Flat track racing on polished concrete has been an established form of the sport dating back to its glory days as a featured event at Madison Square Garden. But to my mind, glassy smooth concrete and flat track racing would seem to go together about as well as denim jeans and freezing rain. Why take a sport that involves frequent violent impacts with the playing surface and make that surface as hard as possible? The only parallel I could think of would be hockey players, who wear about triple the padding and don’t typically reach 65mph top speeds on their skates.

At stake this weekend was bragging rights to top dawg status in four classes of competition: the K&N Open, Saddlemen Vintage, Top Gun 450, and Classic Open. The 1/8 mile short track rink at the South Point Hotel and Casino Event Center was sure to provide a maximum of elbow to elbow corner jousting within a minimum of personal space. But hey, I was comfortably perched in the stands with an adult beverage, so if the riders of Gene Romero’s West Coast Flat Track Series were game to race, I was more than game to watch.

Once the flag dropped and the sprints began on Friday, the warrior spirit of these riders quickly became apparent. With as many as 15 full grown men on motorcycles all charging full bore for the best line, and virtually no straightaway to spread them out, the action typically resembled something like the old circus clowns pouring out of a VW Beatle routine, except the clowns are diving into the Beatle…on motorcycles…sideways. While the caliber of riders present was top notch, and the racing 100% balls to the wall, the event was marred by frequent rider complaints about the officiating and flag work, and a crash-induced oil spill in the first corner early on Saturday that doomed the racers to a long night of low sides. Despite frequent and vigorous attempts by the track workers to absorb the slick, they just never got it solved and the races devolved into one lap dashes to the next red flag. Last rider still upright won the heat.

Maybe I’m just an old softie, but watching fierce competitors crash out because they’re pushing their limits too far fighting for glory is one thing, but watching brave men get physically injured because of a poorly selected and maintained track surface made me feel more angry and frustrated for them than exhilarated. As a celebrated former flat track racer himself, I’m willing to give Gene Romero the benefit of the doubt that he would never intentionally put the racers in his series recklessly in danger, but from the outside looking in, it wasn’t a pretty sight on Saturday night. Hopefully next year, Romero will elect to go back to a dirt surface for the race. As a frequent spectator and fan of the sport, I know how much more competitive and entertaining flat track racing can be, but if the object of bringing the sport to a Las Vegas casino was to win over new fans, I’d have to call the switch from dirt to a concrete surface a step in the wrong direction.