A central Iowan is among the pro motorcyclists competing in this weekend’s Arenacross, which is drawing some of the fastest racers in the country. Twenty-three-year-old Teddy Maier of Fort Dodge says if you’ve never been to an Arenacross race before, prepare for the roaring engines and a lot of high-flying fun.
Maier says it’s a motorcross track in the space of a hockey arena so it’s really tight and there’s a lot of "banging bars" and crashes, but it’s a "blast" for the riders and the spectators. It’s not just an oval track — there’s also a washboard-like "rhythm section" and a straight-a-way with a 60-foot "catapult" jump. Maier’s been racing since he was five-years-old and says it’s an exhilarating sport.
"They had some races at the fairgrounds when I was little and I started out racing B-M-X, escalated from that," he says, "and I’ve been in love with it ever since." Maier says he can’t imagine what he’d be doing if he wasn’t involved in racing motorcycles. He also enjoys running heavy equipment to build tracks.
The Arenacross event is underway at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines today through Sunday. For details, visit "www.iowaeventscenter.com".