Anaheim Retro Update

We stopped by Angel Stadium of Anaheim today, where the Dirt Wurx crew were starting work on this weekend’s retro track for Anaheim 2. Just in case you think this is just a rubber-stamped track design with only a mere nod to the original where David Bailey and Rick Johnson put on one of the best races ever, think again. David Bailey was out at the track, talking over his memories of the race, as well as the design with Norm Buckley from Dirt Wurx. While there will likely be a few mods to address safety concerns, it should be very close to the original.

One thing for sure, is that you can look for is a track that’s very different from modern layouts. The start straight is extremely long (330 feet), and one of the triples is 74 feet, rather than the usual 64. Some of the jump faces will be steeper, and there is that pesky sand section to contend with.

Speaking of sand, A1 had an all-new batch of dirt this year…though it was hard to tell because it was so wet. For this time around, 20 truck loads of sand have been added to the mix to soften it up. We applaud Live Nation for experimenting with this revisit to the past, and we can’t wait to see how the riders handle the challenge. We can’t wait to see what it does to the lap times. Will you be there to witness it?

Oh, here’s one last item from Tuesday. David brought out his Championship prize from the ’83 season, when Wrangler was the series sponsor…the belt buckle seen above. David said that the following year, Johnny O'Mara got a truck, and $50,000. Of course even that pales in comparison to what guys are earning these days. Man, things have changed a lot.