Houston is a city rich in racing tradition. For many years, supercross raced in the Astrodome, which now sits dormant in the shadows of the modern NRG Stadium. The Astrodome was once called the eighth wonder of the world, a shining star in Texas folklore. Today coincidentally marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Astrodome, and when it was built in 1965, it was over twice the size of any dome built before it. Due to its sheer size, the Astrodome had an enormous floor and bigger track size than the typical venue. Many times the race would follow the Houston Rodeo, leaving ample amounts of dirt to build larger obstacles and signature sections. With its extra space and dirt, the track builders were able to include a special section in tribute to C.E. Altman, who brought motorcycle racing to the Astrodome in the 1960s. The special feature would often be some monstrous jump or raised berm that was always clearly distinguishable from the rest of the tracks on the schedule.

Nowadays, we race in the new-ish home to the Houston Texans, NRG Stadium. Its debut event came in 2003, and while it’s much more accommodating to spectators and corporate suites, it doesn't have the space and size of the Astrodome. The races held in NRG Stadium are much like any other modern-era race. Not that this is a bad thing, but it is different from the old days. The stadium floor is the standard football field size and the dirt quantity is the same that you will find in most other venues. It leads me to wonder which is the greater good: a bigger floor space and more dirt, leading to better and bigger tracks; or a new stadium with a better viewing experience for fans, yet the track can't quite measure up? Interesting quandary.

Looking at this year's track map, it’s one of the most complex in its layout. The start is a wide, ninety-degree left-hand turn that leads into a rhythm section. Nothing too crazy there. But, the end of that rhythm section makes a unique left-hand turn into another lane and goes under the bridge. Riders will be forced into completely different routing than will be used the rest of the race. Also, after coming back around the track, it goes in the opposite direction of what was used the first lap, so that same rhythm section will be ridden in an opposite direction each lap. I can't really remember this happening before, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Kudos for a new idea and design.

The rest of the track is fairly simplistic. The whoops look very easy on paper, but Houston doesn’t have a history of tough whoops. The over/under bridge makes another appearance (much to Steve Matthes' delight). Really, though, the track is very basic other than the uniqueness of going both ways on the same section.