BUCHANAN, Mich. — Weaving down the winding road of Red Bud Trail in Buchanan, Michigan, everything seems unassuming.
The Saint Joseph River runs parallel to the road. Trees line both sides.
It’s calm.
Except for four days in July every year.
The traffic clogs up the road for miles. Engines can be heard revving from blocks away. There’s a distinct smell of oil in the air.
It’s RedBud weekend.
For 51 years, the small town in southwest Michigan has been the center of the motocross world, hosting the RedBud Pro National MX. An estimated record crowd of more than 30,000 people took in the races this past weekend, coming from all parts of the country to be part of the spectacle.
Families. High school friends. College friends. Adult friends.
From 70 years to seven months old, RedBud is for everyone.
It’s a must-attend event for the father-son duo of Ryan and Nolan Kellar. They had never been to a motocross event until four years ago when a family friend invited them to one.
The Grand Rapids, Michigan, natives were hooked, especially Nolan. The nine-year-old is already competing in youth motocross races with the hopes of being a professional rider one day.
“Probably the jumps,” said Nolan of his favorite part of racing.
RedBud features one of the more iconic hills in the series, LaRocco’s Leap. Only the top riders in the world can clear it fully.
“I could probably double it,” a confident Nolan said.
“He’d roll it,” his father retorted.
Saturday was the second RedBud event for the Kellar’s. After camping out last year, they decided to just wake up early and make the hour-and-a-half drive early in the morning. They arrived around 7:30 a.m., five hours before the championship races started.
“The fans are like no other,” Ryan said. “No other National compares. You watch Southwick last weekend, Haiden (Deegan) won, and they were quiet. When Haiden gets on the podium here today, we’re about to light this place up.”
RedBud is an Independence Day weekend tradition, which means thousands of people wearing red, white and blue clothes.
Arguably nobody had more patriotism flowing more than Charlie Nance. The 49-year-old from Murphysboro, Illinois, caught everyone’s attention with a gigantic red afro, a mustache died red, white and blue, an American Flag cutoff shirt, shorts, socks and shoes, and a USA fanny pack to cap it all off.
Where does one get an outfit so elaborate?
“I’m a fireman from where I’m from, and I used to run muscular dystrophy events for charity,” Nance said. “I’ve ran several, and we’d do a wiffleball tournament every year. It’s a pretty big tournament … I would dress up and made it for the teams to dress up. I brought the stuff I had from wiffleball here in 2022, and it’s kind of just built off of that.”
Nance was attending his third RedBud race. His daughter, Riley, and two other friends were with him, also decked out in the patriotic garb.
“I’ve been following motocross for a long time; my first races were in the ‘80s and ‘90s,” Nance said. “… From what we had heard about RedBud, it was kind of my bucket list item. I’m getting older, and my daughter just started liking dirt bikes. It rejuvenated my interest in it. We came to RedBud in 2022, and it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.”
When asked about what makes RedBud special, just about every rider said it was the fans. No other race in the pro series matches what southwest Michigan has to offer every year.
“The crowd always gets gnarly,” Aaron Plessenger said, who’s raced in every RedBud except one since 2015. “It’s just awesome. The weather’s great. We chilled outside (Thursday), celebrating the 4th of July. It’s just awesome.”
By Monday morning, Red Bud Trail will return to its calm, peaceful state.
Until July 5, 2025, at least.
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