Costa Mesa Speedway

Costa Mesa Speedway

Orange County, Ca
Location	Orange County Fair and Event Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Capacity	6,500
Owner	International Speedway, Inc.
Operator	International Speedway, Inc.
Opened	1969
Major events	USA National Championship Jack Milne Cup Fair Derby Warren Russell Cup
oval - 185 yds. on the pole 1/10 mile Width: Straight 33' Corners: 48'
Surface	Clay base with decomposed granite surface

Costa Mesa Speedway in Costa Mesa, California USA is a major motorsports venue credited with the renaissance of motorcycle speedway racing in Southern California.

In 1968, 1937 Speedway World Champion Jack Milne and motorcycle enthusiast Harry Oxley teamed up to promote motorcycle racing at the Orange County Fairgrounds (OC Fair & Event Center). Interest in motorcycle speedway racing was minimal for the first two years, but the sport soon enjoyed a rapid increase in popularity.

When Costa Mesa Speedway opened its doors in the summer of 1969, it was at the height of the surfer craze in Southern California; skateboarding, BMX and motocross were becoming popular with the state's middle class. As such, races at the Costa Mesa Speedway became standing room only at the weekly events by 1971. Top riders including World Champions with 13 titles between them Ivan Mauger (6 times) and Barry Briggs (4 times) from New Zealand and Ole Olson (3 time WC) from Denmark soon made the trip over to challenge the new American speedway riders.

In 1981, Orange County native Bruce Penhall won his first Speedway World Championship, becoming the first American do to so since Jack Milne in 1937. Penhall would repeat as World Champion in 1982 when he won at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the only time the World Final was ever held outside of England or Europe before the advent of the Speedway Grand Prix series in 1995.

The popularity of the sport in North America peaked in the late 1970s and remained strong through the end of the century; it has waned somewhat since then. It has remained popular enough to spawn smaller tracks in California, among them tracks in Auburn, Industry and Victorville. European teams closely monitor the talent at these tracks and many riders are recruited by such teams.

Costa Mesa Speedway has enjoyed a host of track announcers over the years including Bruce Flanders, current announcer Terry Clanton and Motorcycle Hall of Fame inductee Larry Huffman, well known in Southern California radio markets for his "high-powered" motorsports advertising.^[1]

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  The 2008 Costa Mesa Speedway Fair Derby

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  Co-Founder Harry Oxley

Notable Costa Mesa Speedway Riders

Past World Speedway Champions (American):
Jack Milne, Bruce Penhall, Sam Ermolenko, Billy Hamill, Greg Hancock

Other Notable American Speedway Riders:
Cordy Milne, Kelly Moran, Shawn Moran, Bobby Ott, Scott Autrey, Rick Woods, Mike Bast, Steve Bast, Sonny Nutter, Danny Becker, Scott Brant, Mark Cherry, Alan Christian, Bill Cody, John Cook, Mike Curoso, Dubb Ferrell, Jim Fishback, Gary Hicks, Lance King, Josh Larsen, Steve Lucero, Rick Miller, Brad Oxley, Robert Pfetzing, Ron Preston, Denny Pyeatt, Jeff Sexton, Larry Shaw, Dennis Sigalos, Dave Sims, Scott Sivadge, Gene Woods ... just to name a few.

More Current 1st Division American Riders:
Bobby Schwartz, Charlie Venegas, Billy Janniro, Billy Hamill, Greg Hancock, Ryan Fisher, Ricky Wells, Mike Faria, Shawn McConnell, Jimmy Fishback, Eddie Castro, Chris Manchester, Buck Blair, Robbie Sauer, Neil Facchini, Dale Facchini, Brad Sauer, Mike Bloom, Bobby Krips, Tim Gomez

External links

• Official Site - Costa Mesa Speedway
• Official Site - Orange County Fair and Event Center

References

1. ^ "Speedway, A Family Success". International Speedway, Inc.. 2008. http://www.costamesaspeedway.net/about.asp. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 

Coordinates: 33°40′06″N 117°53′59″W / 33.668446°N 117.899791°W / 33.668446; -117.899791