Event Preview: Mayhem at the Motorplex 2024 in Lena, WI
For the first time in series history, the road to the Off-Road Championship commences in May at Dirt City Motorplex in Lena, WI for Mayhem at the Motorplex. Since the venue opened its gates in 2019, Dirt City has hosted this event and attracted top Sportsman talent. In 2024, expect to witness some of the biggest names in short course off-road racing compete on the mile-long course.
About Dirt City Motorplex:
The Dirt City Motorplex is a motorsports facility located in Northeastern Wisconsin, approximately 30 miles north of Green Bay. In the small town of Lena, a group of local racers, business owners and motorsport enthusiasts came together to form the Lena Motorsports Club. The club, along with generous community support, built the venue from the ground up in 2019.
The property features a one-mile long, short-course off-road track, camping areas, and a natural viewing area for thousands of spectators. The venue also features ideal onsite amenities including a restaurant, fuel & LP station, race fuel and an auto parts store.
PRO TRUCK STORYLINES
Defending Champions:
- PRO4: CJ Greaves
- PRO2: Cory Winner
- PRO STOCK SXS: CJ Greaves
- PRO BUGGY: Mark Steinhardt
- PRO LITE: Kyle Greaves will be racing PRO2 this season.
- PRO SPEC: Chad Rayford will not be racing this season.
In addition to the defending champions, let’s take a look at who is expected to stand out in 2024.
Jimmy Henderson: PRO4
His 2023 awards speak for themselves: Win of the Year (a spring Crandon sweep) and Team of the Year. The multi-discipline racer and his team and achieved a meteoric rise to the top last season.
Andrew Carlson: PRO4 and AMSOIL Pro Turbo SxS
Carlson returns to running a full PRO4 schedule in 2024 after having run a partial schedule in 2023. Not only is the Elk River racer expected to contend for wins and podiums, but he will also do so in the AMSOIL Pro Turbo SxS class.
New PRO4 racers in 2024:
- Paul Wolff
- Kainan Baker
- Robert Stout
- Click here for the 2024 season preliminary driver list.
Kyle Greaves: PRO2
Greaves filled in for his uncle John Greaves last season in PRO4 while John was sidelined following his crash in Antigo. It didn’t take Kyle long to get up to speed in this premier class. In Pro Lite, he secured his 2nd consecutive Pro Lite title. By the end of the season, he announced that he had sold his championship-winning Pro Lite and that he was to go full-time PRO2 racing in 2024.
Ricky G. to Ryan Beat Motorsports: PRO2
Ricky G. suffered a couple of major crashes in 2023. His qualifying day crash at fall Crandon ended his season. He and the team decided to park the truck and focus on building for 2024. Ricky G. will now be racing for Ryan Beat Motorsports. Two proven winners and championship contenders under one awning?! RBM has long been a “super team”, and their roster just got even more high profile.
Mickey Thomas and Cory Winner: PRO2
These key players each stepped up tremendously in 2024, once again making PRO2 one of the fan-favorite classes to watch. These two brought the title fight down to the final round in Jay, OK.
Other PRO2 Noteables:
- Jay Schaefer: The holeshot king
- Trey Gibbs: Expect to race select rounds in a PRO2
- Click here for the 2024 season preliminary driver list.
Pro Lite:
We aren’t in the business of predictions. But even if we were, there is no telling what could happen in the ever-compelling Pro Lite class.
However, the documentation shows us that Trey Gibbs has carried the title fight all the way down to the final round the last two seasons. Could this be his year? Some say he is a favorite to win the 2024 championship. He is also expected to moonlight in the PRO2 class for a race or two.
Click here for the 2024 season preliminary driver list.
Pro Spec:
Expect to see upwards up 9 trucks at select ACOR rounds. Rookies include Ron Kosciesza, Diesel Shanak, Neil Shanak, Hunter Vanzile, Christopher Parrish and Porter Inglese.
We expect heavy hitters to include Nick Visser, Chris Van Den Elzen and Dylan Parsons.
Notably missing: Gray Leadbetter. She is going back to SxS racing in the AMSOIL Pro SxS class. She will do so as part of her own race program. Also missing from the class is Chad Rayford who has taken a step back from racing this season. We do expect that we will see him at the races supporting his friends and family.
Pro Buggy:
Mark “Steiny” Steinhardt put together a stellar 2023 campaign which resulted in the Championship. He will look to defend against other frontrunners such as Billy Buth, Jordan Bernloehr and others.
Making his Champ Off-Road deubt from Denton, MT is Chase Greer. Dave Mason Jr. will also be entering this Pro Buggy class this season.
AMSOIL Pro SxS:
Formerly known as Pro Turbo SxS or Pro Mod SxS, the class has been renamed to Pro SxS. No matter the name, expect to see a stacked class once again in 2024. Names such as CJ Greaves, Andrew Carlson, Rodney and Owen VanEperen, Gray Leadbetter, Jeb Bootle, and of course, your defending champion Kyle Chaney.
Pro Stock SxS:
The Pro Stock SxS division brought us some of the most thrilling moments of SxS racing last season. While CJ Greaves looks to defend his title, racers like Own VanEperen, Jeb Bootle, the Marquardt brothers, the Letourneau brothers, Dave Mason Jr., Jake Jorgenson, Jake Kosmecki and others will be on the hunt and chasing the top step.
As always, you never know who might show up at an AMSOIL Championship Off-Road race. In past years, we’ve seen Tanner Foust, Travis Pastrana, Brian Deegan and Jeremy McGrath suit up. We also see highly decorated part-timers such as RJ and Ronnie Anderson drop in for select events. You’ll need to stay tuned to see who shows up to race among the world’s best short course racers.
You can tune in all season long on FloRacing. New and exciting for AMSOIL Championship Off-Road in 2024 is it’s TV partnership with FS2. For live stream information and broadcast air dates, check out this week’s watch guide.