Robbie McQuary used to
race Arenacross, and now he’s trying to save it by taking it back to its glory days.

WORDS: STEVE MATTHES
PHOTOS: Jordan Post (@postatrandom)

There was a time, years ago, when a maverick promoter, flat-track legend Mike Kidd, took the crash’em, smash’em National Arenacross Series to lofty heights in terms of exposure, entertainment, and OEM support. Kidd’s little series had big names that the fans knew from supercross, like Buddy Antunez, Denny Stephenson, Jeff Willoh, “Mad” Mike Jones, and more. There was a guy from Oklahoma known as the “Flyin’ Hawaiian” named Clifford Adoptante who was popular for his FMX tricks and off-track antics. There was a “Dash for Cash” program where the fans literally passed a hat around and put money into it for the winner of a short sprint. Arenacross ran in the fall, away from the powerful AMA Supercross, in smaller cities like Des Moines, Rockford, Albany, Milwaukee, and more. And racers like Antunez, Darcy Lange and Josh Demuth could make a very good living racing dirt bikes inside hockey and basketball arenas. 
    There was also a rider further back in the pack named Robbie McQuary. He was a journeyman pro from Oklahoma and although he was on the quiet side, everyone seemed to like him. And then years after his own racing days ended, and in a real American dream-type scenario, Robbie didn’t just love Arenacross, he bought Arenacross!