Flat Out Friday 2023 Race Report

What’s it like racing on concrete covered in Dr Pepper syrup? Ask Andy Pickett, five (possibly six)-time Flat Out Friday competitor.

“It’s predictable but sometimes not. Your front end washes out, sometimes it’s the rear. Confidence gets you around the track. But if not, people love crashes.”

Beginning in 2014 in Milwaukee’s now-demolished Bradley Center, Flat Out Friday has been lightly endangering life and limb ever since, minus a year or two during COVID. Whether it’s the two-stroke fumes or beer, it’s an intoxicating spectacle.

AA-Pro, Open Amateur, and Women’s Amateur classes are serious stuff, but other classes exist to cause lighthearted mayhem and positive anarchy. The Goofball class mandates a customized bike and costume, while the Boonie class features only pull-start entrants.

Best of all, there’s a Peewee class for 4- to 8-year-olds and a 65/85 class for 7- to 11-year-olds on 65cc bikes, with 9- to 15-year-olds on 85cc bikes. Is there anything better than watching little kids learning to race? Likely not.

It’s a healthy way to cope with Midwestern winters. Fight crazy with crazy, they say. And before checking out Mama Tried’s shiny, very stationary motorcycles, it’s fun to watch moving ones.