The 5 Gnarliest Tracks of the Outdoor MX Nationals
Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 8:07PM These AMA National motocross tracks make even the manliest of men quiver in their boots.
Every track on the AMA Pro Motocross Nationals schedule is scary in more ways than one — that's just the nature of the beast. If the best racers are going to race there, it has to be serious material. But there are a few standouts that deserve recognition for being the stuff of motocross legend, and we shall recognize them in the list below:
1. Glen Helen
Glen Helen has always lived at the very beginning or end of the AMA Nationals schedule, because it is one of the most iconic tracks in American motocross. For good reason, too. Glen Helen is an arduous amalgamation of gigantic hills and massive jumps in the heat blanket of Southern California. After a day’s worth of motos, the track is so rough it looks like a scene out of Dante’s Inferno.
Gnarliest feature: Mount St. Helens, a 200-foot climb followed immediately by a steep descent all the way back down, with plenty of massive braking bumps throughout for good measure.
2. Unadilla
One of the oldest MX tracks in America, Unadilla in upstate New York only hosts one race every year: the national. The northeast dirt is loaded with big rocks, and the ruts everywhere on the track are deep enough to conceal a small child. Nobody forgets the chest protectors and hand guards come race day at Unadilla.
Gnarliest Feature: The Gravity Cavity, a deep valley that riders drop into and then immediately fly out of, some launching almost 100 feet to flat in order to save precious seconds on the lap time. Also worth mentioning is the Sky Shot — a 100-foot table top where riders love to please the fans with humongous whips.
3. Southwick
The sands of New England bring us Southwick, a legendary American motocross track nestled in the trees behind a western Massachusetts high school. Southwick makes its triumphant return to the AMA schedule in 2016, because it always will be “the sand race” to AMA MX pro racers. Soft beach sand over a harder base layer make Southwick a brutal racetrack once a few laps have been thrown down on it. The biggest and scariest braking bumps of the year can always be found here.
Gnarliest feature: The sand. Southwick does not have much in the way of single track features, because there’s only one thought any rider may have when uttering its name: So much sand.
4. Red Bud
The race at Red Bud is always held on the 4th of July weekend because the track perfectly represents moto Americana. The Michigan venue plays host to the craziest pit parties — and some of the best racing of the year. Red Bud is a favorite among the riders for its pristine dirt and several huge-yet-enjoyable jumps.
Gnarliest feature: Larocco’s Leap, a 120-foot triple step-up right out of a corner, in front of the grandstands. Just hold it wide open and hope you got out of that turn fast enough.
5. Spring Creek
The Spring Creek MX track in Millville, Minnesota, is another favorite among the riders for the loamy, perfect soil. However, the unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on what position you’re in) consequence of soft dirt is that it gets rough. At Millville, it gets really rough. The track is also extremely fast, so one miscue could mean the end of a racer’s day.
Gnarliest feature: The whoops, consisting of two straightaways loaded with some of the most massive rollers the riders will ever see.
