Fast Fridays Speedway

1998 Speedway Season at Fast Fridays

What a coincidence that exactly 150 years after the town of Auburn first became famous throughout the nation with the discovery gold, it will once again find national acclaim. For 1998, the American Motorcyclist Association has assigned the AMA National Speedway Championship to be held at Fast Fridays Speedway at the Gold County Fairgrounds in Auburn, on September 25.

Once again, this year Fast Fridays has a full season of Speedway racing, starting on May 8. Every week there will be around 38 action packed races with 3 full divisions of Speedway Riders and 3 divisions of Junior Speedway Riders. There will also be quad races. Fast Friday has been working all winter on getting more sponsorship, to put this great show together. But even in addition to the National Championship, this year holds a couple of extra surprises. Watch out for regular appearances from 2 top national caliber riders. Both these riders have ridden here at top events before but in 1998, they will be appearing on a regular basis to provide some real competition for our local riders.

The gates open at Fast Fridays every Friday night at 6.30pm and racing starts at 8.00pm. For the last 3 years the crowd has been getting bigger every year. In 1996 it was 15% larger than 1995, and in 1997 it was 22% larger again. Get here early this year, if you want a seat!

We are both proud and excited to be hosting the AMA National Championship, and what at line up of riders there will be. To start off, we will have current numbers one and two in the world, Greg Hancock and Billy Hamill. Both these gentlemen live in England and race in the British, Swedish and Polish Leagues. They also compete in the Grand Prix, all over Europe. This was won by Hamill in 1996 and by Hancock in 1997, with Hamill second. They will be joined by Flying Mike Faria, the current US National Champion, plus 5 top national seeded riders and 6 top Northern California riders.

After so many years of National Champions from Southern California, it will be interesting to see how the top Northern Californians get on. Regulars like Bart Bast, Jimmy Sisemore, Louis Kossuth and Bobby Hedden have had so many years of experience on this track over the years. The final two places will go to out of state riders. The East Coast Champion will be the top seed from Owego, NY. Competition will be tough for this position, with strong competitors from both East Coast Americans and Canadians. The Pacific North West Champion will be seeded from Hillsboro, OR, where the top Oregon and Washington state riders compete. This will surely add up to be a great night at the end of our greatest season so far.

For a complete listing of the 1998 Fast Fridays season take a look at the web page at: 1998 Fast Fridays