Off-road rally event scheduled

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
With the hopes of bringing more people out to enjoy the Weston County Fair, Garrett Borton and Don Taylor joined forces to create the Weston County Riot Off Road Rally. The event will work in conjunction with the fair parade and truck pulls, providing another avenue for people to get involved, the organizers say. 
“We know the fair is always trying to improve the turnout, and we figured why not with how big side-by-sides are getting to tie that in,” Taylor said. “The side-by-sides and four-wheelers can join the parade. Then we will go for a ride up by Mallo since that is still Weston County, then come back to the fairgrounds for the truck pulls.”
Troy and Melissa Cade, owners of Outlaw Motors, have been bringing the truck pull event to the Weston County Fair going on 16 years, and feature gas, diesel and heavy weight trucks. Admission is free, with drawings for free prizes provided by Outlaw, and Decker’s Market offering free hot dogs and pop.
The popular truck pulls feature trucks pulling a heavy metal sled a certain distance. The pulls are categorized by classes, and the truck pulling the sled the farthest in each class wins. 
In order to provide a similar experience for the smaller ATVs and side-by-sides, Borton and Taylor worked with Robert Miller to use a sled that he had built years ago. 
“This is a downsized sled that will accommodate the smaller vehicles but is similar to the truck sled. He built it like eight to 10 years ago. He offered it to us for the event,” Borton said. “So we got it and did some work to it. We played with it last week and took it out to the fairgrounds and got it all dialed in.”
So what is a side-by-side and how does it compare with a four-wheeler?
According to Autotrader, “a side-by-side … is typically known as a UTV (utility task vehicle); it’s designed more like a golf cart. Unlike an ATV, a side-by-side has car-like controls with pedals, a steering wheel and either a bench seat or a more technical seat that resembles a seat you’d find in a car. They’re called side-by-sides because they usually have two seats beside each other, sometimes with the addition of back seats. Some smaller UTVs only have one seat, but they’re still technically classified as side-by-sides.”
The website says that four-wheelers, on the other hand, are commonly known as ATVs, which stands for “all-terrain vehicles.” They are also called “quads.” 
“It’s an off-road vehicle with four wheels that uses motorcycle-like controls,” Autotrader says. “You sit on a saddle-like seat and control the ATV with handlebars.”
According to Borton, with COVID-19 canceling many events earlier this summer, they hope to encourage more involvement in the fair while piggybacking on the truck pulls, which is a fair staple. 
“We went to Troy Cade and told him what we wanted to do, that we wanted to add to his event (truck pull),” Borton said. “The cool part about it is, doing it that night, Troy doesn’t have to do anything different.” 
According to Borton, Cade had mentioned selling more trailers for hauling side-by-sides and ATVs. This information makes the organizers think that the turnout could be decent, he said. 
Kicking off the 2020 Weston County Fair will be the parade at 10 a.m. on July 25. Lineup will be at the Pinnacle Bank parking lot. 
After the parade, Borton and Taylor will take the vehicles wanting to participate in the off-road event to Mallo Camp. The group will then return to the Weston County Fairgrounds in time for registration at 5 p.m. The truck, side-by-side and ATV pulls will begin at 6 p.m.
Thanks to sponsors throughout the community, Taylor said, there is about $3,000 in cash and prizes to be won that evening. 
“What better way to get out and make the parade bigger and better? To win the prizes, you have to attend, so we are hoping it should really get more people to the fairgrounds and hopefully lead to them checking out more of the fair activities throughout the week,” Taylor said. 
Anyone with questions regarding the event can contact Taylor at 746-8582 or Borton at 746-8618.