX

This place never really had a huge crowd, but it had a strange flow to it that I liked.

my first time there was the grass race in 94 or 95. That start was so long. I remember letting off the throttle 3/4 the way down the start., just seem natural to go that fast. Truth be told I was probably scared! My local track's start was half that distance.

God, I loved racing at this place!

I was there in '04, it was my last national under muddy creek started.

Colin has the best short explanation. I am the guy in the blue / black coat. I practically lived there from 1989 through 2005.

One correction: we actually asked AMA Pro Racing to provide a list of suggested / requested updates every year. Many were implemented as requested. Don asked for multi-year contracts (given the time / dollar investment to the facility) for hosting the National but was only given year-to-year commitments; the relationship was growing sour. Then the flood happened in July 03. Then again in September 03.

No way it'll be a track again. The track was inside the riparian floodplain on the Great Miami River. Environmental / flood control regulations would shut that down before it left the starting line.

Thank you for the pictures Z!

Some of my best MX memories are races at KW. Miss that place! Thanks for the photos.

Its sad that place was always so much fun!

That's what floods will do much quicker than man.

Today I googled Kenworthy’s GP hoping I could find some pictures of the old track and found this thread. I hate to see the track in the condition it is now. I was there at nearly the beginning. In the late seventies and early eighties, my family had a membership and my father was a trustee. We would ride nearly every weekend during the summer. We had so much fun.

The track wasn’t much then. It was built with blood, sweat and farm tractors. The club had work days where we cut trees, built jumps and improve the track. We actually bought an old International flatbed to haul all the firewood we drug out of there. I hated those workdays at the time, but I have fond memories of them now.

I’ll share a couple of memories.

My favorite memory at the track was the day I cleared the double hump jump on my YZ 125. You had to have at least a 125 to clear it. I had just moved up from a YZ 80. The 125 was full sized and felt like a rocket ship compared to that 80. I had been riding slow over the double hump jump for a year or so on the 80 and that jump was the most intimidating thing on the track. I had seen guys crash bad on it. I screwed up my courage. I held the throttle wide open and banged the gears coming out the corner. I was going to clear it or crash. Up it the air. I was a little shocked that I cleared the first one, and then it was on to the next set. Up it the air again. I landed safe with a big smile on my face. Blew the next corner though. Did the same the next couple of laps. I found my dad and we rode over the jumps, and I said watch this. He was shocked and proud. I felt like the king of the world.

I’ll never forget the first race held at the track. We didn’t have starting gates yet, so we used a rubber band start. It is amazing to see a hundred yards of rubber surgical tubing pulled tight and let go with a bunch of riders taking off. It was hilarious to see somebody jump the start and get their bike wrapped up in it. I was working one of the corners as a flagman that race.

Don Kenworthy was a great guy. He had a Suzuki PE 250. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else on one. The idea would come up to put a new jump here or a new turn there and he’d go get a tractor and we’d build it.

Phil at Honda of Troy was a huge supporter. I think we even had some of the club meetings in his back yard.

A lot of great people and a lot of great times. A great way to grow up.

The flooding of the track was a blessing and a curse. The track was on wrong side of the levy. Had it not have been a flood plain, I’m sure that Don’s family would have farmed it and the track would never had happened. Trying to have a regular national race was going to get flooded out at some time. When it was a club track, it wasn’t a big deal if we couldn’t ride or the club race got postponed, but a big money national was a disaster.