There's no doubt that there are a lot of things that make Glen Helen a great facility. The big hills, the Talledega first turn, and the mystique are all legendary. We'd guess that attending a race there or riding the track is on the bucket list for many fans.

It has its spooky parts, though. The downhill was straightened this year to make it more of a straight shot, and it was faster than ever. We're all for fans getting up close and personal, but this might be a bit much. The high speeds (like the 70 mph approach to the big triple recorded on Ryan Dungey's LITpro data) is probably among the fastest sections that we know of. The rhythm section before the track reconnected to the start straight was as Supercross as it gets. Several of the riders we talked to weren't really pumped on it.

A couple icons of American motocross, Davey Coombs (Racer X magazine/MX Sports), and Jody Weisel (Motocross Action magazine) talk over the track before the action started.