Correction appended.
Down a winding road, across a narrow bridge and up a steep hill in Little Hocking lies the Windland family farm.
Brent Windland, 58, grew up here, in the rolling hills and fields of southeast Ohio, but moved to the sunny shores of Florida in 1979. After 30 years, he left his homes in Port St. Lucie and Hollywood and his job as a bridge contractor to return to Little Hocking.
Having been obsessed with off-road motorcycle racing since he was 10, Windland took some of his land and created a private dirt track on which to practice. At the suggestion of a friend, Windland opened his three-mile track to the public. A decade after opening, Wildwood Lake Raceway has become a hub of off-road racing in Appalachian Ohio.
“Now I work harder than I ever did,” Windland said.
* * *
Wildwood Lake Raceway hosted the third round of its Winter Grand Prix Race Series on Sunday. Dozens of trucks filled the makeshift parking lot adjacent to the track, all loaded with dirt bikes, spare parts and racing fans, several of whom dressed in boots, jeans and camouflage clothing.
Even with a nearly full lot, Windland said, “This is one of our slowest days of the year.”
If he was disheartened, Windland did not show it once, as he spent the day starting races, chatting with spectators and fist-bumping riders after, all the while tailed by Piston, a small, muddy, gray-and-white dog he calls the “pit dog.”
The Winter Series is all about satisfying the hardcore riders, Windland said.
“There are a lot of speedballs around here,” he said in reference to the racers. “For a lot of these guys, the smell of two-stroke racing fuel is better than perfume.”
Age does not factor into the skill of racing as much as dedication does, Windland pointed out.
“I learn things from these 5-year-olds,” he said.
Payton Gwynn is one such rider. The 13-year-old from Parkersburg, West Virginia, was introduced to racing six years ago and has been hooked ever since.
“He eats, sleeps and breathes racing,” Payton’s mother, Jenny Gwynn, said.
After competing in the youth bike race at noon, Payton sped his mud-coated bike over to where his mother stood.
“Do you still want to race in the adult race?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’ll be all right,” he responded, scraping mud off his face.
For Payton, racing is his true passion, an adrenaline rush he cannot seem to get enough of.
“I can’t even explain how it feels,” he said. “It’s awesome.”
Payton said everyone at Wildwood Lake Raceway is “like family,” a sentiment echoed by his mother.
“You build a lot of camaraderie here,” she said. “There’s a lot of good people out here.”
Windland credits the track’s inner workings — many of them run by his wife, Kim, and Amber Brown, a family friend — for the popularity and family-feel his raceway has earned.
“You can have the best track in the world, but without great promotion, it won’t be great,” he said.
Windland said he has watched kids grow up before his eyes — and now they bring their kids to race, too.
“It’s one big family,” he said.
* * *
At 1 p.m., Windland jumped onto an all-terrain vehicle, Brown behind him, and rode to the start line for the adult bike race. Green flag in hand, Windland stood in front of five rows of his “big family” — including young Payton Gwynn, who, like the other riders, sat in silence, waiting for Windland’s signal.
“Row one!” Windland bellowed, permeating the bubble of silence.
A roar of noise went up as Windland waved the flag and the first set of riders revved their engines, speeding off into the woods and spitting chunks of mud behind their bikes. Eventually, the roar faded into an echo, and Windland stepped back onto the track.
“Row two!”
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Amber Brown is the wife of Brent Windland. The article has been updated to show the most accurate information.
