It’s hard to believe that the tradition of Sturgis, and racing there, started back in 1938 on a simple weekend where friends gathered to pit their bikes against one another in a series of off-road races. Including, of course, a flat track race.
The Jackpine Gypsies is the fabled club that held that weekend event and as a result, carries a sacred place in the heart and history of Sturgis. If it wasn’t for their weekend of racing, Sturgis could very well not be the mecca for motorcyclists it is today. Almost 80 years later, not only are they still a club, they still hold races on the same historic grounds they own.
Fast forward to present day Sturgis, specifically the Buffalo Chip which is part of another unique story that involves the proprietor getting the land as payment for a debt. More on that in our complete Sturgis wrap-up though. Back to the chip, a place of it’s own accord, under the rule of one man, it’s fate held by it’s patrons is a place where rules and regulatory mumbo-jumbo, simply don’t have an inch of control. It is, the Wild West of Sturgis.
To the Super Hooligans, there couldn't be a more perfect place to hold an impromptu flat track race. In front of the stage where artists as revered as Willy Nelson have played and the venue’s some-od 50,000+ patrons.
So they did it.
Music from Audio Network
Shot by: Joseph Hitzelberger, Preston Burroughs and Nik Wogen
Edited by: Joseph Hitzelberger