Im a new subscriber now!! 50 years ago as a child with a single mother Costa Mesa became a weekly evening of fun. The Bast brothers were still racing in 1974 if my memory serves me right and Bad Brad Oxley as well as Kelly/Shawn Moran, Bobby Boogaloo Shwartz, and Bobby Ott were the guys I remember keeping an eye out for. Then Bruce Penhall made us all proud going over the pond and years later Sam Ermolenko did the same thing when I was older - boy he rode the outside like nobody else has ever done. In the early days Gene Gene the dancing machine would walk the wall barefoot and drunk as our own worlds greatest master of ceremony Larry Huffman egged him on - those nights are burned in my memory - whenever I hear "when in doubt gas it" Larry to this day is still in my head yelling at the top of his lungs. Thank you so very much for bringing back fond memories of when So Cal had more freedom and much more racing than you could ever imagine taking place every single week. Long memories not lost but nearly forgotten are welcomed with a very big smile, thank you so very much: its a flood - the Saddleback hillclimbs, Long Beach harbor circle track and drag boats, San Berdoo/Costa Mesa Speedway, OCIR/Pomona Drags, Brotherhood Raceway run what you brung in San Pedro, Ascot Park figure 8, sprint cars, speedway bikes & flat track bikes - Del Mar 1/2mi flat track motorcycles, sneaking in to the Long Beach Gran Prix with F1, etc etc etc..... if you were not there you really REALLY missed out. I live in the cold PNW now but miss the good ol days just the same. Thanks again for making this video. Cheers! to Old Milwaukee with dirt in the bottom of your cup😂😂
@@William-Bill-Munny thanks for watching and subscribing. Can’t bring back the old days but at least the youth are still racing. There are hundreds of reports for everyone to watch, enjoy and learn about this sport. Please share the race reports with your friends in PNW. All the best.
I can relate to @William-Bill-Munny. My Dad took me and my brother to Speedway every week back in the 70s. Not just Costa Mesa but also IMS, and Irwindale. We used to go to Ascot to watch long track speedway too. My brother and I started racing motocross around the same time. We would go to tracks like Saddleback, Carlsbad, Dead Man's and Arroyo, which was later renamed Glen Helen. Those were the best days of my life. As @xratv said, you can't bring back the old days, but thanks to technological advances in the last 50 years , we can watch videos and remastered old films on UA-cam. Congratulations Shawn McConnell!
We need the Grants Guy to call the Race. Larry Huffman. Always called the crowd up and made it even more fun and exciting. So proud to have been a part of Speedway.
Terry Clanton has been the track announcer for almost 20 years. He gets the crowd cheering and makes sure they know who is racing and what is happening. Unfortunately it’s hard to hear him from the camera. Which means you and others have to suffer with my narration and announcing for the race reports.
Great question. Speedway bike are much faster because they are lighter. The fastest race I (4 Laps) I have recorded on this track in approx 48 seconds. Less than a minute and perfect for short attention spans. Thanks for watching. Please share.
Costa Mesa IS TOO SHORT. I grew up attending races with my dad in the 70s & 80s. IMS [San Bernardino], Ascot [short track] Long Beach Vets, & Irwindale ruled.
@@kristopherkrueger4617 come on now. That is the track all American Speedway champions have come from. It is short but that makes it very technical. Thanks for watching! Please share with your friends.
Of all the tightest pole huggers that I know of, in no particular order, àre Steve Lucero, Alan Christian, Brad Oxley, and Mad Dog. I'm sure I can name more, but #6 to me is the tightest 😊.
So instead of going out a grand winner, he went out a loser, cuz winning what was supposedly his last race, just wasn’t good enough….and I’m sure we will see him racing in 2025
Im a new subscriber now!!
50 years ago as a child with a single mother Costa Mesa became a weekly evening of fun. The Bast brothers were still racing in 1974 if my memory serves me right and Bad Brad Oxley as well as Kelly/Shawn Moran, Bobby Boogaloo Shwartz, and Bobby Ott were the guys I remember keeping an eye out for. Then Bruce Penhall made us all proud going over the pond and years later Sam Ermolenko did the same thing when I was older - boy he rode the outside like nobody else has ever done. In the early days Gene Gene the dancing machine would walk the wall barefoot and drunk as our own worlds greatest master of ceremony Larry Huffman egged him on - those nights are burned in my memory - whenever I hear "when in doubt gas it" Larry to this day is still in my head yelling at the top of his lungs.
Thank you so very much for bringing back fond memories of when So Cal had more freedom and much more racing than you could ever imagine taking place every single week.
Long memories not lost but nearly forgotten are welcomed with a very big smile, thank you so very much: its a flood - the Saddleback hillclimbs, Long Beach harbor circle track and drag boats, San Berdoo/Costa Mesa Speedway, OCIR/Pomona Drags, Brotherhood Raceway run what you brung in San Pedro, Ascot Park figure 8, sprint cars, speedway bikes & flat track bikes - Del Mar 1/2mi flat track motorcycles, sneaking in to the Long Beach Gran Prix with F1, etc etc etc..... if you were not there you really REALLY missed out.
I live in the cold PNW now but miss the good ol days just the same.
Thanks again for making this video. Cheers! to Old Milwaukee with dirt in the bottom of your cup😂😂
@@William-Bill-Munny thanks for watching and subscribing. Can’t bring back the old days but at least the youth are still racing. There are hundreds of reports for everyone to watch, enjoy and learn about this sport. Please share the race reports with your friends in PNW. All the best.
I can relate to @William-Bill-Munny. My Dad took me and my brother to Speedway every week back in the 70s. Not just Costa Mesa but also IMS, and Irwindale. We used to go to Ascot to watch long track speedway too. My brother and I started racing motocross around the same time. We would go to tracks like Saddleback, Carlsbad, Dead Man's and Arroyo, which was later renamed Glen Helen. Those were the best days of my life. As @xratv said, you can't bring back the old days, but thanks to technological advances in the last 50 years , we can watch videos and remastered old films on UA-cam. Congratulations Shawn McConnell!
We need the Grants Guy to call the Race. Larry Huffman. Always called the crowd up and made it even more fun and exciting. So proud to have been a part of Speedway.
Terry Clanton has been the track announcer for almost 20 years. He gets the crowd cheering and makes sure they know who is racing and what is happening. Unfortunately it’s hard to hear him from the camera. Which means you and others have to suffer with my narration and announcing for the race reports.
Wow, what a way to go out for Mr. McConnell. And I really like the camera shots from the grand stand. Good job fellas.
Glad you enjoyed the camera angles! Share with your friends.
A gentleman champion...one class act.
Wow 🎉 congrats Mad Dog!
Wish i was there to see this, vert special moment
Well, at least you have this channel to help relive the event. Please share. Thanks for watching.
I was able to meet "Mad Dog" in Greene , NY at the U.S. Open - seemed like a nice guy a DEFINITELY a great rider . All the best to this legend .
@@52958 He’s a legend. Glad you were able to meet him. Thanks for watching. Please share with your friends.
Costa Mesa flat and hard ride the inside you'll win the race.. but McConnell knew that congratulations Sean Mad Dog
How would the lap times compare speedway bike vs short tracker??? Same track.
What's a short tracker? Those Hooligan bikes? Hahahaha
It's a legitimate question, Been. Following flat track and Speedway for 60 years. I'm curious what the differences would be on the same track.
Great question. Speedway bike are much faster because they are lighter. The fastest race I (4 Laps) I have recorded on this track in approx 48 seconds. Less than a minute and perfect for short attention spans. Thanks for watching. Please share.
Costa Mesa IS TOO SHORT. I grew up attending races with my dad in the 70s & 80s. IMS [San Bernardino], Ascot [short track] Long Beach Vets, & Irwindale ruled.
@@kristopherkrueger4617 come on now. That is the track all American Speedway champions have come from. It is short but that makes it very technical. Thanks for watching! Please share with your friends.
The only reason to ride the outside is you can't ride the inside.
Of all the tightest pole huggers that I know of, in no particular order, àre Steve Lucero, Alan Christian, Brad Oxley, and Mad Dog. I'm sure I can name more, but #6 to me is the tightest 😊.
Thanks for watching.
Wow, what a great way to finish a career, Swan song race, oh wait #6 had to race 1 more night, got smoked and ruined the whole main event win!
So instead of going out a grand winner, he went out a loser, cuz winning what was supposedly his last race, just wasn’t good enough….and I’m sure we will see him racing in 2025