While seated at a bar in Oxbo, Wis., Dick Kuhnert pulled a tick off his arm and watched as it scurried across the bar. This was the beginning of the annual event of wood tick racing. “My father was sitting at a bar, thinking there had to be some purpose for wood ticks,” Dick’s son Randy Kuhnert, owner of Red Zone Sports Bar, said. The first race took place in Oxbo in May of 1980. Dick has since passed away, but Randy is carrying on his legend. While Oxbo still hosts the event each year, Kuhnert also hosts the races at Red Zone. This year’s will take place on May 19 and Kuhnert expects a high turnout. Kuhnert said the races can last anywhere from 10 seconds to one minute. Entrant’s dollars go into a pot and the winner of the races takes all. This year’s event will begin at around 3pm and could go well into the night. Bill Doeringsfeld was notorious last year for eating three of his ticks after losing in the final rounds of the races. “They’re good protein,” he noted. He enjoys the atmosphere of the event. “It’s so exciting,” Doeringsfeld said. “People are screaming and yelling and jumping around.” Kuhnert agrees, adding that the event grows wilder as it continues into the final rounds. “If you’ve watched a horse race, that is the excitement that is here,” Kuhnert said. “But the excitement lasts much longer. It’s an all-day event.” The atmosphere the event provides and his ability to carry on his father’s tradition are the reasons Kuhnert said he plans to continue hosting wood tick races well into the future. “Wood tick racing turns everyone into a kid again,” Kuhnert said. “It’s a great reason to gather and have some good family fun.”