Cycle News

Cycle News 2014 Issue 41 October 14

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/397402

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 33 of 111

VOL. 51 ISSUE 41 OCTOBER 14, 2014 P33 EX IN THE SLC T he AMA EnduroCross Championship visited Salt Lake City for the very first time and the locals wel- comed the EnduroCross racer with open arms and supported the race by filling up the Energy Solutions Are- na in downtown SLC. Mark Powell, the general manager of the arena, played a big role of getting the series to visit the city. Powell is a big fan of En- duroCross and was trying to get the series to come here for a few years. "We got a few phone calls from Mark that he wanted to bring the event here for the last two years," said Mike Karsting of the EnduroCross Series. "Yeah, it was two years," Powell said. "We went to Vegas and saw the great crowd and it was real exciting and [thought] we have do that here! But we couldn't find dates." It turned out that Powell and the AMA EnduroCross promot- ers actually had much more in common than they originally knew. "It turns out Powell's son, Landon, is roommates with Colton Haaker," said Karsting. "Landon races in the AMA Supercross Series, so he lives with Colton during the winter and trains for Supercross," Powell said. "He and Colton Haaker are roommates." Landon had been wanting to try an EnduroCross event, and wanted to do it in front of his home crowd—another inspira- tion for Powell to get the series to come to his arena. Of course, putting on an En- duroCross takes more than a venue, but through help from Edge Powersports—promoters of the Herriman Endurocross— the crew was able to round up the necessary resources. "We actually did a partnership with the Edge Powersports," said Karsting. "Those are the guys that put on the Herriman race as well as the Mesquite race—and so we used all their materials, brought everything in." There was only one other chal- lenge in bringing EnduroCross into the Energy Solutions Arena, home of the NBA's Utah Jazz. "They had a Jazz game on Tuesday night so we didn't get the building until Wednesday," Karsting said. "And they have a Jazz game on Monday so we have to get the heck out of here as soon as the event is over! [laughs]" The successful event, the healthy crowd turnout and the great teamwork have ensured that GEICO AMA EnduroCross will be back next season, and maybe even beyond. "Oh yeah, we've already got dates held for next year," Powell stated. "This is more than a one- year plan." Jean Turner The AMA GEICO EnduroCross Series visited Salt Lake City for the first time and was well received by the local fans. PHOTOGRAPHY BY DREW RUIZ

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Cycle News - Cycle News 2014 Issue 41 October 14