Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson’s Black Dragon Breakdown Recap
Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson’s Black Dragon Breakdown Recap
Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson’s Black Dragon Breakdown changed things up for its 7th incarnation. Despite the weather turning everything upside down, the weekend became one of the most memorable in its history!
Extending from its traditional single-day format to a weekend-long celebration of motorcycles and music proved to be a recipe for success. The weekend was packed full of live music, professional builders, an amateur bike show, and hooligan flat track racing at Smoky Mountain Speedway with Mama Tried’s Flat Out Friday crew, all the way from Milwaukee.
The weekend kicked off with a full day of test and tune at the race track. Local riders competed with visiting riders from all over the area, including Harley Hooligan riders California and even Australia. Later in the evening, a free live show was presented at The Shed featuring local up and comers, Royal Johnson. Friday served as the rev up event for the entire weekend.
Saturday was set to be the main event for the flat track races. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. At about midday, huge thunderstorms rolled in and completely soaked and tore up the track. Track and safety officials had no choice but to cancel the Main Events. While fans and racers alike were certainly disappointed, the Mama Tried’s crew was not going to let the weekend end on a soggy note.
Racers and officials headed back over to Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson for a rider’s reception when the bright idea arose to try and give the gathering fans a show. Race officials headed out to the back parking lot, previously set up for drag racing and quickly began constructing a short track to compete on. The weather was cleared and the pavement dried, hay bales served as track barriers and the hooligans were itching to race! Before you knew it, heats were being run and races were being won! The hooligans put on multiple races and gave the large crowd a moment they would never forget.
After the races, live music ramped up at The Shed with rockabilly sensations The Royal Hounds and garage rock heroes Drivin’ N Cryin’. In between the bands, Jeff Holt of V-Twin Visionary recognized the pro-builders and touted the upcoming V-Twin Visionary Smoky Mountain Tour coming to the area in late August.
The rain held off until after the concerts ended and Sunday rolled around with clear weather for the open amateur bike show. Custom and Vintage motorcycles filled The Shed as the weekend came to a close with some of the coolest bikes in the region on display.
Despite things not going according to plan, The Black Dragon Breakdown became one of the most memorable events in recent history. If this is any indication of how things are going to look at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson in 2020, you need to make it a priority to get out there because there are some real memories just waiting to be made!
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