Last Chance Raceway

www.helenamx.com

The Last Chance Riders Association was formed in 1991 as a motocross club. At that time they had no permanent riding area and did most of their riding at Bummer’s Badlands (located North of the present facility) and the old Montana City Track. They were host to their first sanctioned motocross race in 1992, which was held (as well) at Bummer’s Badlands. Near the end of that same year, the members of the newly formed club purchased 40 acres of land from the Frank Longmire family. Located on York Road (2-1/2 miles past Fox Ridge Golf Coarse), this became the home of “Last Chance Raceway”, upon which was built the original motocross track. The following year (1993), they held their second sanctioned motocross race but this time on their own property.

In the spring of 1994 the ambitious new upstarts installed a permanent water line and fire hose system to water the track for their events. Its operation was very labor intensive and a pump had to be rented to operate the system for each event. In spite of that, it worked very well.

The following spring (of 1995), a much needed lap shack/storage shack was erected. This provided much needed winter sanctuary for many of the area rodents.

The next project on the board was a starting gate. This was built in the winter of 1996 and installed in the spring of 1997. It is still the premier starting gate in the state.

In the winter of 1997 a 90 hp pump was built to eliminate the expense of pump rental. It was put into service in the spring of 1998 and is still in use today.

A new water and sprinkler system was designed and installed in the fall of 2000. This was done over three months (of week-ends) by an incredibly ambitious group of club members. This system, which is still in place, allows members to water the entire track (in about 20 minutes) on a daily basis.

In order to better accommodate motocross spectators, a set of bleachers was erected in the fall of 2001.

The next several years saw much of the clubs energy spent building, re-designing and grooming the track, trying several methods of producing the best motocross soil possible. During that time, many other projects were completed: Purchasing a water canon (to water the starting area), fabricating track drags, building a ticket booth, erecting spectator fences, installing a public address and FM broadcast system and setting up a new (rodent free) lap shack and storage facility.

The club, having been very successful over several years of sponsoring races, was able to purchase two four wheelers and a six wheeler in 2007. This was followed in 2008 by the purchase of an additional 30 acres of land from Bob and Judy Simpson. Most recently, in 2009, the club purchased an arena groomer and a four-wheel drive tractor/loader. The combination of which enables us to professionally condition our racing surface.

The collective membership of the Last Chance Riders Association is largely motocross racers. However, with the addition of the new land, that membership base is expanding to include many more off-road riders as well. We’re basically a large family (complete with drama) whose common bond is a love for dirt bikes and a childlike zest for fun.