Revived: The Castle Rock TT

The Castle Rock TT was one of the most prestigious races in the AMA back in the heyday of flat track racing, and was part of the Triple Crown: the Peoria TT, the Castle Rock TT, and the Ascot TT. To win it was known as a legendary achievement, and some of the biggest names in the history of dirt racing competed there for eternal glory.

The Castle Rock TT is held at Castle Rock Race Park in Castle Rock, Washington. The race was first put on by the Mt. St. Helen’s Motorcycle Club back in 1965, who still continue to put on major events in the area.

The Castle Rock TT was a 30-lap endurance race. The course’s long front straight and jump were formidable, though, and being able to run perfectly at full speed for each and every lap called out to some of the best racers of their day, and earned national sanctioning from the AMA. The bikes used in the Castle Rock TT were trackers made from stripped down street bikes.

Some of the legends who competed for the Castle Rock TT title included Eddie Mulder, Gary Scott, Dick Mann, Mert Lawwill, Chris Carr, and Skip van Leeuwen.

The Castle Rock TT has unfortunately been on and off the AMA calendar since the catastrophic eruption of Mt. St. Helen in 1980, but still continues to be one of the most prestigious titles on the calendar when the race is on for that year.

However, Castle Rock Race Park is still home to some of the most popular hooligan and amateur dirt track races on the West Coast, including Dirt Quake.