May 21, 2011 – OC Fairgrounds
Can you smell that? We got a whiff of the methanol as we get closer to the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, CA this Saturday afternoon. We are on our way to Harley Night at the Costa Mesa Speedway. First of two such events in the calendar and as an added bonus it’s Sidecar racing too.
We roll into the gate and make our way to the bike corral in the middle of the pit area. There were some really cool bikes in the corral including a nice blue knuckle set-up that looks like it belongs in a show not on the dirt, and a couple of baggers ready to do some damage as well as my buddy Terry’s custom painted V-Rod. Potter and I rolled out the Rapido for a test run on the track. There was a certain character that was there, very friendly who seemed to be a veteran to the Harley races; “The Horny Guy”. His helmet had these foot-long plus horns sticking out the sides. His Sporty was all set-up for the races.
After your Harley shipping is all said and done and you get your bike set up, you’re ready to bring your bike to Speedway Harley Night. You get a pit pass and can walk among the tents of speedway racers and in the back corner are those nasty sidecar guys. As you most likely know, I friended the Driggers Racing Team earlier in the year and now it’s time to see them race!
Before the races they have a parade of riders. A chance for each rider to be announced as they walk the track. The Costa Mesa Speedway track is the smallest of all the speedway tracks in the country. Makes for an intimate setting and crowded field. Exciting none-the-less. There are racers here who I remember seeing as a kid in the seventies. #9 Flyin’ Mike Faria riding for Mattsons Radiator as a favorite.
Just to let you know, Speedway Racing is 500cc motorcycles running counter-clockwise around a flat dirt track. Usually four racers per 4 lap race. They slide the bikes sideways with their bars crossed-up around the turns. Speedway Sidecar Racing is 1000cc sidecar rigs going clockwise around the same track. Both styles have NO brakes. Before the riders take the course, they choose a golf ball with the lane choice marked on them.
Harley Races: Between speedway heats there are two races for the Harley guys. There was two heats in the first race and one final race later in the evening. I took the Rapido on the first heat race, Terry took his V-Rod in the second heat race and Potter rolled the Rapido in the final race. What a blast! I was just scared that someone would come up from behind and hit me, so I took an outside line. Sitting at the gate with the bigger bikes revving up behind me was a bit intimidating.
All-in-all a great night. The Driggers Team did OK, and where #13 Uncle Scott’s rig got pummeled with mud/dirt by Joe Jones’ rig and then, blindly he cut off his nephew Shawn Driggers who ended up in the in-field. After the races the pits are open to the spectators and there was a line at the Driggers pit getting autographed posters. There was even a young lady who wanted Shawn’s wife and monkey sign her boob. How crazy was that?
Well, there’s another Harley Night coming up on August 20th and we will have the Rapido out again, this time with the sidehack on it. Stay tuned and visit CostaMesaSpeedway.net for more info.