Courtesy photo The Smith Family Racing team poses for a photo. Shown from left are Grady, Damyn, Wyatt, Jack, Becki, and Khody Smith.

Courtsey Photo
Damyn Smith competes in racing action

RAPID RIVER — When Jack Smith graduated from high school and bought his first dirt bike in 1993, who would have known it would be something that he, his wife and their four sons would all do together as a family?

“My parents weren’t really the dirt bike kind of people,” Smith said. “I got my first bike when I graduated high school and have been riding ever since.”

In 1996, Smith saw a motocross and stopped to check it out, and later in the year he began racing at an event in Minnesota.

In 1998 Jack moved back to back to Michigan and continued racing motocross in the District 16 series.

Smith continued his racing career from 2000-2005 while having four boys that he and his wife Becki took to the races.

Jack sold his bike and took some time away from racing when his boys were young from 2005-2009. When Jack got back into racing, the boys, Khody, Wyatt, Damyn and Grady, all started racing four-wheelers and moved to dirt bikes as they got faster.

“I’ve been on a bike for as long as I can remember,” Grady Smith said. “We were homeschooled for awhile and I would get my work done by noon and be out riding my bike the rest of the day”

In 2011, Jack was chasing the District 16 championship but missed it due to an injury. He did win two local series championships that year.

In 2013, Jack tried his hand at the Loose Moose Enduro but still believed that motocross was his passion and where he belonged.

“I have tried other types of bike racing,” Jack Smith said. “But motocross has always been my favorite. I just love being on a bike and competing in this sport.”

In 2016, Jack bought his first off-road bike and raced WIXC series as well as the District 16 off-road series.

In 2017 Jack raced alongside his son Wyatt in the Jack Pine Enduro.

“It was fun to race together as a family,” Jack Smith said. “Most fathers and sons are fishing or hunting. We were out riding dirt bikes.”

As the boys grew older and got jobs they didn’t race as consistently. They made a few races over the season, sometimes a team event.

Preparation for races is not as easy as just getting out there and racing.

“There is a lot of work that goes into a race,” Damyn Smith said. “You have to get the bike setup and make sure to change oil and air filters and make sure you have extra parts packed in case you have a breakdown so its more work than it looks.”

In 2020, Grady did a harescramble race in Cecil, Wis. and loved it. He has been running it every year and constantly improving.

“It’s a fun event to run,” Grady Smith said. “You try to complete as many laps as you can in two hours and it is a combination of motocross grass track and singletrack racing.”

In 2022, the Smith Family hosted a harescramble race in Rapid River for the WIXC series. In 2023 they hosted a pair of harescramble races, where the boys raced together except for Damyn who was recovering from knee surgery due to a college football injury.

In 2024, Damyn jumped into the racing scene after a break while at college. He was injured in a crash at a race in Denmark, Wis. and required surgery, putting him out of action for the first half of the season. He made his return in August at a race in Republic Mich.

Also in 2024, Becki received a bike of her own. She is still the family manager at races but now enjoys rides with her husband and boys.

Over the years racing and riding dirt bikes has become a family connection and a great way for the family to spend time together. No one in the family is looking to go pro, they just have fun planning, preparing and participating in the fun sport of dirt bike racing.