Known for great weather and a wide array of recreational amenities, Sacramento County also offers two outdoor motorsport parks for off-road vehicle enthusiasts. Prairie City State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) and Sacramento Raceway feature motocross tracks, drag racing strips and areas for off-road enthusiasts, as well as popular statewide competitions such as Hangtown Motocross Classic, Dodge Amateur National and Governor’s Cup.
Prairie City SVRA, a California Historical Landmark, is designed for off-road vehicle activities of all types. They offer fun, enjoyable terrains for beginners to experts, with staging areas, motorcycle and ATV trails and practice tracks, a quarter midget track, go-kart track, 4X4 area, environmental training center and the Outdoor National Hangtown MX track.
Inside Prairie City is the privately owned track, Hangtown MX. It is home to the annual Lucas Oil Pro Motocross National in May and the Dodge Amateur National in October and offer local motocross races year round for all ages and open practice on Thursday, Saturday and Sundays.
Local pro motocross racer, Keith Knight, said the best thing about Prairie City is all the different options they have to offer such as: tracks, trails, etc.
“The Hangtown National is usually the first or second round of the outdoor national series, so everyone is always very excited, which makes for a fun atmosphere,” said Knight.
Sacramento Raceway, located off Excelsior Road in Sacramento, primarily features drag racing and motocross (competitive dirt bike) racing events. The raceway holds a variety of racing series: Wednesday Night Drags, the Grudge Fest, and motocross racing and oval track racing.
“It is a family owned and operated track, so it gives people a sense of comfort that you cannot find at other national tracks on the west coast.” Local pro drag racer Chaysse Trimp said, “Also, with our street legal program it opens the door for anybody with a car to enjoy some levels of speed to experience drag racing first hand.”
The Raceway is also host to the 45th Governor’s Championship Cup drag race, scheduled September 12 - 13. The Cup gives racers a chance to compete and become the 2014 Champion.
Trimp said the Governor’s Cup is a nostalgia race for any chassis that were made pre-1984, so many of the blown alcohol cars are still driven and wrenched on by guys pushing 75 years old. “Most of the cars exceed 180 mph in the quarter so the risk factor of crashing is high and that's exactly why people come and watch.” Trimp said, “Living on that edge of compromising safety for speed.”
Both parks give motor enthusiasts an opportunity to enjoy high speed fun in a safe and enclosed environment. The racetracks are family friendly and generally welcome spectators. They often feature food trucks and families bring coolers with food. For more information, visit the Prairie City SVRA website and the Sacramento Raceway website.
Writer: Nicole Bee, Communication and Media Intern
