Pomona! The “circuit” at the Fairplex required more than a little imagination, since large sections of the course were nothing more than open parking lot, with orange cones loosely suggesting where the riders were supposed to go. It was a track only Southern California could produce—half spectacle, half experiment, and somehow still an official AMA Superbike round.

The infamous event lasted three years, starting in 1994, and it did draw crowds. Southern California racing fans showed up in good numbers, with the promoter claiming over 39,000 attendees for the 1996 race. For a venue stitched together out of asphalt and cones, it was surprisingly well received.

The track kept spectators on their toes, too. In places, the only thing separating them from a crashing bike was a thin line of haybales and a chain-link fence. More than a few people watching the races that weekend found themselves sprinting for safety after bikes plowed through the bleachers. Riders joked that it felt like racing through a shopping mall parking lot after hours, and even some of the factory stars quietly admitted the layout was sketchy at best. Yet, in true Southern California style, eventually everyone went along with it—half out of curiosity, half because it was simply the scene to be at.

Now it can be known that Pomona was the beginning of the end of the Fred Merkel and Rob Muzzy relationship ... but that's another story ...