If you have never been to a motocross race before, you need to go.

I traveled down to Budds Creek Saturday to see a stop on the Lucas Oil American Motorcycle Association Pro Motocross Championship and left a fan of a sport that I never had much interest in.

Sure, I’ve taken short looks at races on TV before. But there’s a big difference between watching one of these races on TV and witnessing the excitement in person, feeling the motor’s roar and sharing in the thrill that is motocross racing.

For those who are unaware, motocross is nothing like NASCAR, where the riders go in a loop for hours on end. On motocross tracks, you have to turn both left and right, and races last 30 minutes. Jumps are also laced throughout the course, increasing the chances of wrecks and giving a thrill to viewers as they see their favorite riders soar through the air.

In the weeks leading up to the event, I’d been told how the view of the course was second-to-none. My trip to Mechanicsville confirmed that. I walked around the whole track and couldn’t find a bad spot to watch the race. There were a few blind spots, but the racers were only out of sight for a few seconds before they sped around the corner into the next jump.

Track owner and race promoter Jonathan Beasley was ecstatic during the races. At the beginning of the second race of the day, the 250cc, he leaned over to me and said “I’ve been working my whole life for these 30 minutes. I’m going to enjoy it.” And enjoy it he did, along with the thousands of fans that covered the grass surrounding the track.

Racers came from all over the world, some as young as 16, and show they are world-class athletes. The temperature was in the low 90s, and driving on bikes under the hot sun is no joke. Unfortunately, I had to leave before the final race (can’t skip out on the Stevens’ Father’s Day party), but I only had to see a few races to be pulled in.

Oh yeah, and the race-day models were there in full force, making every minute of the one-and-a-half hour drive worth it.

-- Colin Stevens