In the United States, most speedway activity is in California, where the sport has a large following and draws thousands of fans. Internationally, speedway is one of the most popular forms of motorsport racing. Not to be left out of the mix New York and other places on the east coast have their own colony of riders with several different racing facilities that run races from spring through fall on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule, with championship class racing at or near the end of the season. Most speedway tracks here in America are a quarter of a mile and smaller, although there are a few that are larger, European speedway tracks lean towards the longer lengths. A typical race here in the states consists of four riders racing four laps from a standing start. Qualifying for the main event is determined through heat races which reward high placing finishers with a berth in the main.
Many races start and finish in under sixty seconds, and an exciting sixty seconds it can be.