I know it's not at the same level as modern road racing, but my wife and I went to the U.S. National Speedway Championship in Costa Mesa last Saturday, and, boy howdy, it was a humdinger. They've actually been getting a wee bit of TV time on "2-wheel Tuesday", but moreso for the "exhibitions" than the actual racing, and I can certainly understand that. During the summer they race pretty much every week, and have a mix of classes. To be fair the entry level and support classes leave a bit to be desired from a competition point of view as the new riders debug their technique. However, at the National, its all top riders, and the 20 (!!!) heat races were showing some good technique, wild moves and nail biter finishes. On the dark side, one rider was hurt enough to pull out, and two others had some rather nasty encounters with the wall. We've been to 3 events now, and we've seen a lot of low sides, only 1 high side (a 10 year old kid that goes like a bat out of hell had a nasty high side a couple of weeks ago, but he came back). But these were fast, hard slams into the wall and the riders were pretty stunned. Most Speedway races, with its VERY short oval and 4 lap duration are pretty much settled in the first corner, if not then the first lap. But there were some real nice comebacks and changeovers last Saturday, and the final was a real tight knot of bikes and riders for the entire race. Anyway, it was a fun night and nice to just watch some racing and get away from all of the politics and what not surrounding the other series. It's been a hectic weekend so I haven't had a chance to catch the Malaysian MotoGP (though I did see the 250). Regards, Will Hartung ([email][/email])
