Do you have a favorite track?

When I was a teenager racing District 7 in Maryland, my favorite was a track called Big Berm. Long since closed and developed. When I was racing vet classes in SoCal, my favorite was L.A. County Raceway (LACR). But not because the dirt or layout was epic or anything, but because it was a reasonably close facility with friendly people and it didn’t scare the piss out of me like Glen Helen sometimes did.

Greatest track I’ve ever raced was easily Mammoth, but it was such a pain to deal with that I only did it once. Logistical nightmare.

Wi. Rapids I still call it.  Is a sand riders dream destination.  There’s more trail loop miles now and still adding. Hilly deep sand track used to b way deeper than Gopher dunes.  Trail loops r a blast. Some r carved down 5 ft with walls on each side . Threw a tunnel of trees.  Slow technical to wo top gear threw the trees. There’s a kid on yt top gear wo on a kxf 250.  Hill climb, easy sx track. It all there 20 bucks a day to ride.  Xmas in the UP everyone says it’s awesome loaning sand with a fun layout.  Our local track outside gb is old school layout hills, valleys , floater jumps ovr hills. Usually never worked tho beat to hard pack with clay powder on top, like riding on ice. I Love it tho & only 200 bucks a yr .  No wait for a session just ride.a lot of 125,s ride here great track flow.  It’s great for getting your bike setup.  I really want to ride sand tho.

Nhmx is my favorite 

Cahuilla and Pala for me. I also like Elsinore because it’s close to my house and I look forward to it’s return. Give it a month or 2. Source: trust me bro

I like spring creek too the whoops r pretty easy now tho. Wi. & western Mn. Has some Great sand riders.  A lot of Great sand tracks in Wi.  Crystal Falls in the UP is probably my favorite track.  Sand rolling hills , whoop section & fast. Wi. Means running water threw red sands, the dells area. There’s actually a few meanings but that’s the main 1. The glacier did a beautiful job.  

Hardrock back in the day. Ocala, FL. Circa 2002.
I broke my leg, thumb, and back there. Still favorite track.

Aztalan WI is pretty good track. Arkansas MX by Durand WI was a great track, regretfully closed. 

I always liked racing at what is now Doublin Gap in south central PA (forget what it was in the 80s-90s. Never did well there but liked the track. Also liked Steel City amateur days when the Nationals came around. 

Aquasco or Cooperland.  Both places are gone, but they were awesome.  Aquasco closed when I was 12-ish so I dont remember too much, just the great dirt and awesome layout.  Cooperland I just remember the awesome dirt and fun jumps.

Honey Lake when it was open. Wish it still was!!

Rio Bravo Houston TX

""Trust me bro"" is your source?

Cooperland in Oklahoma 

Glen Helen. If something ever happens to me, please spread my ashes there. 

I'm in NE Illinois. My favorite is Muddy Waters as they do the best prep by far , then Sugar Maple in Wisconsin 

I bought a custom trl with living corters . Then rented it to Randy O. In 98 he bought the track and was bugging me to run Hardrock & install power, water for camping, etc.  seeing your pics I,m glad I didn’t, looks gnarly. I already had a broken back.  I had a girlfriend in ocala divorced from a mlb player. So I was really close to doing it. 

No been closed for over a decade now.

Southwick, Budds, Glen Helen, Washougal

E Street, Zaca, Cahuilla, NJ sand pits

Favorite ever was Zaca Station but it is closed.    Current open track would be Washougal.

Wayne’s between Bellingham and Lynden, WA…in its prime, could have been in the Fox “Dream On” series. Sand/clay/topsoil…and not a rock in sight. Rideable in the PNW in January with only a day or two of sun. 

Summit Raceway Lewiston, ID. Hardpack, blue groove and torture on tires…but a blast of a layout with three big tabletops and lots of up/downhills. If you’ve ever been to the Palouse in WA and wished you could ride in the rolling farm fields, this was such a place. Wonderful owners. Spent waaaay too much time ditching class at WSU to ride there.

Hannegan Speedway, Bellingham WA in its prime (early 90s). Wayne (from track above) had that place dialed. Great jumps, and when they didn’t over-water it was phenomenal. Also had a killer section only used for big series races out into the woods. They used to run Thursday night hare scrambles on the weeks between their Thursday night MX schedule. 45 min moto that was mostly MX, but left the track and went in the woods in various places.

Horn Rapids MX Richland, WA. love this place. Occasionally haven’t felt the layout was the best but I’ve probably spun hundreds of laps there and just feel totally at home there. 

Burnt Ridge MX, Onalaska, WA. I used to ride there all the time around the early 2000s. Finally made it back this year after they re-opened. Great elevation change, some fun jumps, and some off-camber stuff. Slick as snot in the wet, though. 

 

Tba 

In no particular order: Washougal, Castillo Ranch, Mammoth

My memories of gatorback are gettin blasted by limestone rocks 😂 but layout is always fun 

ARCHVIEWMXPARK , Washington Park Il. 6 miles east of St. Louis Mo 

BUDDS CREEK is my favorite to race at, South Fork is my favorite to practice at  its very flowy and safe

All my trespassing spots growing up, where we pounded thousands  of laps, mostly sand tracks that  just got rougher and rougher the more we rode….occasionally we would rent or borrow a dozer or bucket loader and do a quick skim job at midnite…kids have no idea what crap holes us old guys rode back in the day…and still loved every minute if it…

Leadville MX in Leadville CO. Sure, riding at 10,000 feet means I'll be out of breath, but the track is always perfect. The jumps are all poppy, but not massive. Temperature is always right in the summer. 

The jumps are also set up where it's easy to get a photo jumping over Mt. Massive. 

Their season this year ended in an insurance dispute with the county. I really hope they can open back up next year. 

Free local haunts were the best. Gas it up and ride straight out of the garage til dark after school.