Boneyard Grand Prix makes dirty, sloppy fun

Staff writer

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link Derek Major: Staff photo

Dirt-bike racers wait at the starting line for their teammates to arrive at the race.

Gary Bonestroo, owner of the Bonestroo Dairy Farm in Portales, started building the track behind his farm 15 years ago to give people a chance to ride and have fun.

“I wanted people to have the enjoyment of being in a race without having to go through qualifying or anything like that,” Bonestroo said, while checking the engine on his trophy truck. “You can just come out here and race for fun.”

This weekend, Bonestroo’s track is being used for the Boneyard Grand Prix Military Appreciation Race. The West Texas Extreme Race Circuit (WTXRC), which was founded by Rusty Cates, is sponsoring the event.

“It’s a fun way to spend the weekend,” Cates said. “We have a lot of competitors today and we’ll have 150-200 for Sunday’s races. Guys come from all over to race in this event. We have guys from Texas, Oklahoma, and even a couple from Colorado and Louisiana.”

The WTXRC hosts races across New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.

On Saturday the dirt bikes, four-wheelers and trophy trucks got to race the 7.1-mile track. The dirt-bike race, which was the longest of the day, featured teams of three riders. Each ran one lap then switched during the 50-lap race.

Brett Mason, whose team finished fourth, unofficially, was happy with his team’s day.

“It got a bit sloppy after a while, but the track was nice,” said Mason who’s been in the Air Force 11 years. “It was nice to get the break since it was a team race. I had some technical difficulties and one of my teammates had some trouble with his bike, but I think we held on to fourth.”

Mason’s teammate, Mark Travis, also enjoyed the race.

“It was a blast,” said Travis who has been in the Air Force five years.

After the race, Bonestroo took his trophy truck out on the course, but ran into some engine trouble a few laps in.

“I love it; it’s exciting to race and to host the race,” said Bonestroo, who opens his track to the public when he’s not hosting races. “It’s been an evolution to get the track the way it is, but I love coming out here.”

The event will continue through today and official results will be posted online as they become available at http://www.wtxrc.net/