PHOTOS: SIMON CUDBY & MIKE EMERY
PHOTOS: SIMON CUDBY & MIKE EMERY
It’s a generational dedication, and a passion that has been passed down to Brad via his father, Harry Oxley, who started promoting at Costa Mesa Speedway in 1969 with World Speedway Champion Jack Milne. Brad’s eyes lit up as he dove into the importance of the speedway and how big the 1969 opening night of racing was for them as the culture bounced back in the post-World War II era.
“They pulled old bikes out of garages, and we brought bikes out of old barns and stuff,” says Brad. “My father and Jack Milne expected to have 500 to 600 people on the first Friday night, June 13, 1969, but they had around 1,500 people show up at that first event. Every week it grew, and by 1971 we would have 8,000 seats here.”
Brad downplays his own achievements, but the current promoter earned two national championships back in his racing days and spoke on the rawness a speedway bike possesses.
“The bikes have 70 to 75 horsepower, and they weigh around 165 pounds,” he explains. “They have a methanol-burning 500cc motor and the weight of a YZ80—that’s a pretty gnarly combination.
“There are no brakes and no transmission—just a dry clutch running on a jackshaft with a 23” front wheel and a 19” rear wheel. It’s a pretty simple setup, and it kind of looks like a mountain bike. There’s no way you’re turning that bike by steering the front; it’s all about being on the throttle and throwing the power slide out there and managing these really powerful bikes on this tight racetrack.”
For Ian, his passion for the Speedway began when he was just a child.
“I grew up coming here as a kid, and I have memories of watching ‘Rad’ Brad [Oxley] race and win,” he says. “We’d get in line for his autograph, and he’d take me to the front of the line and get me a poster—but now I know he was probably just checking out my mom!”
When Ian’s mother and Brad eventually married, Ian came to see Brad as a father figure, and he’s taken on the pride of knowing he has a chance to uphold the family legacy alongside his stepfather and mother.
Ian’s passion for the speedway also goes beyond familial responsibility.
“I’m a corporate jet pilot, so coming here is not fueled by a desire to make a living,” he says. “It’s an honor to my mom and dad and their family business. There aren’t many people who have an opportunity like that.”
Schwartz’s life as a professional speedway racer took him all over the world and back multiple times, and he’s still after it on a Saturday night under the lights, right where it all began for him—and still racing for fun.
“To me, this has always been the premier place to have speedway racing in the U.S. and still stands alone in that respect,” Boogaloo says. “I’ve always felt that Costa Mesa Speedway was the best track.”
His pit neighbor McConnel is another OG racer in his sixties who still enjoys sliding sideways under the lights.
“I think if I were a motocrosser I would have retired a million years ago, but I’ve never stopped doing this,” he says. “You can do it at an older age, but some guys get hurt so much they eventually retire. You have to be willing to put up with the injuries.” Speaking on the rich history of the speedway before heading out for his heat, he adds with a smile, “Costa Mesa is known all over the world, and this is where all the best racers have come from. If it wasn’t for the Oxley family, we wouldn’t have speedway here, and it wouldn’t have evolved the way it did. . . . They are speedway.”
“The youngsters are over that way!” McConnel says, pointing in the direction of the bleachers. Once we get there we meet the current #1 National Speedway Champion Billy Janniro, who actually represented the 30+ age group and who is now continuing to race primarily for recreation.
“I’m 39 next month, and I’ve been doing this since I was 11 years old,” Janniro explains. “Age in speedway is interesting, and all the way up to World Championship level, you have guys like Greg Hancock that are in their late forties and still kicking the younger guys’ butts out there, and that’s pretty amazing.” Janniro has nine total American Championships to his name and is a threat every time he hits the track.
Schwartz’s life as a professional speedway racer took him all over the world and back multiple times, and he’s still after it on a Saturday night under the lights, right where it all began for him—and still racing for fun.
“To me, this has always been the premier place to have speedway racing in the U.S. and still stands alone in that respect,” Boogaloo says. “I’ve always felt that Costa Mesa Speedway was the best track.”
His pit neighbor McConnel is another OG racer in his sixties who still enjoys sliding sideways under the lights.
“I think if I were a motocrosser I would have retired a million years ago, but I’ve never stopped doing this,” he says. “You can do it at an older age, but some guys get hurt so much they eventually retire. You have to be willing to put up with the injuries.” Speaking on the rich history of the speedway before heading out for his heat, he adds with a smile, “Costa Mesa is known all over the world, and this is where all the best racers have come from. If it wasn’t for the Oxley family, we wouldn’t have speedway here, and it wouldn’t have evolved the way it did. . . . They are speedway.”
“The youngsters are over that way!” McConnel says, pointing in the direction of the bleachers. Once we get there we meet the current #1 National Speedway Champion Billy Janniro, who actually represented the 30+ age group and who is now continuing to race primarily for recreation.
“I’m 39 next month, and I’ve been doing this since I was 11 years old,” Janniro explains. “Age in speedway is interesting, and all the way up to World Championship level, you have guys like Greg Hancock that are in their late forties and still kicking the younger guys’ butts out there, and that’s pretty amazing.” Janniro has nine total American Championships to his name and is a threat every time he hits the track.
“He’s raced over in Europe in the junior leagues but now is moving up to the 250, so we’ll be home for a while, and he’s just getting started here,” the elder Hancock says. “This is his first time here at Costa Mesa racing with these guys. For me, it’s nostalgic and it’s awesome, and it’s also scary at the same time.”
What’s Costa Mesa Speedway mean to a world-class rider like Hancock?
“These older riders like Bobby Schwartz are the guys that mentored me growing up, and the Oxley family have built this place, and it’s the longest running speedway that I know of in the U.S.,” he says. “This place is real good classic family fun.”
After dozens of short, fast and fun races the culmination of the night’s program, the 1A (Pro) division, lets loose for its four laps of mayhem. Families, couples, and avid fans cheer and scream as passes are made, bikes slide sideways, and crashes sometimes happen. When the final checkered flag flies, the crowd is permitted to head down to the track and walk around to see just how hard this iconic circle track soil and layout is. It’s about as intimate and grassroots as it gets, and it helps highlight why the Costa Mesa Speedway has been so successful for so long.
“For him to be able to carry his dad’s legacy on is his highest pride, and we will fight to be on these fairgrounds until we can’t do it anymore,” Jaleen Oxley says of Brad’s dedication. “His dad is very proud of him.”
“It’s always going to be an uphill battle nowadays to keep something like this going, because you know how many racetracks closed since I was a kid… I grew up in San Clemente and I could go to eight racetracks within an hour of my house, and it’s not like that anymore,” admits Brad Oxley. “I base my pride on keeping this thing going.”
Costa Mesa—and American Speedway racing as a whole—are in good hands.