State of Moto in Your State

Landonious217 wrote:

State of moto in Texas is same as it ever was unfortunately. A lot of the owners refuse to work with each other in favor of...

State of moto in Texas is same as it ever was unfortunately. A lot of the owners refuse to work with each other in favor of the riders so they all schedule over each other. 

Recently, 3 Palms gave the title sponsorship of the Texas State AMA series to Oak Hill. Immediately after this announcement, Freestone, Underground, and Cycle Ranch announced their own NMA Texas State Championship scheduled on the same dates. 

Extreme amounts of ego is still the name of the game here. 

Outside of that, there's still a good amount of tracks, although the truly legendary tracks are mostly gone (Lake Whitney, Mosier Valley, Nocona, I-35mx) Oak Hill and Swan remain from that era. 

Landonious217 wrote:

State of moto in Texas is same as it ever was unfortunately. A lot of the owners refuse to work with each other in favor of...

State of moto in Texas is same as it ever was unfortunately. A lot of the owners refuse to work with each other in favor of the riders so they all schedule over each other. 

Recently, 3 Palms gave the title sponsorship of the Texas State AMA series to Oak Hill. Immediately after this announcement, Freestone, Underground, and Cycle Ranch announced their own NMA Texas State Championship scheduled on the same dates. 

Extreme amounts of ego is still the name of the game here. 

Outside of that, there's still a good amount of tracks, although the truly legendary tracks are mostly gone (Lake Whitney, Mosier Valley, Nocona, I-35mx) Oak Hill and Swan remain from that era. 

creepingdeath76 wrote:

Same thing in the Northeast, too my slices of the same pie. Tracks won't work together so attendance is down at all the races.

Presley155 wrote:

Colorado is good, but we have lost some tracks over the years. We lost Milliken a year or so ago, total bummer. Berthoud has been gone...

Colorado is good, but we have lost some tracks over the years. We lost Milliken a year or so ago, total bummer. Berthoud has been gone awhile now, that's a bummer. It's only a matter of time before we lose Watkins (Jewell MX) but we still have some great tracks. Thunder Valley does a great job, Aztec has been killing it lately with their prep, Sweney MX does a great job, RAM off road park, Leadville in the summer is awesome. Those combined with all the trail riding options we have, we're pretty spoiled. 

Leemur891 wrote:

Yeah Watkins is a wild one. They said they were closing end of last year but seem to just still be plugging away. Don’t forget about...

Yeah Watkins is a wild one. They said they were closing end of last year but seem to just still be plugging away. Don’t forget about Dry Lake out west, that place rocks. Did the track in Craig close down or is it just little to to no prep?

lostboy819 wrote:

Watkins track and land is all in probate so it could stay open for a little while, but the writing is on the wall that it...

Watkins track and land is all in probate so it could stay open for a little while, but the writing is on the wall that it will be sold off when its all sorted out. 😒 Sad part is that other than the family no one else will be able to keep it as a track because the zoning change is temporary and only to the Grimm family. It should have closed back in the late 90s  when development got close but its been gas fields and not houses closing in. was riding there back in the mid 1980s when it was just a sand pit.

uncledaddy69 wrote:

Everything is closing because of insurance or because they build homes right next to the tracks that have been there for years and the people who...

Everything is closing because of insurance or because they build homes right next to the tracks that have been there for years and the people who move in immediately start complaining.

I think in the future, we’ll see more tracks on Native American reservations and less tracks on US soil unless there are laws written to control the insurance companies. It seems like they’re allowed to just do whatever they want. 

Leemur891 wrote:

Yeah Watkins is a wild one. They said they were closing end of last year but seem to just still be plugging away. Don’t forget about...

Yeah Watkins is a wild one. They said they were closing end of last year but seem to just still be plugging away. Don’t forget about Dry Lake out west, that place rocks. Did the track in Craig close down or is it just little to to no prep?

lostboy819 wrote:

Watkins track and land is all in probate so it could stay open for a little while, but the writing is on the wall that it...

Watkins track and land is all in probate so it could stay open for a little while, but the writing is on the wall that it will be sold off when its all sorted out. 😒 Sad part is that other than the family no one else will be able to keep it as a track because the zoning change is temporary and only to the Grimm family. It should have closed back in the late 90s  when development got close but its been gas fields and not houses closing in. was riding there back in the mid 1980s when it was just a sand pit.

vet323 wrote:

Don't you guys have IMI, too?

ithinkitsbroke wrote:

Just got done watching the State of Moto video that Tyler Livesay posted. Got me thinking about about all the tracks that have come and gone...

Just got done watching the State of Moto video that Tyler Livesay posted. Got me thinking about about all the tracks that have come and gone in MN since I got into the sport, and how things have evolved in that time.

How are things looking in your state? If you've been in the sport for 10+ years, how are the tracks now compared to then?

In general, MN has lost the majority of its southern race tracks, and gained a couple practice tracks in that time. We have a decent amount of high quality tracks, although opportunity to ride those tracks is becoming more limited to race weekends as the years roll on.

Word vomit track history below. I'm surely missing something.

Here's a breakdown from memory for MN, extreme western WI, and D23 as a whole.

North of the Twin Cities - Brookston, Staples, Little Falls, Cambridge, Mora, Grantsburg (WI), and I think there's a new one way up north by Thief River Falls.

South of the Twin Cities - Millville, Kellog (closed), Mazeppa (closed), Elko (closed), Mankato (might as well be closed, non MC members only get 2x chances / year to ride here on race weekends), Arkansaw WI (closed, still pissed about this one), Diamond Park is pretty new (east of Sioux Falls and near the Iowa border), edit - Jordan SX at the Scott County Fairgrounds 

Public practice tracks - Meadow Valley, Kingston, Annandale (Wednesdays only), Crosby, MX108 (very limited), BP73 (now closed to the public again)

PulpMxCommenter wrote:

Arkansaw closing was such a huge bummer. I loved that track. 

ithinkitsbroke wrote:

Same. That whole situation, especially with the last "owner" left a real bad taste. I've voted with my wallet ever since. 

wasummer46 wrote:

I've been riding MX in NC and SC for over 25+ years, and honestly, it's better today than when I started riding. Granted we've lost a...

I've been riding MX in NC and SC for over 25+ years, and honestly, it's better today than when I started riding. Granted we've lost a handful of tracks, but gained dozens more. Then add in Club MX, SOBMX, and some of the training facilities and it's a pick of the litter on where you want to ride that weekend. Don't forget to factor in the various different types of dirt, from sand towards the beach, the sandhills near the middle, clay near the Triad and Triangle, then woods and trial riding in the mountains, its AWESOME.

AMetts wrote:

Fellow North Carolinian here and I agree, it feels like any of the tracks we lost weren't really managed well or a big part of the...

Fellow North Carolinian here and I agree, it feels like any of the tracks we lost weren't really managed well or a big part of the area to begin with. The places that are thriving are always busy and are investing in improvements in both the tracks and facilities. 

I'm an offroad guy and, the off-road racing is probably bigger in NC/SC area than anywhere in the country, there is also a couple offroad series that are racing at a few of the smaller motocross tracks using both the woods and track and I think these events help them stay open as well.  

ithinkitsbroke wrote:

Just got done watching the State of Moto video that Tyler Livesay posted. Got me thinking about about all the tracks that have come and gone...

Just got done watching the State of Moto video that Tyler Livesay posted. Got me thinking about about all the tracks that have come and gone in MN since I got into the sport, and how things have evolved in that time.

How are things looking in your state? If you've been in the sport for 10+ years, how are the tracks now compared to then?

In general, MN has lost the majority of its southern race tracks, and gained a couple practice tracks in that time. We have a decent amount of high quality tracks, although opportunity to ride those tracks is becoming more limited to race weekends as the years roll on.

Word vomit track history below. I'm surely missing something.

Here's a breakdown from memory for MN, extreme western WI, and D23 as a whole.

North of the Twin Cities - Brookston, Staples, Little Falls, Cambridge, Mora, Grantsburg (WI), and I think there's a new one way up north by Thief River Falls.

South of the Twin Cities - Millville, Kellog (closed), Mazeppa (closed), Elko (closed), Mankato (might as well be closed, non MC members only get 2x chances / year to ride here on race weekends), Arkansaw WI (closed, still pissed about this one), Diamond Park is pretty new (east of Sioux Falls and near the Iowa border), edit - Jordan SX at the Scott County Fairgrounds 

Public practice tracks - Meadow Valley, Kingston, Annandale (Wednesdays only), Crosby, MX108 (very limited), BP73 (now closed to the public again)

PulpMxCommenter wrote:

Arkansaw closing was such a huge bummer. I loved that track. 

PulpMxCommenter wrote:

Was the last owner the meadow valley guy or did it change hands after that or was he never an owner? I knew the meadow valley...

Was the last owner the meadow valley guy or did it change hands after that or was he never an owner? I knew the meadow valley guy was bringing equipment down there every once in a while and then that younger dude that worked the track spent a ton of money putting in the irrigation system. But I also knew that everyone involved in that track was not super happy with how shit was going. 

ithinkitsbroke wrote:

Meadow guy bought it and hired the younger guy to maintain it. Numbers weren't great and there wasn't any advertising or social media presence even though...

Meadow guy bought it and hired the younger guy to maintain it. Numbers weren't great and there wasn't any advertising or social media presence even though the track was good. Younger guy pulled out after a couple months. Owner then shut it down and sold the property with a covenant that it can't be a public motocross track again. Smart from a business side because he eliminated some potential competition, but totally screwed the same rider base that supports his other track. 

I don't know hardly anything about real estate, covenants, etc so I can't speculate on how that whole situation might work. All I care about is the fact that we lost a really good track.

TheLostOtter wrote:

I think I grew up during the peak of AZ moto 25-15 years ago. It’s really weak now, I think two public tracks that are regularly...

I think I grew up during the peak of AZ moto 25-15 years ago. It’s really weak now, I think two public tracks that are regularly open in the whole state? Rumors of Grindingstone opening again were exciting but it fell through unfortunately. 

Open: ACP and Motoland 

Closed: Canyon, Speedworld, Thrasherland, Firebird, Air Sarival, Verde Valley, Ocotillo, Grindingstone, ET, Motogrande, the Colosseum, maybe some others I’m forgetting. If I’m wrong on any of these let me know because I’d love to go back. 

wasummer46 wrote:

I've been riding MX in NC and SC for over 25+ years, and honestly, it's better today than when I started riding. Granted we've lost a...

I've been riding MX in NC and SC for over 25+ years, and honestly, it's better today than when I started riding. Granted we've lost a handful of tracks, but gained dozens more. Then add in Club MX, SOBMX, and some of the training facilities and it's a pick of the litter on where you want to ride that weekend. Don't forget to factor in the various different types of dirt, from sand towards the beach, the sandhills near the middle, clay near the Triad and Triangle, then woods and trial riding in the mountains, its AWESOME.

AMetts wrote:

Fellow North Carolinian here and I agree, it feels like any of the tracks we lost weren't really managed well or a big part of the...

Fellow North Carolinian here and I agree, it feels like any of the tracks we lost weren't really managed well or a big part of the area to begin with. The places that are thriving are always busy and are investing in improvements in both the tracks and facilities. 

I'm an offroad guy and, the off-road racing is probably bigger in NC/SC area than anywhere in the country, there is also a couple offroad series that are racing at a few of the smaller motocross tracks using both the woods and track and I think these events help them stay open as well.  

wasummer46 wrote:

I've been riding MX in NC and SC for over 25+ years, and honestly, it's better today than when I started riding. Granted we've lost a...

I've been riding MX in NC and SC for over 25+ years, and honestly, it's better today than when I started riding. Granted we've lost a handful of tracks, but gained dozens more. Then add in Club MX, SOBMX, and some of the training facilities and it's a pick of the litter on where you want to ride that weekend. Don't forget to factor in the various different types of dirt, from sand towards the beach, the sandhills near the middle, clay near the Triad and Triangle, then woods and trial riding in the mountains, its AWESOME.

AMetts wrote:

Fellow North Carolinian here and I agree, it feels like any of the tracks we lost weren't really managed well or a big part of the...

Fellow North Carolinian here and I agree, it feels like any of the tracks we lost weren't really managed well or a big part of the area to begin with. The places that are thriving are always busy and are investing in improvements in both the tracks and facilities. 

I'm an offroad guy and, the off-road racing is probably bigger in NC/SC area than anywhere in the country, there is also a couple offroad series that are racing at a few of the smaller motocross tracks using both the woods and track and I think these events help them stay open as well.  

bodycast wrote:

Yep NC/SC is killing it anything dirtbike.  Everyone here seems to have a dirtbike.

AMetts wrote:

Fellow North Carolinian here and I agree, it feels like any of the tracks we lost weren't really managed well or a big part of the...

Fellow North Carolinian here and I agree, it feels like any of the tracks we lost weren't really managed well or a big part of the area to begin with. The places that are thriving are always busy and are investing in improvements in both the tracks and facilities. 

I'm an offroad guy and, the off-road racing is probably bigger in NC/SC area than anywhere in the country, there is also a couple offroad series that are racing at a few of the smaller motocross tracks using both the woods and track and I think these events help them stay open as well.  

bodycast wrote:

Yep NC/SC is killing it anything dirtbike.  Everyone here seems to have a dirtbike.

AMetts wrote:

Makes it tricky to plan a riding vacation because it’s better around this area than most anywhere in driving distance. We did go to Colorado two...

Makes it tricky to plan a riding vacation because it’s better around this area than most anywhere in driving distance. We did go to Colorado two years ago and it was insanely awesome but flying and renting bikes is a lot more of an expense and hassle.

lostboy819 wrote:

Watkins track and land is all in probate so it could stay open for a little while, but the writing is on the wall that it...

Watkins track and land is all in probate so it could stay open for a little while, but the writing is on the wall that it will be sold off when its all sorted out. 😒 Sad part is that other than the family no one else will be able to keep it as a track because the zoning change is temporary and only to the Grimm family. It should have closed back in the late 90s  when development got close but its been gas fields and not houses closing in. was riding there back in the mid 1980s when it was just a sand pit.

vet323 wrote:

Don't you guys have IMI, too?

Presley155 wrote:

Yeah, we still have IMI. Houses are very close to it at this point though. I hope they can stay open for years to come. 

bierbower105 wrote:

District 12 (Northern Ohio) is in a pretty bad situation. We can’t keep tracks open. If they are open nobody shows up. We have lost at least...

District 12 (Northern Ohio) is in a pretty bad situation. We can’t keep tracks open. If they are open nobody shows up. 

We have lost at least 3 tracks in the last few years and have 3-5 more on thin ice. 

Lack of organization from the promoters and facility owners.  

It’s a tough game - I promoted off-road racing for 3 years. It’s in a tough spot too - but I think it’s the future for this region. We’re in the heart of GNCC country. 

District 11 (Southern Ohio) - crushing it. One game in town that’s Scott Plessinger and he’s doing a great job.  Two tracks Chillitown and East Fork.  Outside of that.  Ehh. 
 

I go to Michigan if I want to race motocross. Tons of amazing tracks.  Like it’s unbelievable how good their tracks are. The worst club track in Michigan would be a top 3 track in Ohio. District 14 rules. 

bodycast wrote:

Yep NC/SC is killing it anything dirtbike.  Everyone here seems to have a dirtbike.

AMetts wrote:

Makes it tricky to plan a riding vacation because it’s better around this area than most anywhere in driving distance. We did go to Colorado two...

Makes it tricky to plan a riding vacation because it’s better around this area than most anywhere in driving distance. We did go to Colorado two years ago and it was insanely awesome but flying and renting bikes is a lot more of an expense and hassle.

bodycast wrote:

Im blessed to be right where I am.  I ride offroad these days and basically everything you could want is under 2 hours away from mountains...

Im blessed to be right where I am.  I ride offroad these days and basically everything you could want is under 2 hours away from mountains to flowy sand.   Hell, carolina adventure world is 45 minutes away and its a good place to practice.  Just stay far away on Saturdays.

Couple local spots about 30 minutes away that the gncc guys have cut in some pretty good sand single track as well.

Then the offroad racing is year round basically every weekend.  

cloud41 wrote:

There are a handful of open riding options within a few hours from the southern tip of Lake Michigan (IL, IN, WI, MI). Practice day turnout...

There are a handful of open riding options within a few hours from the southern tip of Lake Michigan (IL, IN, WI, MI). Practice day turnout is good. Local racing turnout is low for classes other than minis and C. 

davis224 wrote:

It's not bad in Illinois. LTM is killing it as usual, Archview has its problems but it's a nice consistent place to ride if you want...

It's not bad in Illinois. LTM is killing it as usual, Archview has its problems but it's a nice consistent place to ride if you want a good quality prepped track, South Fork is ramping back up and getting more moto focused after a period of mostly catering to mud truck events/concerts, there's a "chicken licks raceway" vibe sand track not far from me that has a couple races early in the year but doesn't have the infrastructure to make a quality track when it's dry, but its awesome for rainy/cold month practicing, another small private track not far from me just built a massive amateur SX style track with lights and everything and hosted 1 ride day, but has gone radio silent since. I'm worried they dumped all that money into it without considering neighbors or zoning and they got immediately shut down. There's a northern IL scene I haven't ventured into much that seems to be doing OK, and a group of more southern tracks that I've never been to that also seem to be doing OK at staying afloat.

Over the holidays visiting my in laws in Virginia, I stopped in a dealer to drool over some starks and Triumphs, and they mentioned there pretty much isn't a scene at all there besides a few private tracks, and that West Virginia is the closest legit option. 

davis224 wrote:

It's not bad in Illinois. LTM is killing it as usual, Archview has its problems but it's a nice consistent place to ride if you want...

It's not bad in Illinois. LTM is killing it as usual, Archview has its problems but it's a nice consistent place to ride if you want a good quality prepped track, South Fork is ramping back up and getting more moto focused after a period of mostly catering to mud truck events/concerts, there's a "chicken licks raceway" vibe sand track not far from me that has a couple races early in the year but doesn't have the infrastructure to make a quality track when it's dry, but its awesome for rainy/cold month practicing, another small private track not far from me just built a massive amateur SX style track with lights and everything and hosted 1 ride day, but has gone radio silent since. I'm worried they dumped all that money into it without considering neighbors or zoning and they got immediately shut down. There's a northern IL scene I haven't ventured into much that seems to be doing OK, and a group of more southern tracks that I've never been to that also seem to be doing OK at staying afloat.

Over the holidays visiting my in laws in Virginia, I stopped in a dealer to drool over some starks and Triumphs, and they mentioned there pretty much isn't a scene at all there besides a few private tracks, and that West Virginia is the closest legit option. 

shortty761 wrote:

If you’re talking about the Triumph Dealer in Harrisonburg then yeah there really isn’t any tracks around there because there’s a dumb law in that region/county...

If you’re talking about the Triumph Dealer in Harrisonburg then yeah there really isn’t any tracks around there because there’s a dumb law in that region/county where you can’t have any mounds of dirt higher than 6 feet on your property that was put in place like 10 years ago.

However a lot of surrounding areas don’t have that issue.

Lots of MX tracks and community in Virginia.

Southwest VA we have Lake Sugar Tree and Birch Creek. Pro Sport MX and Rivers Edge Outdoors which is great trails/offroad riding.

Central VA we have South Fork MX and the new (revamped) VMP.

East coast we got Morgan’s Corner, ECMX (both NC but very close to VA and 1 hour from VA beach area) also Roberts Track and Trails but it’s more of a beginner place. Used to have Slades Park which was super fun offroad riding but got turned into a solar field after a UTV killed a kid and they closed the place down.

VCHSS off-road hare scramble series stronger than ever with plenty of races every year with growing entries every year.

If you live in that Harrisonburg area your best bet is driving 2 hours to Tomahawk in WV or PromisedLand in Maryland. Or about 2 hours and 20 to South Fork. Push the commute to 2.5-3 hours and you’re within driving distance of about 12 MX tracks. Bad thing is, closest one is 2 hours.

TheLostOtter wrote:

I think I grew up during the peak of AZ moto 25-15 years ago. It’s really weak now, I think two public tracks that are regularly...

I think I grew up during the peak of AZ moto 25-15 years ago. It’s really weak now, I think two public tracks that are regularly open in the whole state? Rumors of Grindingstone opening again were exciting but it fell through unfortunately. 

Open: ACP and Motoland 

Closed: Canyon, Speedworld, Thrasherland, Firebird, Air Sarival, Verde Valley, Ocotillo, Grindingstone, ET, Motogrande, the Colosseum, maybe some others I’m forgetting. If I’m wrong on any of these let me know because I’d love to go back. 

jmo443 wrote:

Noticed there is really zero moto presence in AZ since moving here. Guy on the form has a pretty killer track it looks from the photos...

Noticed there is really zero moto presence in AZ since moving here. Guy on the form has a pretty killer track it looks from the photos and has people ride up there. Can’t remember the handle but if I still rode I’d be up there!