North Star Motorsports (The Sawdust Pit)

North Star Motorsports runs the Sawdust Pit in Ashland, deep in Aroostook County, and there is nothing else like it in North American motocross: the entire 10-acre racing surface is built from pure sawdust, up to 20 feet deep in places. The property is the old Grafton Lumber Mill site from the 1950s and 60s, and after the mill burned down, founder Buddy Collins sculpted an estimated 4,000 dump truckloads of its leftover sawdust into a racetrack, organizing the first race in April 2024.

Riding it splits the difference between deep sand and loam, but lighter: the surface cushions crashes in a way dirt never will, making it remarkably kind to young and new riders, while the throttle-hungry drag of it gives seasoned racers a genuine workout. And because sawdust drains like nothing else, the track never turns to mud, absorbing rainstorms that force emergency closures at every clay track in the region.

The registered nonprofit runs the property year-round. Summer brings the multi-round Sawdust Pit MX Championship Series and community practice days, drawing everyone from 4-year-olds to veterans on bikes, quads, and side-by-sides, with race weekends featuring food trucks and pro purses up to $2,000. When Aroostook County's snow buries the track, the venue flips to hosting NEXC snowmobile racing. Gate entry on race days runs $10 for adults with kids 5 and under free.

For riders in Presque Isle, Caribou, and across the County, the Sawdust Pit is the local gate in a region hours from any other track, and a genuine bucket-list oddity for anyone touring New England moto. Racer X called it possibly the most unique racing surface in America.

Dates post to the North Star Motorsports Facebook page and northstarmotorsportsme.com.