How to get into 3 wheeler raceing

[Tecate250]

I see all kinds of vids and pics from vendors allowing for 3 wheeler raceing. How did you guys manage to convince them to let you race? And it seems once you guys do race they never tell you guys to come back? Ive been trying to get alot of races rounded up to say we have numbers we just need a track.

[barnett468]

Do you have a specific question?

[atc300r]

The tracks I race at have trike friendly promotors and people running the races.Once a few trike races were run other promotors would invite trike racers to come to there tracks.And it took off from there.There are some promotors that raced back in the haydays themselves .

[The_Steve_Man]

We have a promoter that is pro Trike. He runs the MWEDT series here and he has helped a lot. I spent time last year just going to tracks and talking to track owners. Most are very helpful. You just have get out there and start talking to people. Also look for kart tracks that may let you run. The more you get out there the better. If you find a track, see if they will let you run some practice laps. Get a group together.

As of now we have our own series with 6 different tracks. And several will let us race whenever they are having races.

Just 3 yrs ago there were only a couple races at fairs in Kansas.

[oscarmayer]

EZ. buy a suspended 3-wheeler, rebuild motor and suspension, gusset frame, practice, practice, practice, go race...

[Tecate250]

I have a kawasaki tecate. And my off road tallents are pretty good. How many people with trikes is a good start? Around here most people only ever see a big red or lucky to see a 250r. So getting the idea out there that something cool like this can happen would bring out the 3 wheeler racers around here.

[loganm]

We have a promoter that is pro Trike. He runs the MWEDT series here and he has helped a lot. I spent time last year just going to tracks and talking to track owners. Most are very helpful. You just have get out there and start talking to people. Also look for kart tracks that may let you run. The more you get out there the better. If you find a track, see if they will let you run some practice laps. Get a group together.

As of now we have our own series with 6 different tracks. And several will let us race whenever they are having races.

Just 3 yrs ago there were only a couple races at fairs in Kansas.

So where are these fairs at?

[atc300r]

Brian Raffa is one of the main people that has got a lot of the racing in NY going.Here in NY we have Paradise Speedway,its a 1/4 mile clay oval with a tt coarse that runs part of the track and infield. They have bike,quad,trike,mini-sprint, go-kart and 4 cylinder car classes. Air-MX is a mx track in Delevan NY with a tt track aswell. They have bike and trike classes for mx and a trike class for tt no quad mx. Champion Speedway Owego NY that's an oval track with trike,quad and I think bike classes .Unadilla NY has a trike event MX .Theres another track that wants to start a trike class .I need to talk to the owner/promotor he was a three wheel racer back in the day.

[Mosh]

Brian Raffa is one of the main people that has got a lot of the racing in NY going.Here in NY we have Paradise Speedway,its a 1/4 mile clay oval with a tt coarse that runs part of the track and infield. They have bike,quad,trike,mini-sprint, go-kart and 4 cylinder car classes. Air-MX is a mx track in Delevan NY with a tt track aswell. They have bike and trike classes for mx and a trike class for tt no quad mx. Champion Speedway Owego NY that's an oval track with trike,quad and I think bike classes .Unadilla NY has a trike event MX .Theres another track that wants to start a trike class .I need to talk to the owner/promotor he was a three wheel racer back in the day.

I would like to add to this. I do realize that Raffa has done a huge amount of leg work to get things going in his area and get a great following of racers together. Having said that, I feel it is very important to point out that the modern surge of trike racing actually grew much of its support and roots in the Ohio area due to the constant outlaw tracks presence of riders Like Tim Stefanko, Derrick, Flyin Brian and a few others in The central Ohio area. This was later amplified by Tim Sr actually creating a MX class at Trikefest in which case many of the first years of TF, Tim actually had to twist peoples arms to even get a trike on a track just for fun.
Followed by regular presence by Tim sr in the years following at Ohio outlaw tracks, more local riders saw it was possible and were actually recruited or encouraged if you will, by Tim sr.
He and flyin brian were actually racing with quads in a woodsmen, open, or senior quad classes in OHIO, as there was no trike classes anywhere in the U.S. throughout the late 90s to mid 2000s..At least nothing that was getting any recognition.

Interest grew by onlookers and trike riders in Ohio, and with TimSr 20 year relationship with local track promoters he was able to gather 10 to 15 local Ohio riders on a regular basis and eventually convince a local OHIO sanctioning body called the CRA to grant trike classes and eventually a points series.

This continued and riders from surrounding states soon traveled to OHIO to be able to race and participate in what was at the time a very friendly trike racing atmosphere. This exploded into huge rider turnouts at the OHIO tracks which eventually caught the attention of Ashtabula TT and NEEDT and AMA race track owner named Bud Fischer. With Tim Sr being the primary liason between The NEEDT and the trike racing community soon there was 60 rider 4 gate race event setup on a AMA track for the first time in over 20 years. Something the AMA never supported was 3 wheeler racing up until then. Soon those riders from surrounding states used the demonstration of the Ohio trike racers and the success with Ashtabula TT and the AMA as a model to present to other state sanctioning bodies which in turn gained interest of other promoters to eventually realize the three wheeler racers were legitimate and a viable and financial addition to other racing areas in various states.

Through out that time Raffa was working hard to get stuff going in his area which Started with some success at a outlaw track called Air MX and also a small intermission race at a local ice arena during a hockey event. But Raffa actually raced at Trikefest and Ohio tracks before anything in New york was available.

That info may sting to some, but it is the way it went down as far as the modern era of trike racing is concerned and it is important that the story is kept straight and on track and credit is given where it is due. It is all well documented here on this forum. One click to the trike racers forum will show the constant internet perseverance of Tim sr posting hundreds of events and invites for years before anyone else was doing it, and you can see the growth in later posts with pics that follow the time line.

You will find if you wait to gather a army of trike racers, your success will likely be little to none. You have to just go and start doing it and hopefully others in your area will get off the couch and join you.
If that happens you will want the credit for the accomplishments to stay where it belongs as well.

Neither Tim Sr nor Raffa are allowed to be here on this forum anymore, and that is the result of the constant bickering that ensued as to who started what. It is unfortunate. TIM WAS the spark that restarted trike racing. Many wanted to overshadow or even steal that credit and it resulted in some real damage to this forum and friendships that were attached. Now much of the racing is in local subdivisions spread through facebook instead of huge events, there are smaller branches in various pockets of the states now.

[Mosh]

Yeah I did not mean any discredit or mal intent. I just wanted to give a back story to people who may have just become interested and wondered how it came to be again.

Mostly I just wanted the OP to understand that "internet I am in, or I will be there" commitments, generally will yield more "no shows" than actual particpants. the worst thing a guy can do is approach a promoter saying he will have a 10 or 20 rider gate, and only 3 show up which happens more often than others know.

[atc300r]

Sorry Mosh. I deleted the post above. You are right when you stated about people showing up. Another thing is have you and your guys( fellow trike racers) be very respectful and positive to everyone they talk to at the race track.Promotors,fans, fellow racers, even the quad guys.You want to project a positive atmosphere.

[Mosh]

No need for an apology or the post delete. I just wanted to make sure that I was not out to offend anyone.
No worries here.

And I totally agree about having a positive representation goes miles more than in fighting and bickering over class structures and such.