Old School Tracks (USA) - Some gone and forgotten

Tbteam
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Tbteam 5/13/2008 11:51am
5/13/2008 11:51am
Western NY (Sprinville to be exact) was the home of Zoar Valley Motocross Park. The most beautiful natural terrain track that I've ever ridden.

Marty liked it!

Slow ~ Pro
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Slow ~ Pro 5/16/2008 11:10pm
5/16/2008 11:10pm
Tbteam wrote:
Western NY (Sprinville to be exact) was the home of Zoar Valley Motocross Park. The most beautiful natural terrain track that I've ever ridden. Marty liked...
Western NY (Sprinville to be exact) was the home of Zoar Valley Motocross Park. The most beautiful natural terrain track that I've ever ridden.

Marty liked it!

Marty Smith's Rookie year !
DoctorJD
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DoctorJD 5/21/2008 12:19pm
5/21/2008 12:19pm
Larry wrote:

Burnt Hickory
Wildcat Creek
Road Atlanta
Three of the best tracks ever.
I loved Wildcat Creek, that was truly, old-school mx at it's best. Nice dirt and lots of elevation change going up and down that hill. As much as I liked the track, I never did very well there. I always seemed to get caught up in that ditch of a first turn they had. How about Mulberry in Winder?

The Shop

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motogeeze
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motogeeze 5/21/2008 5:26pm
5/21/2008 5:26pm
Man. Wildcat was always one of my favorites, had to like the starting line bein parallel
to the creek and you could back up off it and sit in the shade of those trees watin on your moto , hottest day i ever rode was there ..I think it was 101 degrees and %85 humidity that sunday and we were out there doin it...crazy stuff....speaking of Mulberry how about Rolling Ridge in Homer not too far from there..both red dirt tracks..dont forget Snake Creek in its last incarnation was pretty good and then further west into ala on what I called the Rt 166 circuit was State Line ( the most prepped track ever..they plowed and watered between both sets of motos usually, nice deep black dirt) , Ranburne (always dusty but a neat layout ) and closer to home was good ole Whitesburg , it was a mx track then a stock car dirt track then a dump then an mx track again ...:O And up in South Carolina how can you forget Anderson, they held a national there and I actually pitted beside Bradshaw one day at a local race way back when he was still an up and comin amateur rider there..and since we're in SC there was the aptly named Hellhole mx...sandy and always brutally humid and hot in the summer and the gnats....I cant leave out Indian Creek over in Cullman Ala either, every year they held the pepsi classic on Labor Day and drew a ton of riders , it was one of those must go events for us guys here in the south.
Good times......
DoctorJD
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DoctorJD 5/22/2008 9:57am
5/22/2008 9:57am
motogeeze wrote:
Man. Wildcat was always one of my favorites, had to like the starting line bein parallel to the creek and you could back up off it...
Man. Wildcat was always one of my favorites, had to like the starting line bein parallel
to the creek and you could back up off it and sit in the shade of those trees watin on your moto , hottest day i ever rode was there ..I think it was 101 degrees and %85 humidity that sunday and we were out there doin it...crazy stuff....speaking of Mulberry how about Rolling Ridge in Homer not too far from there..both red dirt tracks..dont forget Snake Creek in its last incarnation was pretty good and then further west into ala on what I called the Rt 166 circuit was State Line ( the most prepped track ever..they plowed and watered between both sets of motos usually, nice deep black dirt) , Ranburne (always dusty but a neat layout ) and closer to home was good ole Whitesburg , it was a mx track then a stock car dirt track then a dump then an mx track again ...:O And up in South Carolina how can you forget Anderson, they held a national there and I actually pitted beside Bradshaw one day at a local race way back when he was still an up and comin amateur rider there..and since we're in SC there was the aptly named Hellhole mx...sandy and always brutally humid and hot in the summer and the gnats....I cant leave out Indian Creek over in Cullman Ala either, every year they held the pepsi classic on Labor Day and drew a ton of riders , it was one of those must go events for us guys here in the south.
Good times......
If Rolling Ridge is the track I'm thinking about, then I won my first trophy there back in 77' in the 100 class (remember those?). I know the track was up around Commerce, but I don't remember the name. Did several races at Whitesburg, as well, I always liked that track and did my last race ever there back in 88'. Another one of my favorites was the original Echeeconee MX in Lizella. Not the current track (not that I didn't like that one), but the one that was right by the road and had that downhill that took you down to the river. The old track had a charm all its own. Love me a good sand track!
slowvet
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slowvet 5/23/2008 7:26am
5/23/2008 7:26am
White Oaks mx track in Fredericksburgh Va. About 50 miles south of D.C. When Dave Coupe and Alan King and John Savitski came through in the early 80's and blew the locals away was quite a treat.

Cedar Ridge mx in Dylwynn Va. Fun track, now extinct

The Trans AMA track in Herman Nebraska was a blast. Home of Greg Theiss (sp)

Sunshine Speedway in St. Petersburgh Fla.

Is Anteitam mx in Maryland still running? Historic civil war area. Good memories.
fcr
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fcr 5/25/2008 10:46pm
5/25/2008 10:46pm
Reach Out Rialto track had a short lived life. It is now under houses of course. they had pretty good pro purse so some good riders came out. Staten, Fishback , Brent Rhodes was CMC #2 and I think Marty Tripes came out also. It was actually a fun track. Tons of rocks.
Slow ~ Pro
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Slow ~ Pro 5/26/2008 7:33am
5/26/2008 7:33am
fcr wrote:
Reach Out Rialto track had a short lived life. It is now under houses of course. they had pretty good pro purse so some good riders...
Reach Out Rialto track had a short lived life. It is now under houses of course. they had pretty good pro purse so some good riders came out. Staten, Fishback , Brent Rhodes was CMC #2 and I think Marty Tripes came out also. It was actually a fun track. Tons of rocks.
I remember that track..I heard Roger D. also rode there on occasion.

Don't think it was possible to avoid rocks in that area.
fcr
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fcr 5/26/2008 11:21am
5/26/2008 11:21am
You can almost look up from it an see Arroyo(GH), Ha! When they prepped the track it was good until later in the day, then all the rocks started showing. I'm not sure if Roger D. was there. I'll ask some people. That was were I went to HS. One of the girls who raced there was Kathy Nece. Her son is Ryan Nece , Ronnie Lotts kid.
Slow ~ Pro
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Slow ~ Pro 5/26/2008 12:23pm
5/26/2008 12:23pm
Yeah, I don't have any fact that Roger DeCoster rode, raced, or practiced, there. I just remember a friend taking me there and telling me so. That was 35 years ago, it may even have been a different place.
fcr
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fcr 5/26/2008 2:45pm
5/26/2008 2:45pm
ROR was in the middle of the vineyards off of Cactus and Highland or Baseline. We used to ride out in the area at will. It is also near Rialto Municipal Airport(Miro Airport). Art Schell or Schnell used to fly out of there. He did a show at most of the races if I remember correctly. He used to do Carlsbad also during the GP. He crashed off Carlsbad filming Top Gun I think.
JYZ566
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JYZ566 5/26/2008 2:58pm
5/26/2008 2:58pm
Lets not forget about Keithsburg, IL. I believe they held a national back there. All sand track, that is still there to this day, but practice only. Cycle World USA, right here in good ol' St. Peters, MO.
NW#599
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NW#599 5/27/2008 8:33am
5/27/2008 8:33am Edited Date/Time 4/16/2016 7:05pm
Starbuck, outside of Walla Walla, Washington. Had no water except a water truck. soaked track before race and practice and half of first moto's were a mud bath. then track would dry out so bad and become dangerously dusty. Had a set of four jumps in a row that nobody could double so each time you went up you cleared the dust and could see then came back down and couldn't see anything. You just prayed nobody was down on the track infront of you.

Mabton, Washington - Sandy, on a hill and the bottom part was kind of a swampy area (real wet). Nice track. Larry Ward and Butch Smith had some battles there along with Jamie Munson and John Calhoun.

Moxee, Washington - one of my favorite tracks, huge uphill - built on the side of one of the famous "treeless" hills outside of Yakima, Washington. Saw Larry Ward flat out own that track and beat many 125 experts on his Kawasaki 80. One race in particular Larry was leading then fell twice. The second time he fell infront of his mother. She went over and grabbed him and spanked him right on the butt and told him to get his act together. He went on to win the race. I think this track is now a Gold Course??? Four Stroke guy Greg Zitterkopf (sp?) was a regular here also on his ATK 250 and 500 fourstrokes. He was pretty fast and traveled the Northwest promoting those bikes. This track had a monster downhill double that I only saw one guy clear ever. That guy was Eric Eaton on his YZ490.

There was also a small track on the side of a small hill called Forks or "something" Forks. It was the first motocross race I ever remember seeing (attending). Can't even remember exactly where it was.
slowvet
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slowvet 5/29/2008 7:56am
5/29/2008 7:56am
What ever happened to Puyallup (sp) NW?
NW#599
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NW#599 6/5/2008 11:28am
6/5/2008 11:28am
Jolly Rogers (in Puyallup) the motocross track or the Flat Track at Puyallup Fairgrounds?

Jolly Rogers was still running in the 90's. I am not sure if it is still running now or not.
TJ 755
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TJ 755 6/5/2008 2:15pm
6/5/2008 2:15pm
NW#599 wrote:
Starbuck, outside of Walla Walla, Washington. Had no water except a water truck. soaked track before race and practice and half of first moto's were a...
Starbuck, outside of Walla Walla, Washington. Had no water except a water truck. soaked track before race and practice and half of first moto's were a mud bath. then track would dry out so bad and become dangerously dusty. Had a set of four jumps in a row that nobody could double so each time you went up you cleared the dust and could see then came back down and couldn't see anything. You just prayed nobody was down on the track infront of you.

Mabton, Washington - Sandy, on a hill and the bottom part was kind of a swampy area (real wet). Nice track. Larry Ward and Butch Smith had some battles there along with Jamie Munson and John Calhoun.

Moxee, Washington - one of my favorite tracks, huge uphill - built on the side of one of the famous "treeless" hills outside of Yakima, Washington. Saw Larry Ward flat out own that track and beat many 125 experts on his Kawasaki 80. One race in particular Larry was leading then fell twice. The second time he fell infront of his mother. She went over and grabbed him and spanked him right on the butt and told him to get his act together. He went on to win the race. I think this track is now a Gold Course??? Four Stroke guy Greg Zitterkopf (sp?) was a regular here also on his ATK 250 and 500 fourstrokes. He was pretty fast and traveled the Northwest promoting those bikes. This track had a monster downhill double that I only saw one guy clear ever. That guy was Eric Eaton on his YZ490.

There was also a small track on the side of a small hill called Forks or "something" Forks. It was the first motocross race I ever remember seeing (attending). Can't even remember exactly where it was.
I assume you mean Suntarget as the Yakima track. That was a good track. I battled LW there on minis many a time as my dad and Kaylene battled on the sideline.. I would pass him in the corners and he would pull past me on that 1/2 mile uphill every lap. I out weighed him by a ton and he had team green 105's.
Jolly was in Kent and is long gone as is the old Puyallup and of course Spanaway.
NW#599
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NW#599 6/6/2008 9:12am
6/6/2008 9:12am
That 105 of Larry Ward's beat the 125 experts many times. If there weren't any 80 experts to give him competition he would let them start and get about a 1/4 to 1/2 lap lead then take off and catch them.

Suntarget sounds familiar....had a small jump before (on top) of a short downhill and left turn.

Did you race against Jamie Munson (Tri-Cities/Kennewick) as well?

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TJ 755
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TJ 755 6/9/2008 9:43am
6/9/2008 9:43am
NW#599 wrote:
That 105 of Larry Ward's beat the 125 experts many times. If there weren't any 80 experts to give him competition he would let them start...
That 105 of Larry Ward's beat the 125 experts many times. If there weren't any 80 experts to give him competition he would let them start and get about a 1/4 to 1/2 lap lead then take off and catch them.

Suntarget sounds familiar....had a small jump before (on top) of a short downhill and left turn.

Did you race against Jamie Munson (Tri-Cities/Kennewick) as well?
Yeah, tell him Tommy Judge says Hi.
PN27416
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PN27416 6/12/2008 2:41pm
6/12/2008 2:41pm
Bridgehampton raceway L.I. N.Y. was an awesome sand track in the 70s and early 80's. Part of the now de-funked famous car road course that stated in the 50's. Long and wide with plenty of hills. Several parts ran in and out of the woods. The top part of the track and pits had a great view of the LI sound. I've just started a website dedicated to Motocross at this once great facility. Crude right now but up and running, check it out at www.bridgehamptonliscmotocross.com
mxrose3
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mxrose3 6/16/2008 2:10pm
6/16/2008 2:10pm
Maryland:

Aquasco - one of my all time favorite tracks

Antietam - Hagerstown

Damascus

Big Berm

Wheels in the Sand - Ocean City, MD
PN27416
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PN27416 6/17/2008 5:58am
6/17/2008 5:58am
mxrose3, I heard a lot of great things about Aquasco. I'm sorry I never got there!
jwhracer
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jwhracer 6/17/2008 9:53am
6/17/2008 9:53am
Slow ~ Pro wrote:
Here's my Back ground on a few of these, man this brought back some memories. Ascot Park...went there a lot never raced Baymare...My father raced there...
Here's my Back ground on a few of these, man this brought back some memories.


Ascot Park...went there a lot never raced


Baymare...My father raced there a lot. He says I did too, but I don't remember.


Carlsbad Raceway...100s of times, even did a team race with Marty Moates (GP)


Castiac...raced a few GPs around the lake.


Corona Raceway...raced many night race there...raced my first Pro race, against Danny Chandler, Rex Staten, Rich Eierstedt...I got the Holeshot...but quickly, knifed my way to the back.


Deadmans Point...My first Motocross, that I remember. 1967


De Anza Cycle Park...Yeah, hated the place.


El Toro Speedway...raced a couple times here, it was to small, no fun.


Escape Country...Many times, got my first win here.


Elsinore Raceway...yep, TT..Eddie Lawson talked me into it. He was the kid winning.


Hopetown...again my father says I raced here but I don't remember it.


Huntington Beach Cycle Park...watched through the fence one time.


Indian Dunes...loved this place, for MX, and GPs...There's a film (from here) of me winning wire, to wire, floating around somewhere.


Irvine...went here several times, to watch my dad...don't know why I never raced here.


Orange County International Raceway (OCIR)...raced here, was never to fond of it.


Osteens Cycle Park...once.


Perris Raceway...raced many times here TT, the MX, then GPs...I think I raced my first real race here, in 1965 or 66


Ponderosa Ranch...Watched my father win here once.


Rawhide Cycle Park...A few GPs


Rialto Cycle Park...my Favorite, well GH


Riverside Raceway...raced here many times. Actually have a Dirt Bike calender center fold pic of me from Riverside.


Saddleback Park...Of course, every OC boy has raced here.


Sunrise Cycle Park...several times I raced here.


Westlake...Went to a Pro/Am here once.





Slow~Pro your background is simular to mine.

Ascot Park... My Dad raced flat track, I raced a few times there.
Carlsbad...who hasn't.
Corona...100s of times, close to my house.
Deadmans Point... My Dad raced there, I've rode there never raced.
DeAnza... 100s of times also.
Escape Country...One of my favorites, always did good there.
Elsinore... TT with Wayne Rainey, racing till 2:00am.
Indian Dunes...Many times also, racing the 1st World Mini in 72, the snow in 73.
OCIR... Friday night's, it was ok.
Osteen's...Raced there acouple of times.
Perris...Raced TT with Wayne early 70s.
Rawhide... one of my favorites also.
Riverside... Great GPs there.
Saddleback...Many times, mine and Wayne Rainey's first race 1970. Racing with Jeff Ward.
Some other tracks in SoCal
Trojan Speedway...Flat track and TT, mostly Tuesday nights.
Irwindale Raceway... MX a few times.
I would race four times a week back then, that was the good ole' day's.
Thanks for this post, Good times.
ridge
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ridge 7/19/2008 9:40pm
7/19/2008 9:40pm Edited Date/Time 4/16/2016 7:42pm
UpTiTe wrote:
I rode my first pro race at Indian Dunes. It was a friday night race I was 16 and we figured I would go there first...
I rode my first pro race at Indian Dunes. It was a friday night race I was 16 and we figured I would go there first then to Saddleback. I bumped a guy named Russ wagman trying to pass him, he wanted to fight me after.

I loved Edwards AFB, that place got rough and windy. They landed the shuttle there one time while we were racing, it was crazy.

We used to ride at Baymare, nice track. We would go there and practice, some how Kenny Zart knew someone and he hooked it up so I could ride there.

Alot of good memorys with all those Socal tracks.
Slow ~ Pro wrote:
Russ Wageman became a pretty good Speedway racer in the late 90s
Russ Wageman's wife was so freaking hottt! She had an attiude to! Smile At Mammoth one year, I was waiting for my moto and started day-dreamng about her... They always parked right behind the start. Yummy.


Slow pro...how could you forget about Borona Oaks. Ever hear about Borona Brenda? She was pretty fine as well!
Slow ~ Pro
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Slow ~ Pro 7/20/2008 9:39pm
7/20/2008 9:39pm
ridge wrote:
Russ Wageman's wife was so freaking hottt! She had an attiude to! At Mammoth one year, I was waiting for my moto and started day-dreamng about...
Russ Wageman's wife was so freaking hottt! She had an attiude to! Smile At Mammoth one year, I was waiting for my moto and started day-dreamng about her... They always parked right behind the start. Yummy.


Slow pro...how could you forget about Borona Oaks. Ever hear about Borona Brenda? She was pretty fine as well!
Don't remember Wageman's wife, I am sure I have seen her, because I have seen Russ so often. I guess she didn't make the impact on me, as she did you.

Now...There were a few other wives, and girlfriends, but since I still run into a lot of the people, I'll just sit here and savor in my mind, the memories.

I have never been to Barona Oaks. A friend showed me some photos, for some reason, I just never cared to go.
AZ35
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AZ35 7/20/2008 10:25pm
7/20/2008 10:25pm
I guess I will start an AZ section, but I did get the honor of racing at Indian Dunes and Sunrise MX (Victorville) in the mid-80's. Also went to (15 year old dork spectator) the 1984 Saddleback National, looking through those old pictures brings back many memories.

In Arizona, Canyon Raceway keeps fading in and out of existence, right now it is closed but people keep trying to bring her back. Canyon Raceway has hosted events since the late 1970's (including most of the big name riders for those times). I have old school 8mm video (no sound) of Johnny O' and Lechien battling on works RC250's in 1985 (last year of those amazing machines). Just recently had that old 8mm tape transferred to DVD format, pretty cool to see something 23 years later and it feeling like yesterday.

Deer Valley Cycle Park- Oh to own race in the flight path of a regional airport. Hard as a rock, but another one that had much potential through the 80's. Later memory is in the mid 90's (long after it closed) and seeing someone really hauling ass.... The Chesterfield Jersey gave it away. It was Bobby Moore out practicing before returning to Europe to defend his world championship.

Firebird MX- Site of Firebird Lake (Boat Drags, NHRA Drags)- another one that closed and opened a few times- now open again. I need to try it out.

Mayer- Mid 80's track, great track when they had a grader. Ran races for most of the 80's, with 1-2 year gaps in between. Today the track location is still pretty much the same, more houses around but still a pretty rural area (it is about 60 miles north of PHX, and 20 miles East of Prescott).

Tucson- Only raced here twice (1984 and 1987), nice track from what I recall.

Blythe- OK, Blythe is in California, but on the AZ border. This track was located on the outside of town. Held races from about '83 until at least '88, maybe longer. But not very often. That Motel 6 had a lot of action from us teenage MX kids, it was always the happening place during race weekends (oh to be 16 again...).

Speedworld is still around (since the mid 90's), Cottonwood has a track that was decent (closed now, but still potential re-open).

I should go to bed now, my employees will give me too much shit if I am late to work.

ridge
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ridge 7/21/2008 7:46am
7/21/2008 7:46am
I raced Blythe one time in 1992 I think. It was a strange day. The cops had to come out and get things back under control. I got my ass kicked pretty good (in the pits) by a few locals. It was a pretty big fight involving probably 6 or 7 people. I've never looked so much in my mirrors as I did leaving that place. Apparently, they didn't want me taking all their money home. lol
humyam
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humyam 7/21/2008 9:36am
7/21/2008 9:36am
Rio Bravo in Houston is under new ownership (a real rider!) and a total restoration began yesterday.
leathervisorguy 8/17/2008 6:22pm
8/17/2008 6:22pm
what the hey....does nobody remember "Chicken Licks Raceway" and "Punkin Center MX" ??????????
CamP
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CamP 8/17/2008 9:48pm
8/17/2008 9:48pm
leathervisorguy wrote:
what the hey....does nobody remember "Chicken Licks Raceway" and "Punkin Center MX" ??????????
Chicken Licks was Mosier Valley.

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