You might think that extreme ice racing is a young man’s sport, but then you probably don’t know much about Charlie Venegas.
At 42, he leads the pack of professional riders in overall championship wins.
He’s the kind of racer who has come back against big odds, including snapping one of his legs in half like a wishbone.
In addition to grit, there’s wit, as Venegas parlays his experience into outsmarting other riders, routinely winning races even when he must start on the outside, hence his nickname, “The Edge.”
And if you think 42 is too old to speed around on an ice rink atop a souped-up mountain bike with a crotch rocket engine that revs at 14,000 RPMs with no brakes, then you definitely don’t know Venegas.
“Someday I want to retire, but in speedway you can go into your 50s,” said Venegas over the phone from his home in San Bernadino, Calif. “Physically, it never hurts when I’m riding.”
Speedway is slang for speedway bikes, the kind the professional riders will be using on the Xtreme International Ice Racing AMA Pro Tour that’s coming to Comcast Arena on Saturday.
The speedway bikes are lightweight and volatile, taking riders from 0 to 60 mph in under three seconds as they turn lap after lap on the tightly confined and very slick surface of an ice rink.
There are also no brakes allowed, though the tires are embedded with about 1,600 razor-sharp metal studs.
And a few more details for you motor maniacs: The 180-pound bikes’ nitromethane-fueled engines pump 90 horsepower to the back wheel, for a weight-to-power ratio that is difficult to explain scientifically but can be called, in a technical sense, wicked.
What fans will witness in two hours is up to 20 races, or heats, in which four riders speed against each other in four laps around the track. The final race pits six riders against each other in a six-lap main.
There’s also the quad division that features highly modified ATVs prepared specifically for indoor oval track ice racing. In this series, local ATV riders have a chance to capture a $1,150 prize by challenging pros on the XiiR Quad Roster and winning the main event.
On the speedway bikes, Venegas will compete against other internationally known racers from England, Scotland and Canada, including Anthony “The British Bulldog” Barlow and Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell, to earn points toward the title of 2009 XiiR/AMA National Ice Racing Champion.
Venegas wants to add that title to his racing resume, which lists him as the seven-time World Ice Racing champion, the three-time USA National champion, the two-time XiiR/AMA National champion and the 2008 California State champion.
He started in 1975 and credits racing with getting him out of the tough town of Vallejo, Calif., in one piece and making him a world traveler who has a solid career in the air-conditioning trade.
“Racing kept me out of trouble,” Venegas said. “I wasn’t in trouble, but I didn’t want to get in trouble.”
Though breaking his leg in 2000 almost meant the finish line, Venegas pulled through, motivated in part by a big purse in a Las Vegas race — which he won — but also by the adrenalin and the autograph sessions.
Though not the oldest on the circuit, Venegas credits winning among the reasons he perseveres.
“One of these day I should hang it up,” he said, “but I’ve got at least another 10 years.”
Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424; goffredo@heraldnet.com.
“Xtreme International Ice Racing”
7:30 p.m. Saturday at Comcast Arena at Everett, 2000 Hewitt Ave., Everett. Tickets range from $9 (for children) to $41. Call 866-332-8499 or go to www.comcastarenaeverett.com. Ticket prices increase $2 on the day of show.
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