Carlsbad Raceway... so sad on what's left

BM255 wrote:

That's a cool photo of you going over Devils drop! Is that a PC Husky?

anniebertmojo wrote:

Yes it is a PC Husky 1982, that picture we had the long pipe on. We also had the shorty pipe also, but that melted airboxs...

Yes it is a PC Husky 1982, that picture we had the long pipe on. We also had the shorty pipe also, but that melted airboxs and rear fenders on a regular basis. I still have my 81 PC Husky. It's a complete original PC bike that I rode - I was supported by Payton during the early years of PC.

dynohut wrote:

At least you can still walk the complete Namur track and give a tip 'O the cap to the random MTN bikers on the circuit. Carlsbad...

At least you can still walk the complete Namur track and give a tip 'O the cap to the random MTN bikers on the circuit. Carlsbad and Saddleback nope. Sucks

Mini Elsinore wrote:

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Mini Elsinore wrote:

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Sully wrote:

Before you deleted your post, you mentioned the Naugles across the street from PC Husky...check this out:
http://abc7.com/462421/

anniebertmojo wrote:

Sorry - I'm traveling and on my iPhone. Deleted by mistake. Totally remember that place. Here you go photos of the 81 PC Husky. The white...

Sorry - I'm traveling and on my iPhone. Deleted by mistake. Totally remember that place. Here you go photos of the 81 PC Husky. The white fork sliders were an experiment in 82 to see what they would look like for the 83 bike. Ya the stories are legendary... The bachelor parties, the double decker bus incident, food fights, fishing with explosives... Best place to grow up as a teenager:

Shawbridge Husky wrote:

I want to hear about the double decker bus incident hahaha ! MORE

anniebertmojo wrote:

Let's just say the party was for someone in the industry that makes major decisions (present day) for a manufacture regarding racing. Handcuffs, a lot of...

Let's just say the party was for someone in the industry that makes major decisions (present day) for a manufacture regarding racing. Handcuffs, a lot of $20 bills, girls with clear heals at a shoe show, a greased pig, glitter, an airplane ticket and a bunch or racers from the 80's (famous and not so famous) that pissed off the bus driver so much he pulled over on the 57 Fwy and kicked us all off the bus lol. If you made it through the night you got a finisher t-shirt as a trophy. The PC parties were legendary and all way over the top.

Bigfoot wrote:

"Jennings and his dog Moto." Here's Moto the St. Bernard with my cocker spaniel Mikuni. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2015/01/14/76984/s1200_DosPooches1.jpg[/img]

"Jennings and his dog Moto."

Here's Moto the St. Bernard with my cocker spaniel Mikuni.

Mini Elsinore wrote:

Very cool. Did Mikuni patronize Saddleback?
I seem to remember Glover's mom bringing the family pooch to the track?

BM255 wrote:

Sorry to resurrect this thread guys, however I wanted to share a short story with you all. I was at LEGOLAND with my wife and kids...

Sorry to resurrect this thread guys, however I wanted to share a short story with you all.
I was at LEGOLAND with my wife and kids over New Years and decided to pay my respects to the motocross Gods so to speak.
I have never been to Carlsbad before and so never saw the original track except on old vids posted on YouTube. I have however always had a fascination with Carlsbad Raceway, as a young kid the first time I ever saw MX on TV was in the movie On Any Sunday 2 where Brad Lackey featured at the USGP at Carlsbad. I was particularly amazed by Devils Drop, the freeway and huge downhills. To me it represented motocross in it's purest form incorporating all the elements, rough, fast, and challenging where your bravery was either rewarded or punished. From that point onward I was hooked on the sport and I used to imagine going to the US and riding the legendry Carlsbad track.

So on New Years day I slipped away from LEGOLAND and entered the address of the Carlsbad Raceway Business Park into my GPS and headed off. Once there I was completely disoriented and couldn't work out where the track used to be, I sat in the car and looked up old pictures of the facility until I finally got my bearings. The site has obviously been extensively redeveloped and so initially I thought there was no trace of the track remaining, I was about ready to leave when I spotted a small pocket of land that looked overgrown. With a bit more research online I recognised that it was in fact the old start straight, I jumped into the car and drove around the back of some commercial buildings, parked up the car, walked down the embankment to the old fence and climbed over.
At this point I was ecstatic that not only had I located the site of the old track but that some of it was still intact, I felt like I was 10 years old again walking the track of legends. I stood at the start gate, looked down the straight to the first turn and imagined what it would have been like to line up and battle for the holeshot, it was quite a powerful experience.
From there I walked the start straight, round the first turn, 2nd turn and following straight up until the face of the 1st jump which is where it now ends, (it's basically a swamp in there now). The whole area is really starting to get overgrown now so it was hard for me having never been there before to work out where the other parts of the track should be, however I managed to locate Devils Drop and the uphill section leading up to it. I stood on the top of the drop and thought back to when I first saw it on TV, it seemed like it was 100 feet high to me back then, but standing there on top of it I was slightly disappointed in it's real scale.

That is all of the track that still exists today, It was a very surreal experience for me, I had wanted to see this track for the last 30 years, I finally get there and it is all but gone, it is a public holiday and there is nobody around, just me and this fragment of a former motocross Mecca. I have to say my emotions turned from elation to almost sadness.

The reality is that this section of the old facility has been put aside as a nature and bird sanctuary (an agreement between the city and the developer apparently) so it will remain as is for years to come. It is almost completely overgrown now, so I am pleased I got to see it (even though just a tiny portion of it) before it disappears completely.

It's weird that this place had such an impact on me, perhaps that's just what Carlsbad does to people!


It's interesting to note that the majority of the properties have yet to be built on, seems a waste that the facility was demolished for commercial properties that nobody actually wants!

Anyway, just wanted to share my experience, here's some pics from my visit.

Concrete pad on the old start gate


Start straight


First turn


Exit of first turn looking toward turn two


Exit of turn two looking down the straight toward the jump


Uphill section toward Devils Drop


Face of Devils Drop


Standing on top of Devils Drop


Looking back up Devils Drop


Overlooking the first turn from the old fenceline


Another view of the remaining site from the business park road


An untouched section of the old GP track at the western end of the park

swatdoc wrote:

Very sad - cryin shame. Such good memories of that place. Not just racing myself, but being there for the first moto win by an american...

Very sad - cryin shame. Such good memories of that place. Not just racing myself, but being there for the first moto win by an american - Jim Pomeroy, then later for the miraculous Marty Moates win.

Was a great track. Still have some old photos.