Arenacross Racing (Large Arena)

Welcome race fans to the high flying, bar banging, history making, Arenacross Racing at Motorama! If you have attended an arenacross or supercross event in the past, you know the excitement you are instore for . If this is your first time, you are about to experience total overload.

Motocross is an outdoor sport; however, in the winter time, in Pennsylvania, riding let alone racing motocross outdoors is just something that doesn’t happen. The Hostetter family, from Trail Way Speedway, and where I earned my first trophy, recognized this and decided to bring outdoor motocross indoors 45 years ago, and wa-lah Arenacross was born! Motorama started in 1978 and like everything new, went through a number of growing pains. Back then racers, including myself slept on the floor guarding their trusty bikes, tools and whatever they brought, if you were really lucky you slept in your van and burnt through a half a tank of gas leaving the van running to stay warm, not very comfortable. Today racers invade hotels or bring motor homes and are quite a bit more comfortable...until its race time!

The advances in motorcycles for motocross and arena style racing from the inception of the event, to today’s motorcycle standards are amazing. The motors in today’s bikes are so advanced, I think today’s 85's are faster then my old 125's. For Arenacross the most important part is the suspension, especially for the technical sections on Arenacross and Supercross style tracks. Suspension is set up for each individual racer based on the riders weight, skill level and the type of racing a rider is doing, either outdoor or indoor. Suspension for an outdoor motocross track today is typically very different than for Arenacross. Suspension companies work very close with top racers constantly adjusting and servicing both front and rear suspension. If you’re serious about racing you should be serious about setting up your bike properly. 

Arenacross racers must race qualifiers or last chance qualifiers to make the Main Event. In Arenacross these qualifiers just get you there, your finish in the qualifiers is what determines your gate pick for the Main Event.  The better your finish, the better your gate pick. Arenacross Racing is a fast and furious indoor sport where the starts can make or break ones finish, especially with the best racers from the qualifiers all meeting in the Main Event. Results from the qualifiers have no bearing on a racers overall finish. A racers Main Event finish is their overall finish for that specific class. As in all racing it’s never over until the checkered flag flies, when that race adrenalin is flowing you’ll see some racers shine and some racers let the nerves and the agony of defeat get the best of them.

Serious racers need to be in top physical condition. Motorama gives racers the opportunity to compete on a track that is very technical. This is not the type of track that racers can easily find to build their skills on. This is a great opportunity for racers to get some experience on a arenacross track, and for the fans to watch family and or friends racing in the middle of Winter in a massive arena seating 9000 guests. Just a few short years ago the Cooper family, Ryder, Reed and Justin raced here at Motorama. Today Justin Cooper is one of the top racers in the world capturing the 2021 West Coast Supercross Championship, finished 4th in the 2022 Outdoor 250 National Championship and was a key factor for the American Team winning the Motocross of Nations in 2022. Will we see the next Supercross Champion with us this weekend racing at Motorama...we just might, or maybe it will be you!

Good luck to all the racers, and we want say a big THANK YOU to all the families, friends and fans for coming out to support Motorama 2025. 

Thanks and enjoy the races!

Rich Trevelise and the Arenacross Operations Team