Arenacross Triple Crown set for Saturday

The facility that has hosted everything from rodeos to roller hockey games will add yet another wrinkle this weekend.

The Douglas County Fairgrounds will play host to the Big Valley Honda Triple Crown Motocross series Saturday.

Saturday's round will serve as the kickoff to the series, which will also make stops at the Stead Motocross Facility in North Reno and the Fallon Fairgrounds in Churchill County.

Spectator gates open at 5 p.m. Saturday with the racing set to start at 7 p.m. A freestyle exhibition is also set for the intermission period.

Tickets are $12 in advance at Bad Bonz Motorsports Company in Gardnerville and Michael's Cycleworks in Carson City. Children five and under will be admitted for free.

"Carson Valley has some of the best racers in the area," event organizer Ty Erquiaga said. "There are a lot of really good riders from the area that will be competing Saturday.

"This will be the first time we've ever done anything like this in Gardnerville. There will be a variety of skill levels competing from little kids to professionals."

The pros will compete for what Erquiaga estimates to be several thousand dollars of purse money.

"It'll be a real family-oriented event," he said. "It's strictly racing, not a lot of loud music or anything. It'll be an amazingly good show."

More than 300 racers are expected to compete Saturday and a rather large crowd is expected.

"There are a lot of racers in Carson Valley, that is one of the biggest things that drew us down there," Erquiaga said. "The fairgrounds will be very conducive to hosting this type of an event."

Crews began work Tuesday night moving dirt around to construct the track inside the Fairgrounds' outdoor rodeo arena.

"It takes four days of moving dirt," Erquiaga said. "There won't be one grain of sand that is undisturbed.

"It'll change the scope of the landscape around the fairgrounds dramatically. It is a true spectacle.

"The construction process for building an arenacross track is so precise and so technical that it has to be perfect or people will get hurt."

Erquiaga said the tear down and clean-up period takes about a day and a half after the event.

He said many individuals in the community have been instrumental in making the event happen, including Wilson Construction, John Sanchez and Mike May at DNC Construction.

"Everyone really went the extra mile to bring this event to the community."

For more information about the Triple Crown series, visit www.mxwestracing.org.

n Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.