Loud, fast, gritty

Thirty-nine years ago, the Costa Mesa Speedway started rumbling at the OC Fair & Event Center — and this year, the motorcycle race is celebrating its 40th anniversary, as cyclists hit the track almost every Saturday evening through October.

To register for the event, participants must be 5 or older — yes, there is a pee wee division — and licensed through the Costa Mesa Speedway Assn.

Or, as promoter Brad Oxley put it, the competition is open to “anyone who has the fortitude to throw their leg over one of these motorcycles, which is a chosen few.”

This weekend, the speedway hosted its first demolition derby in three years, pitting contestants against each other in a full-contact race to be the last one standing.

 For more photos from the event, click here.

— Michael Miller