BAGGER RACING LEAGUE RETURNS…Crazier Than Ever!

Bagger Racing League – North America’s premier race series for custom and performance Harleys and Indians — announced that its 2023 season-opener in May was “Drag Specialties Battle of the Baggers Pittsburgh was the largest attended race in BRL’s history,” noted the series’’ new biz development director Lon Nordbye. “Mr. Buydos knocked it out of the park in Pittsburgh this past weekend,” exclaimed the V-Twin industry veteran. But we had no doubt the baggers would blow up racing (see sidebar).

The race, held at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex, featured the best-built Bagger race bikes in the world piloted by competitors from Australia, Canada, and across the United States. “We’re excited to see the culture, competition, and community of the Bagger Racing League growing at such a rapid rate,” said “Rocket” Rob Buydos — creator of Bagger racing and president of the BRL “Heading into our third season, Bagger racing isn’t so much of a novelty sport anymore.”

Shedding light on his vision, Buydos explained: “Our goal is to always improve the scale and quality of our race events and provide everyone with an unforgettable experience.” Mission accomplished. “Judging by the line of vehicles and motorcycles waiting to get into this weekend’s race, we appear to be on the right track.”

The two-day motorcycle race/festival featured exciting fan experiences, both on and off the track. In addition to the non-stop racing action, Drag Specialties Battle of the Baggers Pittsburgh featured a successful kick-off party hosted at the presenting sponsor’s dealership: New Castle Harley-Davidson. There were also “Boonie” minibike races hosted by ICON Motosports and a double-feature bike show presented by Pittsburgh natives Cycle Source Magazine and Hardcore Cycles. The event amazed the audience by showcasing the area’s best-customized motorcycles.

But the on-track antics were what the crowd came for… and the race weekend did not disappoint. Pittsburgh provided equal doses of drama and excitement as the nation’s top Bagger teams including Trask Performance, Alloy Art, Feuling Parts, Suburban Harley-Davidson, and Lloydz Performance battled it out at one of the nation’s most challenging road courses.

The next stop on Bagger Racing League’s 2023 schedule is Drag Specialties Battle of the Baggers Blackhawk, taking place July 15-16 at Blackhawk Farms Raceway in South Beloit, IL. For more information, log onto BRL’s new website: www.baggerracingleague.com.

SIDEBAR: TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?

Not since Mickey Thompson sketched out the concept for Supercross on a cocktail napkin has the racing world received such a shot in the arm… and at a time when a COVID-sickened industry needed it the most, impresario Rob Buydos launched the Bagger Racing League. When Dealernews “covered” it in the November 2020 issue, we noted it was a good thing and quoted the Nielsen numbers: “Proof of concept came when the one-off “demonstration” at Laguna Seca broke the Internet! According to MotoAmerica data, the King of The Baggers was their best-attended event of the season, even if it was virtually rather than in person:

• More than 225,000 linear TV viewers (Nielsen P2+) a 1.4x increase over round 9 in 2019.
• More than 1.3M digital views thus far a 6x increase over round 9 in 2019.
• More than 133M Facebook impressions and over 83M Instagram impressions Y-T-D.

At the time, he hinted more was to come, but cautioned that it would require a creative approach to transforming a one-off demonstration into a full race series… Apparently, MotoAmerica didn’t agree and announced a five-round series held in conjunction with the 2021 MotoAmerica HONOS Superbike Series. Talk about a backhanded compliment!

Still following his measured growth plan, Buydos was forced to watch his baby blow up. But with support from Drag Specialties and a wide array of leading aftermarket companies, Buydos eventually rolled out the Bagger Racing League at Chuckwalla the following season and shared some of the things he believes are necessary to make this more than just a sideshow to MotoAmerica. Classes for Super Hooligans and Stunters and even an official artist in residence are just a few of the differentiators.

“Half the people I talked to said that it was insane, the other half said it was crazy,” quips Buydos. “Seriously even after we gained traction and saw this thing was going to happen, there were plenty of purists in the paddock hoping the Harleys would oil down the track and blow up in clouds of fiberglass saddlebags!” Again, with friends like these, who needs enemies?

“Running Baggers at Laguna Seca? Yeah, that is brilliant,” he says deprecatingly. “Almost as smart as going to my friends in the middle of a pandemic and asking them to pony up $100,000 to build a bike that was going to be raced in front of zero spectators! How smart is that?” Think of Pittsburgh as “proof of concept.”