A UTV, also known as a ‘side-by-side,’ makes its way through the course at the previous year’s weekend race at Powerline Park.

WHEELING — 12 years ago, Steve Stiller had 235 participants signed up for a weekend of ATV and motorcycle races.

Now, after a dozen years of growth, Stiller and the American Woods Racing Championship Series (AWRCS) are gearing up for 1,000-plus racers to converge at Powerline Park for one of the off-road racing promotion’s biggest events yet.

“We’re more of a national series as far as our numbers go,” Stiller, the manager of AWRCS, said. “[…] Wherever we go, whatever town we go to, it’s like everybody stops what they’re doing and comes to race with us. It’s something cool.”

Powerline Park in St. Clairsville, Ohio will be the sight of AWRCS’ sixth leg of a 10-round race series on July 22 and July 23, bringing in 1,000 racers of a variety of different ages and abilities.

“We have top national athletes in the United States coming,” Stiller said. “But we also have just the guy who wants to come out and ride, he doesn’t have to worry about the cops chasing him or anything like that. It’s just a good, family-oriented race series, period, family first.”

The two-day span will include youth, amateur and professional races from the morning until the evening. Saturday’s main event is set to be a UTV race along a 13-mile course through hilly, rocky terrain.

Stiller said he expects eight-to-10 professionals for the weekend.

“They’re the top guys in the United States, the pros that will be here,” Stiller said.

Many of the racers that will take to the course this weekend will hail from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky, though others still will be imports from New York, Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey and elsewhere.

AWRCS expects the weekend to draw quite a crowd to Powerline Park.

“There’s a famous creek jump, everybody who knows Powerline over the past 20 years knows about the creek jump that’s there,” Stiller said. “They’ll get to watch the famous creek jump, there’s some hill climbs where there’s some easy ways to go around but if you take the hard way, it’s quicker- if you make it. There will be a ton for spectators to see.”

“We’re just one stop, but we’re a popular stop,” Greg Eaton, the land-owner for Powerline Park, said. “All the local businesses love it, you’ve got an influx of four or five thousand people plus 1,000 racers who need gasoline, gatorade, food, the whole enchilada. A lot of the hotels are all filled up.”

AWRCS will hit the road to different parts of Pennsylvania for their next four events, but for their stop in Ohio, they hope to bring a sense of family and fun.

“It’s a very family-oriented event,” Eaton said. “And some of these people are dang talented.”