What Does It Take To Design and Build A Supercross Track?

After watching your favorite Supercross racers battle it out for first, do you ever stop to wonder just what it took to build a Supercross track? The riders face many obstacles like the whoop sections (brutal washboards where riders skim along the tops of the bumps), rhythm sections (irregular series of jumps with a variety of combination options), and triple jumps (three jumps in a row that riders normally clear in a single leap of 70 feet or more). Many of the turns have banked berms, but some are flat. So what does it take to transform the stadiums into Supercross racing obstacles?

It takes roughly 500 truckloads of dirt to make up a Supercross track. Soil conditions can be hard-packed, soft, muddy, sandy, rutted, or any combination thereof. Average riders would find it impossible to even do a lap on a Supercross track, let alone race at high speeds.

Converting a professional baseball or football stadium into a 4,000-yard Monster Energy Supercross track is a delicate process that requires a collaboration effort. The track requires a minimum of four days to construct. On average, 20 crew members work on the track while nearly 500 full- or mid- sized semi-trucks drop dirt. Before any dirt can be dropped onto the stadium floor, more than 5,000 sheets of plywood or plastic product are laid down onto the stadium floor to guarantee proper preservation of the venue’s sacred turf or grass.

After 26 million pounds of dirt is dumped, track crews need to allocate 24 hours for covering and creating the track. If the weather does not cooperate, completing the task in that 24-hour timeframe can be difficult. Astonishingly, the crew never misses a beat in ensuring that the track is safe and ready for action.

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