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A look back at some of the more unique and unusual motocross obstacles we’ve seen track builders come up with, both indoors and out WORDS: DAVEY COOMBS KARDAS 00 EVER SINCE MIKE GOODWIN sketched out the first track design for the Superbowl of Motocross in 1972—supposedly on a cocktail napkin at a Los Angeles restaurant called Julie’s—pro- moters and track builders have been trying to add some razzle- dazzle to racetracks. But after decades of races, sometimes as many as 35 each season, how do track designers still grab the attention of motocross fans? What are some of the ways to keep the “super” in supercross? 00 he press release for Ground Zero Olympics, is actually a big hole By that time, Daytona the 2016 Monster The cradle of supercross is the that was dug down from street International Speedway was a Energy Cup in Las Los Angeles Coliseum, where level near the University of few years in on its motocross Vegas hinted at one the aforementioned Good- Southern California campus. events, where track designer way to do it: “For the win held the first downtown, The facade of arches that line Gary Bailey’s canvas was first time in history, nighttime stadium motocross the east end of the stadium, limited to the flat, sandy in- the starting gate will race. For the first genera- each opening to long aisles field. Jumps built from beach Tbe placed atop Sam tion of supercross riders, the down to the stadium’s floor, sand don’t last long, so Bailey Boyd Stadium. Once the gate Superbowl of Motocross was made for the perfect set of would truck in limestone drops, riders will race 165 feet the biggest race of all. It also moto elements—an uphill and for jump faces and even lay to the stadium floor and an included the most iconic SX a downhill—but the promoter telephone polls to bolster his additional 150 feet to the first obstacle of all: the Peristyle Goodwin didn’t think of add- whoop-de-doos, which need- turn—making this start the Jump. The Coliseum, which ing it until 1973, for the second ed something to hold their biggest in Supercross history!” was built for the 1932 Summer Superbowl of Motocross. shape. He also began digging 00 www.racerxonline.com (Opposite) The most iconic obstacle in AMA Supercross history was the Peristyle at the Los Angeles Coliseum, where riders rode up out of the stadium between the pillars, turned outside, and then leapt back down to the stadium floor. (Left) Jeff Ward launches off a drop- off jump at the old Sears Point track in Sonoma, California. down, introducing “gator Fathers Of Invention Orleans Superdome or Fulton and people were crashing pits” to his Daytona designs, Unable to dig down into the County Stadium in Atlanta, because it was so slippery,” which started out as shallow playing surface of football and Goodwin might reach into Bob Hannah explained in an but sharp-edged trenches baseball stadiums, Goodwin his bag of tricks and bring episode of The Motocross but soon became rough, fluid and other promoters ran up in “weather” elements with Files. “I got tangled up with game-changers due to the into the stands at places like artificial water crossings. The a couple of guys who went shifting silica. But those gator San Diego’s Jack Murphy track crews would construct down there.” Hannah ended pits began losing their mys- Stadium, the Rose Bowl in boxes out of four 2’x10’ piec- up narrowly losing the race to tique in 1984, when, on the Pasadena, and of course the es of wood, lay a plastic tarp his young Yamaha teammate very last lap of the main event, Pontiac Silverdome in Michi- down, and fill the boxes with Mike Bell. It was a beauti- Team Honda’s Johnny O’Mara gan. The Silverdome is long water, then splash through ful evening, yet both were hit the one at the finish line gone, replaced by Ford Field each time around. Needless completely covered with mud wide open in a bid to pass in downtown Detroit, though to say, the riders hated it. (along with everyone else Yamaha’s Ricky Johnson for at one point a section running When Goodwin expanded the in the race) after 20 passes second. O’Mara didn’t make up into the stands was added water crossing at the ’78 Su- through the water hazard. the pass, but he did clear the as an homage to the once- perbowl of Motocross, it went 80-foot pit with ease, opening grand Silverdome. from being a water-crossing Brand SX everyone’s eyes immediately When cost and/or to a full-on mud hole. Goodwin was a master mar- to the high line over the rough building regulations meant “The mud was getting keter, and when he realized stuff. It was the Bubba Scrub they couldn’t go up into the splashed over in the [next that naming obstacles after of the eighties. stands at places like the New lane of the] track next to it, event sponsors would bring 00 in more dollars, he went into in 1988. (Goodwin was finally sport’s first real alligator pit? Coca-Cola Catapult or what- overdrive. The layout of the convicted of ordering the mur- “The guy who owned the ever, and one year in Orlando 1980 San Diego SX at Jack ders in 2007 and has been in gator,” West laughs. “If some- we had 7-Eleven involved. We Murphy Stadium included, in a California prison ever since.) one had hit that thing and hurt named the biggest jump on order, the Go For It start line, It was at one of those rounds it, or hurt himself, we would the track the 7-Eleven Jump, Mad Jack’s Hump Thumpers, West took over—Tampa—that have been in a lot of trouble. and whoever flew the furthest the Coca-Cola Catapult, the he admits he may have gone But we sure had everyone go- off of it on Lap 7 and then Lap Honda Himalayas, the Scott too far in coming up with an ing for a while there!” 11 got a $500 bonus for each USA Sand Pit, the XETV Rock attention-grabbing gimmick. If you think that’s ex- lap.” (The winner both times Crunchers, the Toyota Tor- “We decided to build a treme, longtime track builder was Jim Holley, future host of nado, the KGB FM Goal Post gator pit between these two Rich Winkler of Dirt Wurx Supercross Live.) Jump, and the Beau Gentry jumps, fill it with loose sand once got a bizarre request “One year in Atlanta we Whoop-de-doos. and a little bit of water,” West from Goodwin that would had this radio station called “Goodwin was a whore!” explains. So how would that have taken the Coliseum race 96 Rock involved, and the laughs Bill West, who be different from the gator back to the gladiator days. DJs there didn’t think much of partnered with Goodwin on pits that Bailey was building “One time he had me supercross,” West says of an- several East Coast rounds of across the state at Daytona? researching what kind of per- other marketing gimmick. “He said, ‘Oh, this is all bullshit, this ain’t hard, anybody can jump those jumps and do this and that,’ just really ragging on racing, but it was all set up, because the guy was a pretty heavyset guy. A rider drops into a “So Goodwin went on gator pit during the the air and challenged him to first motocross race make this big 96 Rock Goal held on the infield at Post Jump on a motorcycle,” Daytona Internation- West continues. “Turns out al Speedway back in 1971. Obstacles that that poor guy couldn’t like this lost their even ride a motorcycle, and he luster in 1984 when crashed big-time. It was awful, Johnny O’Mara but the crowd went wild.” launched his factory Honda off the face Those were the seventies, of one and cleared which were the pre-insurance- an 80-foot pit at the liability days for supercross finish line. (Check it promoting, back before out on YouTube.) dangerous obstacles and pro- motions might get a promoter AMA Supercross. “He was “We added a real alligator! If mits and fencing we needed or track builder into hot water. really good at coming up with you didn’t jump far enough, in order to have live lions When Dirt Bike magazine’s that stuff, but he was also an there was going to be a real wandering around the infield Rick “Super Hunky” Sieman absolute whore for sponsors.” alligator in there—about six, of the track,” Winkler says. tried to jump Goodwin’s Gorge West inherited full owner- maybe eight feet long, but “He wanted guys racing while on press day at the bottom of ship after Goodwin left the we did tape his mouth shut. the lions ran around! Goodwin the Peristyle, he came up short country following the notori- The alligator was there right was a showman for sure.” and nearly killed himself. That ous murders of another SX up until practice, and then we “I learned from Goodwin was the end of challenging partner, Mickey Thompson, had to pull it out of there.” that you should always try to media members and non- and Thompson’s wife, Trudy, So who shut down the incorporate sponsors like the riders to clear track obstacles.