The Stampede flat track races were a fantastic addition to the Born Free Show this year. Held Thursday night before the biggest chopper show in the country, the Costa Mesa Speedway opened it’s gates for kooks of all sorts to come test their skills on the tight, short, impeccably-groomed track. Mini-bikes, choppers, hooligans, vintage singles and twins, tank-shifters and actual fast guys all had a chance to bang bars and put on a show for an enthusiastic crowd. It was especially fun to see Steve Caballero hand-jamming his 45” and Roland Sands hanging it out totally slideways on his Indian Scout. The Rusty Butcher crew was out in full-force and they rode every heat like they were on fire. Our buddy Chris Moeller killed our class on his perfect Husky that he lowered the night before. This track is tighter than most because it’s generally used for Speedway racing, but that just made it more interesting for the competitors. Brad and Jaleen Oaxley handled the organization of the racing and it was the tightest program I’ve ever been a part of. There was hardly a break in between heats, everything was on time and it was easy to know where you needed to be and when. It was easy to see that these guys are pros who are used to running a tight ship and it made it way less stressful on us goons. This was also the big reveal for the Born Free Invited Builders so it was the first time everyone got to see the bikes that would be showcased all weekend at Born Free. At least one of these show bikes got raced in the chopper class, and that was our buddy Andy from Pangea Speed. The bike was sparking clean on Saturday morning but it left the track on Thursday night just as abused looking as all the race bikes. Nice work, Andy! Big thanks to the Born Free guys for adding this event to the mix, it was a real highlight for us even if Otto and I did basically race each other for last place! Thanks to Rich and Marissa and the rest of the crew at Beer Breed racing for running our junk and just being fun to hang out with. -Bill