Cool Idea?..

March 28, 2008


Thunder Valley to Host First-Ever Night National
- press release -

Lakewood’s Thunder Valley MX to Host First-Ever Night Race for 4th Annual Toyota Trucks Pro Motocross National presented by Division 7

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (Mar. 28, 2008) – Thunder Valley MX will host the first-ever night round of AMA Motocross on Saturday, June 28, for the 4th Annual Toyota Trucks Pro Motocross National Presented by Division 7. This historic race will mark the fifth round of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF, creating a milestone for the sport of American motocross.

Musco Lighting has jumped on board to supply temporary lighting services at the inaugural night race. As a world-wide leader in sports lighting, Musco will illuminate the mountain side and highlight one of the greatest outdoor racing facilities in the world. Musco Lighting and a group from Thunder Valley MX have staged several test runs at the facility to ensure proper lighting on the racetrack and general spectator areas.

“Musco Lighting is proud to supply the temporary lighting services for the Thunder Valley,” said Amy Yarnell, marketing, Musco Sports Lighting. “Musco is the world-class leader in sports-lighting, making sports-lighting projects happen around the globe from superspeedways to Olympic Games and collegiate athletics to hometown ball fields.”

Thunder Valley’s promoter David Clabaugh has more than 20 years of experience in the motocross industry and has done an excellent job in developing the venue to meet the standards set by the NPG. Along with his astute team of knowledgeable motocross-savvy employees, Clabaugh has attracted the attention of Toyota Trucks as an event and series sponsor, which helps place the sport in mainstream.

“We wanted to break new ground this year by giving the series a new feel,” said Clabaugh. “Hosting the race at night brings a new element to AMA Motocross and gives fans a new perspective. And in this ever-changing marketplace, we’re constantly looking for ways to improve our event and night racing seems like a perfect fit for our regions’ fans.

“We’ve met with officials from the Bandimere drag racing facility up the highway and we’ve done studies on local trends on event attendance in our area. We strongly feel that our greatest area for growth at Thunder Valley is to hold our national at night.”

Red Bull Honda’s Andrew Short is a Colorado native and has competed at each of the AMA Motocross nationals at Thunder Valley MX the past three seasons and sees the nighttime element as a positive for the sport and the event.

“David and his group have done an excellent job in bringing motocross back to Colorado, and to the entire region,” said Short. “It’s important to me to have motocross racing in my home state. I think night racing at an outdoor national will be good and can bring some excitement for the local fans. They’ll have to work at making the lighting right on the track, but I don’t doubt that they’ll be prepared. Thunder Valley MX has become one of the premier stops on the circuit and I think it has really helped local riders.”

Innovative and fan friendly, Thunder Valley MX features three large Jumbotron television screens where live race action is brought to the fans. Local and national media outlets were fed satellite feeds of the AMA Motocross Lites and AMA Motocross class highlights, giving the facility, sponsors and riders nationwide appeal. Since its inception, the key media members of the Denver media have provided excellent print, television and radio coverage.

In addition to the night race, Thunder Valley has also moved up the date nearly a month to accommodate the new and travel-friendly race schedule.

Last year at Thunder Valley Kawasaki’s James Stewart, of Haines City, Fla., picked up his first win in a tiebreaker at the Toyota Trucks Pro Motocross Nationals Presented by Division 7, round seven of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF. Kawasaki’s Ben Townley, of Tallahassee, Fla., won his second-consecutive overall and fourth of the season in AMA Motocross Lites.

SCHEDULE: Friday (June 27) - Pro practice, 6:00 pm., Saturday (June 28) - Practice, 1:00PM. Qualifying, 2:50 pm. Opening Ceremonies, 5:30 pm. Final events start at 6:00 pm with two 30-minute, plus two lap motos for each class. A complete weekend schedule is available by clicking http://www.mxthundervalley.com/ThunderValley_Nat_info.pdf.