Will Texas ever host another pro national?

Texas Built wrote:

I hope we get another. The riders can train for it by spraying a hairdryer in their mouth.

Texas Built wrote:

I hope we get another. The riders can train for it by spraying a hairdryer in their mouth.

poser45xxxxx wrote:

Lmao!! Good one. I am actually thinking of movIng to Texas.

DavetheVintageGuy wrote:

Cycle Ranch can be configured for about a 3 minute lap time and is plenty wide. When the 4 stroke nationals ran there back in the...

Cycle Ranch can be configured for about a 3 minute lap time and is plenty wide. When the 4 stroke nationals ran there back in the early 2000's 40 pros on the track was not an issue. With that dirt plenty of lines form without it becoming a rut fest. They at one time offered to buy the field next door to add additional parking and I'm sure that the ranchers around them would lease them additional acreage if they needed it.

Plenty of spectating areas and with the elevation changes you can actually see over half the track from pretty much anywhere.

The major problem with Cycle Ranch is the narrow road to get into and out of it. I'm pretty sure that is what held it back when they were seriously pursuing a National. It has been paved since that time. Still, it handled a good sized crowd for the 4 stroke races back in the day and they have had mud runs that drew a claimed 10,000 folks to the property. Logistically, the road could be converted to one way in from the Floresville side and one way out heading towards Houston.

The beauty of having it at Cycle Ranch is that San Antonio is a tourist destination. Plenty of hotel rooms, lot of restaurants, the River Walk, decent airport, and the track is only 30-45 minutes from the center of town.

Freestone was a failure because you couldn't see anything. Almost everyone I talked to that went the first year (as I did) said they wouldn't come back because they couldn't see the racing on more than one corner or straight at a time. It wasn't a bad racetrack, but it sucked to be a spectator there. God Bless Tony Miller, he did the best with what he had and nobody in Texas wanted it to be more successful than he did. It truly was a track that was better to watch on TV than to attend in person.

ktmdan wrote:

Yeah I can only imagine what the people in that town would think of all the traffic and big rigs. I would pay good money to...

Yeah I can only imagine what the people in that town would think of all the traffic and big rigs.

I would pay good money to see the best in the world hit that single down the hill, sharp right up the hill and then sharp right back down the hill.

edit: The best of who's left racing in the U.S. series.

DC wrote:

Texas has two supercross races, the entire northeast (Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and all up through New England) has one. Scheduling for both SX...

Texas has two supercross races, the entire northeast (Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and all up through New England) has one. Scheduling for both SX and MX all has more to do with weather than population. Supercross races run from January through early May, and the weather is often brutal in the northeast (both Indy and Minneapolis were run with blizzard conditions outside, but fortunately were domed stadiums). The nationals run from mid-May to late August. It's hot outside--really hot in places like Texas--and the turnouts at Freestone were badly affected by that.

I hope we can find a place in Texas again (or maybe go back to Freestone at some point) but it has to happen in the heat of the summer, and that has affected the success of a lot of motocross races all along the southern part of the country. I'm not sure how to change the fact that most people don't like being out in the sun all day when it's really hot, unless they are on a lake or beach.

And Millville is way, way more than 13 hours from Morgantown. Four races are within a six-hour drive: High Point, Muddy Creek, Budds Creek and Ironman.

DC
Racer X

GrapeApe wrote:

Rabbit Run is in an easily accessible location these days

GrapeApe wrote:

Rabbit Run is in an easily accessible location these days

TejasTJ wrote:

The new State Farm building?

-MAVERICK- wrote:

I know absolutely nothing about the MX scene down in Texas but when I turned on the TV today there was an ATV MX race at...

I know absolutely nothing about the MX scene down in Texas but when I turned on the TV today there was an ATV MX race at Underground MX in Kemp, Texas.

Not sure what kind of facility it has but the track looked pretty fun. Any potential in turning that place into a national caliber track?

-MAVERICK- wrote:

I know absolutely nothing about the MX scene down in Texas but when I turned on the TV today there was an ATV MX race at...

I know absolutely nothing about the MX scene down in Texas but when I turned on the TV today there was an ATV MX race at Underground MX in Kemp, Texas.

Not sure what kind of facility it has but the track looked pretty fun. Any potential in turning that place into a national caliber track?

ktmdan wrote:

Underground is a cool track, I think Kyle Regal has something to do with the ownership of it. My 83 year old grandma lives down the...

Underground is a cool track, I think Kyle Regal has something to do with the ownership of it. My 83 year old grandma lives down the street from there. I heard from my aunt that she drove herself to that track for the first time recently and just watched practice. She lost her husband to dementia recently and motocross has been in the family since they owned a Maico shop in Austin Tx. It warmed my heart when I heard that she did that. There used to be a cool track near there called buffalo creek. I don't know if it's still around but I had some fun races there.

-MAVERICK- wrote:

I know absolutely nothing about the MX scene down in Texas but when I turned on the TV today there was an ATV MX race at...

I know absolutely nothing about the MX scene down in Texas but when I turned on the TV today there was an ATV MX race at Underground MX in Kemp, Texas.

Not sure what kind of facility it has but the track looked pretty fun. Any potential in turning that place into a national caliber track?

ktmdan wrote:

Underground is a cool track, I think Kyle Regal has something to do with the ownership of it. My 83 year old grandma lives down the...

Underground is a cool track, I think Kyle Regal has something to do with the ownership of it. My 83 year old grandma lives down the street from there. I heard from my aunt that she drove herself to that track for the first time recently and just watched practice. She lost her husband to dementia recently and motocross has been in the family since they owned a Maico shop in Austin Tx. It warmed my heart when I heard that she did that. There used to be a cool track near there called buffalo creek. I don't know if it's still around but I had some fun races there.

-MAVERICK- wrote:

Sucks that she lost her husband and I'm sorry for your lost but how awesome is it to know that she drove herself to the track...

Sucks that she lost her husband and I'm sorry for your lost but how awesome is it to know that she drove herself to the track to relive some memories. Hopefully it put a smile on her face.

DavetheVintageGuy wrote:

Nope. We have some awesome tracks here. There's just no interest from the sanctioning body. Cycle Ranch is amazing but it has access problems (rumor has...

Nope.

We have some awesome tracks here. There's just no interest from the sanctioning body.

Cycle Ranch is amazing but it has access problems (rumor has it). It didn't stop the 4 stroke nationals from coming here (and being very successful) almost 20 years ago but the cartel doesn't seem to think that 15,000 or so folks can get in and out of the track.

Swan is a great track but has access issues as well. They don't seem to be an issue in October during the Pro Challenge.

Oak Hill hosted Nationals back in the day, but can't seem to sniff any interest. Maybe it's the narrow ingress and egress.?

All of those tracks are near large metro areas with easy airport access and plenty of hotel rooms but it seems that there is no real interest in subjecting the riders to the heat of summer.

Guess we'll just continue to get our asses kicked at MXDN each year until we toughen up like we were in the 80's & 90's.

BTW, the Nationals used to end in St. Petersburg, FL. Have you ever been to St. Pete in August? Hell would have been a vacation destination compared to St. Pete in August.

Oh, and that was in the day of 45 minute motos.

JustMX wrote:

Not sure that 15000 is a realistic number for any national mx event. Too many other options for recreational funds and less and less interest in...

Not sure that 15000 is a realistic number for any national mx event.

Too many other options for recreational funds and less and less interest in the hassle of live events.

People say, "give us a national and it will be huge".

Well, you had nationals, and they weren't huge.

The same is happening at the long anticipated southeastern national. Take it to georgia, alabama, florida, the carolinas, and it will be the same.

Make whatever excuses about the facility or the timing, but the fact is, times have changed. It isn't a mx issue, it is a socialogical issue.

Another example is budds creek. They can blame the drop on moving off father's day to august, but it sure looked to be dropping before then.

Even Glen Helen (with cool temps) looked nothing like it did 15 years ago.

GrapeApe wrote:

Rabbit Run is in an easily accessible location these days

IWreckALot wrote:

They should hold a national at River Valley.

Moto Mofo wrote:

River Valley? I hope you’re joking... DaveTheVintageGuy pretty much summed it up. Cycle Ranch would be an awesome choice! But when the original owner pursued a...

River Valley? I hope you’re joking...

DaveTheVintageGuy pretty much summed it up. Cycle Ranch would be an awesome choice! But when the original owner pursued a National (at the same time Tony Miller was trying to get one), he was told that access was too limited. They even built that big pavilion and did some other renovations to help sway the momentum their way, with no luck. Steve seemed to lose enthusiasm about the place when he realized they wouldn’t get a National.

I heard Oak Hill has new owners with big plans, some of which are already underway. Maybe they will have a shot someday.

Lake Whitney should’ve ALWAYS had a National when it was still around.

DC wrote:

So you're saying it's not about the riders it's people not attending cause of the cash cow right? This has nothing to do with riders I...

So you're saying it's not about the riders it's people not attending cause of the cash cow right? This has nothing to do with riders I tell you that much.

I didn't say anything about the riders, or the cow. I was talking about the weather, and why a lot of SX races in the winter happen in south, and why a lot of motocross races in the summer happen in the northern half of the country. Summertime outdoor nationals in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and even Virginia have all come and gone, I don't know how else to explain it. You're from Texas, I understand the frustration. We haven't had a supercross within five hours of my home since the Pittsburgh SX in 1983.

DC
Racer X

GrapeApe wrote:

Rabbit Run is in an easily accessible location these days

TejasTJ wrote:

The new State Farm building?