Flat Out Friday

Scott Johnson and Warren Heir (co-founders of the Mama Tried show) brought flat track racing to Cleveland. Flat Out Friday is an indoor flat-track motorcycle race on a surface of dried Dr.  Pepper soda syrup, which helps the bikes to stick to the floor for maximum traction and speed. Featuring eight race classes, including Hooligan, Vintage, and Expert, this is the first arena-racing event in Cleveland since the late 60s or early 70s.

The Wolstein Center was the setting for this new adventure on July 27, 2018. The crowd was enthusiastic as the racers took to the floor. What they got was non-stop action. It was a blast for everyone involved, from the competitors to the spectators in the stands.

In the Inappropriate class, Corey Preston of northeast Ohio was racing his daily driver chopper when he went down on turn 3 and was run over by another chopper. Corey walked off the track, but he was later hospitalized with four spinal fractures.

There was great friendship shown between all the racers and crews, some of them first time racers and many others having been at it all their lives. The event was also tied in with Fuel Cleveland, making for a perfect weekend of bike entertainment. It was definitely the highpoint of my own summer events. The weekend was nicely rounded out by sitting in lawn chairs in the middle of the street drinking beer during a huge police manhunt, and meeting all the great people at Annie B’s & Earl’s Place, a Southern and soul food restaurant at 4017 Saint Clair Ave. See more photos at https://thebikerstradingpost.smugmug.com/Fuel-Cleveland/

The opening ceremonies at Flat Out Friday