Motorsports are taking center stage at this year’s Park County Fair.

Last week, fair board members added an off-road vehicle race to the lineup of grandstand events for the 2016 fair.

The race — which will feature side-by-side vehicles, dirt bikes and possibly ATVs — effectively replaces last year’s Endurocross.

Event organizer Kyle Burkhardt of Cody hopes to make the “more arenacross, short course-style racing” faster and more action-loaded.

“Guys should be mixing it up a lot more,” Burkhardt said. “That was the only thing that was bad about the Endurocross — it was pretty tight, so whoever got in front, it was hard to pass. So this, I’m hoping I’m going to make it plenty wide where guys can pass. (They) should be able to jump next to each other and go through corners next to each other and all that.”

Burkhardt said he plans to put up “a pretty good purse” to entice drivers from Billings, Riverton, Gillette and perhaps even Idaho.

Fair board members chose the race over another proposal made by the local mounted shooting club.

The decision puts motorsports — which have historically been a big draw — on three of the fair’s five days.

“I think in the future we really need to find events to ... not have everything motorsports,” said fair board member Troy Wiant.

However, he and the rest of the board felt Burkhardt’s proposal was their strongest option this year.

Mark Urlacher of the Wyoming Desperados Mounted Shooters had also offered his club’s services.

Urlacher said past mounted shooting events at the fairgrounds have drawn small audiences, but he thought a show during the fair “would be a pretty good draw.”

The local mounted shooting club has about a half-dozen really active members and Urlacher said they could enlist the help of shooters from clubs as far off as Bozeman.

“We have a lot of people we could maybe bring into this and really put on a show,” Urlacher said.

The fair board had some concern that the proposal hadn’t been fully fleshed out with a definitive performance or cost.

“I like the idea of mounted shooters, but I just don’t feel like they’re ready,” said board member Teecee Barrett, adding, “I also don’t think they’re going to draw a crowd like a motorized event would.”

The fair board had to fill a night of entertainment after being unable to reach an agreement with Endurocross organizer Nate Mainwaring of Powell. Mainwaring had asked for significantly more money to run the event again, telling the board his $7,500 payment last year didn’t come close to covering his expenses. (The fair, meanwhile, had a roughly $4,800 profit from the event last year.)

Burkhardt initially asked for $8,575 to put on his new event, the fair board countered with $7,500 and they compromised at $8,000.

• Tuesday, July 26   Pig Mud Wrestling

   Pig Mud Wrestling

• Wednesday, July 27   Off-Road Vehicle Race

   Off-Road Vehicle Race

• Thursday, July 28   Bump ‘N Run Race

   Bump ‘N Run Race

• Friday, July 29   Terri Clark Concert

   Terri Clark Concert

• Saturday, July 30   Demolition Derby

   Demolition Derby

Park County Fair officials plan to do everything in their power to ensure this summer’s event will once again feature a Ferris wheel.

The absence of the iconic ride at last year’s fair netted a number of complaints; Park County Commission Chairman Tim French relayed one to the fair board last week on behalf of his 6-year-old granddaughter.

County Events Coordinator Echo Renner said she’s already told the carnival operator that, “even if you have to leave something else out this time, you have to bring a Ferris wheel.”

Fair Board President Steve Martin agreed it was worth pushing Carnival Midway Attractions to bring the ride. He and Renner both added that the company — which is returning for its fourth Park County Fair — has been great to work with.