Costa Mesa Speedway - HD & Sidecar NIght

[metallyguitarded_imp]

I took my wife and boys to watch some flat track racing at the Costa Mesa Speedway last night. We had a blast. It was a beautiful night and a packed house. Being that it was Harley Davidson and Sidecar Night, the people watching was as interesting as the races! I'll let you interpret that however you'd like.

There were lots of families in attendance and before the start of the races, the little ones were allowed to sit or stand along the track wall as each of the racers were announced and walked past, giving high fives to each of the kids. Talk about a motley crew (the racers, not the kids). The youngest was 16. The oldest was 60. And there was everything in between. There was a grandmother of four who raced in the amateur division and came in third out of four racers in two heats. I'd love to hear the ribbing that fourth racer got from his friends after those losses.

The flat track bikes are impressive. A few times we ventured too close to the wall and had dirt flung onto us. My wife removed a decent sized dirt clod from my neck but I was more worried about my beer. I managed to keep the beer untainted and all was right in the world. We found some seats along the back straightaway and stuffed ourselves with pizza, pretzels, nachos, churros and beer. A night of indulgence for sure.

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The ape hanger division

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More HDs tearing it up

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This particular sidecar was dominating the track

And here are a couple short videos from the night:




The passenger of the no. 2 car is a paraplegic and was strapped down to the car. I thought I heard the announcer refer to the passengers as "slingers" but I've found that they're referred to in various ways. I prefer the term "Monkey." Seems fitting.




In this video, you can see a couple 1%ers walk past the bottom of the shot. There were a fair number of them present but everyone was mellow. No problems even though earlier in the evening I spotted what would normally be considered a rival 1%er walk by flying his colors. I think everyone was happy to just enjoy the night with some churros and beer.




Of course, being HD night, there had to be some hooliganism!

My family and I had a great time! Looking forward to more races in the future.

[the Ferret]

Lol flat tracking with ape hangers. Got to love HD riders. GLad you had a good time.

What is a churro? Sounds like something already eaten and thrown back up.

[redbirds_imp]

Wish I'd been there. Sounds like a fine time.

[metallyguitarded_imp]

Lol flat tracking with ape hangers. Got to love HD riders. GLad you had a good time.

What is a churro? Sounds like something already eaten and thrown back up.

Haha! Luckily, it tastes much better than it sounds. It's a foot long skinny stick of fried dough covered in sugar. It is the unnatural offspring of a cinnamon roll and doughnut pressed through a star shaped Play Doh machine.

[the Ferret]

Ohhh that sounds good. I like doughnuts, and sugar.

[4 Paws_imp]

Really enjoy flat track races, had a small sand pit nearby when I got my first bike and spent countless hours there "flat tracking" with the rest of the neighborhood nuts. A couple of small dirt tracks here have flat track races at least once month in the summer, lots of old "veterans" mixed in with the young studs. Lots of laughing and cheering afterwards.

Have to appreciate your local track for promoting such an event and making sure all the families had a good time. thanks for the report.

[metallyguitarded_imp]

Really enjoy flat track races, had a small sand pit nearby when I got my first bike and spent countless hours there "flat tracking" with the rest of the neighborhood nuts. A couple of small dirt tracks here have flat track races at least once month in the summer, lots of old "veterans" mixed in with the young studs. Lots of laughing and cheering afterwards.

Have to appreciate your local track for promoting such an event and making sure all the families had a good time. thanks for the report.

Sounds much like what we experienced. Good times for sure! Part of me thinks it would be a blast to give it a go. The other part of me is certain I'd end up a jumbled mess on turn one.