February 16th 2023: The Costa Mesa Speedway is a dirt track racing venue located in Costa Mesa, California. It hosts various types of motorcycle and quad races, including speedway, flat track, and motocross.
The racetrack is located at the OC Fair & Event Center and hosts races as well as throughout the year. The Costa Mesa Speedway is one of the premier racing destinations in the state of California.
The speedway is also credited by many with the renaissance of motorcycle speedway racing in Southern California.
History Of The Costa Mesa Speedway:
In 1968 Jack Milne who was the 1937 Speedway World Champion teamed up with motorcycle enthusiast Harry Oxley to promote motorcycle racing at what was then called the Orange County Fairgrounds.
As the motorcycle speedway racing slowly grew in popularity the Costa Mesa Speedway opened during the summer of love in 1969. During this time Southern California sports such as surfing, skateboarding Bmx bikes and motocross were becoming extremely popular.
By the early 70’s there was standing room only at the weekly events with the top speedway riders from around the world. By the late 70’s speedways popularity had peaked but was still popular enough that smaller tracks had opened in Victorville and Industry.
I grew up in England where speedway was more popular but during the time i first started going with my dad the World Champion was American and in fact from Orange County. The person was Bruce Penhall who won the World Championship in 1981 and again in 1982.
Track Information:
The oval track is 185 yards long which is about 169 metre’s for the metric folks. The surface of the track is decomposed granite with a hard clay base underneath.
Location:
Orange County Fair & Event Center
88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa CA
Capacity:
The Costa Mesa Speedway has a 6,500 capacity
