Over the last couple of weeks, I have gotten really interested in flat track motorcycle racing. The reasons are many but the big one is that I am trying to learn up on the subject as we’re trying to put together what I think would be an epic matchup for the show “Put Up or Shut Up” that I host on the MotorTrend.com website. There’s so much history in flat track motorcycle racing that it is literally a motorsport as deep or deeper in the fabric of America than anything else. They race all over the country on tracks large and small. There are the short dirt ovals, there are the mile dirt ovals…and then there’s the Peoria TT.
What makes this track different? For one, the thing is set at the base of a valley and is surrounded by mountains. The second thing is that it contains a right hand turn. The third thing is that there’s a damned jump leading into that right hand turn! In today’s world the guys get massive sideways air over the jump. Back in the 1970s it was not quite as dramatic in terms of hang time but it was as dramatic as ever with regard to the weird course layout.
I am reasonably sure that the video you will see below is a hunk of the famous “On Any Sunday” documentary that was shown around the country in the late 1970s. I have never seen the thing all the way through so I cannot say for sure.
The bikes were heavier, the bikes were slower, but in some weird way, they were also more awesome. This is a perfect look at the best and craziest “flat track” race of the season both in the 1970s and now.
