2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross at MetLife Stadium. What to know.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - This Saturday, the world’s fastest two-wheeled racers are tearin' up some dirt at MetLife Stadium for the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.
Ahead of the races, FOX 5 NY's Ryan Kristafer caught up with a rider from Bayville, New Jersey – Cory Carsten. He comes from a family of racers, with his Dad still riding.
"It’s pretty cool," Carsten said. "This is my first time here racing, actually. I have been coming here since I was a kid hoping I would be one of those guys one day."
Carsten said fans will experience the thrills of high-powered racing.
"For me, it’s just about getting all the jumps down… the rhythm… trying to get my fast lap in for qualifying," Carsten said.
Operation director, Bill Heras, said 600 dump truck loads of dirt are trucked in to craft the high-flying jumps, spins and twists.
"So the dirt is stored here in a stockpile (on Metlife Stadium property)," Heras said. "It’s left in a big mound and kind of smoothed out, so it doesn’t get fully saturated with water, but it gets water throughout the year, and then we dig it out – put it in trucks, bring it out here (inside the stadium). As you can see they’re shaping the dirt, and it’s pretty tall – maybe 5 ft. … taller than your kitchen counter, right?"
Heras explains how many of the racers hit jumps at 30 mph.
"And they have a helmet on, so their field of vision is limited, and goggles – so their field of vision is even more limited, and there’s bikes right next to them riding!" Heras said.
The Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship revs up Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.