Before the first gate drops for the Monster Energy MXGP of the Americas on Sept. 2-3 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, former NASCAR driver and 1986 North Carolina AMA champion Scott Riggs completed a full-speed test run of the challenging, one-mile dirt SuperCourse on Tuesday.

Riggs, who won the pole for both NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2006, is accustomed to zooming around Charlotte's iconic 1.5-mile superspeedway in a full-bodied stock car. Twisting the throttle and barreling down on a world-class, purpose-built motocross course on which stars like Eli Tomac and Tim Gajser will compete offered a new challenge for Riggs, whose enthusiasm for dirt-bike racing knows no bounds.

Riggs had positive initial impressions of the track that will host American riders like Tomac, Justin Barcia and North Carolina native Cooper Webb.

"It was pretty gnarly at first, just because I had nothing to judge off of," Riggs said. "To think of all the great motocross racers who will get to race on this track this weekend, that's what excites me the most. This is not just American motocross; this is the United States versus the entire world coming together here at Charlotte. I don't think the people who are familiar with motocross understand that you can't afford to miss it. "

TICKETS:
Single-day tickets for the Monster Energy MXGP of the Americas start at $30 plus tax for Friday and $49 plus tax for Saturday. Call 1-800-455-FANS (3267) or shop online to buy tickets and paddock passes.

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