Sparkplug 27

It’s “mid”post-season now, and while we still have plenty of great events to go to in sunny SoCal (we had both the World Vet Championships and the famous Elsinore Grand Prix last weekend), we’re still getting a little stir-crazy about not being able to watch the pros do their thing. If you want further proof, logon to one of the moto-boards and watch the flame wars erupt every 15 minutes or so… idle minds being the playground of that guy downstairs, and all that.

More proof of moto-cabin-fever is the fact that the Arenacross season is in full swing, now with TWO flavors, BooKoo and AMA! Despite this embarrassment of riches, I have to admit: I’m just not “feeling” Arenacross. And that’s the subject of this week’s Sparkplug - no love for miniature motocross.

First off, let me disclose the fact that I have only attended ONE Arenacross, and that was almost 20 years ago. Way back in the winter of 1986, I trekked over to the then-jewel of Landover, Maryland… the Capital Centre (which later became “US Air Arena” and is probably now called “the about-to-be-torn-down hole-in-the-ground”) to see my very first arenacross spectacular. I think Davey Coombs himself was racing that night! In any event, the event itself, the motorcycle racing part, that is… was completely overshadowed by the monster truck mud bog that played on the same ticket.

Now, I’ve never been a monster truck fan and I’m a lifelong motocross phanatique, but even then I had to admit that those trucks put on a hell of a show that night. Something about open-piped, fire-breathing, supercharged V8s going WFO in an indoor basketball arena makes them eminently watchable. And when you compare the sight of these alcohol-burning, 800 horsepower monsters flinging mud 40 feet in the air to a bunch of local mx experts circulating a comically-tight course, lugging the bikes in second gear, knocking each other down every other turn… ah, let’s just say that the motorcyclists were out of their league at that particular event.

I used to believe that Arenacross was the perfect “minor leagues” for the development of supercross racers, but after 20 years of arena racing, that theory has yet to be proven. Or, some might say, that the theory was soundly proven… wrong. We’re still waiting to see if dominance in the bullrings leads to high scores in the ballparks. The cold hard truth, though, is that if you intend to excel at supercross, you better find some real supercross tracks to practice on… Arenacross will not properly prepare you for the big show. So what good is it?

Some say Arenacross is good for motocross, and I would have to agree, conditionally. I think Arenacross is good for the manufacturers; the sport helps sell bikes and gear. It’s also good for promoters (or at least some of them), and it’s good for riders talented enough to earn sponsored rides for the series. This year in particular, it appears that the Arenacross circuit has become a haven of sorts for certain pros who couldn’t quite gain the success they desired on the National trail.

But it’s NOT motocross, let’s get real. It sort of LOOKS like motocross, and it uses motocross equipment and terms and stuff like that… but it’s not motocross and was never intended to be mistaken for such. It is its own thing, and for that it should be appreciated. Apparently, the residents of such towns as Towson, Maryland and St. Charles, Missouri, appreciate the subtle nuances of tiny track racing. My hat's off to them AND Arenacross…

Just don’t expect to see me at one anytime soon, post-season be damned.