Vespas, Mustangs, and the Springfield Mile…

I just saw this video, and I thought I would share it with you…it’s another cool trials video, this time with a Vespa scooter.   You have to check it out.

And speaking of checking things out, I came across a few photos on my hard drive from the Springfield Mile a short while ago.  My good friends Dave and Bob took me to Springfield, and while we were there, Dave grabbed this very cool shot of a restored Mustang…

After admiring Dave’s Mustang photo, I started looking at some of the photos I grabbed that weekend.  If you’ve never been to the Springfield Mile, it’s something you need to do.  I love flat track racing (I grew up when Gary Nixon and Bart Markel dominated the sport).  Dave and Bob told me Springfield was special, but I had no idea.  On a half -mile dirt oval (the kind I used to see when I was a kid), the bikes get around pretty good, but on a mile track…well, that’s something altogether different.   On the big mile, the bikes hit 140 mph on the straights, and in the corners they slide along together, sideways, bumping shoulders at around 100 mph.  It’s an incredible sight.

Here are a few of the Springfield boys barreling out of Turn 4 on their way up to 140 mph in front of the stands…

And here’s a bunch more in Turns 1 and 2.   These guys are awesome.   My camera has a feature that lets it track moving objects and adjust the autofocus to account for the range change, but these boys were flying so fast my Nikon couldn’t keep up with them.  I put the camera on manual focus, picked a spot and focused on it, and then pulled the trigger when the pack entered the field of view…

After just a lap or two, Kenny Coolbeth and Chris Carr were so far out in front they had the track to themselves.   These guys are the best of the best.  They’re sliding sideways at over 100 mph in this shot.

These photos are cool, but they don’t really convey the thunder and lightning that accompanies a race like this.   It’s incredible racing, and it’s a lot of fun to watch.

We’re off to the Hansen Dam British Bike Meet here in southern California this weekend, so watch for photos of some cool vintage iron early next week.   We’re bringing a bunch of California Scooters, and if you can make the event, stop by and we’ll let you fire one up…but no sliding around sideways at 100 mph…at least not until we come out with our Springfield model!