TULSA, Okla. — Thanksgiving traditions typically include family get-togethers, turkey dinners, or watching football. They don't normally involve watching and racing BMX, but that was the case for 3,500 racers in Tulsa this holiday weekend.
The Race of Champions and the Grand Nationals of BMX Racing are happening at Expo Square for four days (Nov. 28 to Dec. 1), spurring racers to secure the sweet -- and savory -- taste of victory.
“The Thanksgiving tradition's gone back to the seventies and eighties,” said Justin Wahl, an official with the Tulsa-based organization USA BMX.
“We just like to keep traditions alive here in BMX, and we're just happy to spend it with our family,” he added.
When it comes to Thanksgiving and economics, many people might think of the day after Turkey Day, Black Friday. However, about 14,000 people are expected to fill the SAGENET Center each day to watch the racing, which means lots of customers for area businesses.
“We have hotels across the board, we have local restaurants -- you know -- thanking us for coming in and bringing these people to their places of business here in Tulsa,” said Wahl.
“So, it's probably about $2 million in revenue on any given day here in Tulsa for this event,” he added.
He also mentioned visitors breathing life into downtown, saying businesses there otherwise might have been closed or reduced their hours on Thanksgiving due to local families staying home or traveling elsewhere.
“It's fun, just like the whole city, just like riding,” said Vicario. “We ride around sometimes we go to like the Gathering Place and mess around out there.”
He has spent Thanksgiving at the tournament for six or seven years now.
The 15-year-old racer told 2 News he and his whole team “have Thanksgiving dinner up there at the pit [at SAGENET]. So, it's fun, just all of us hanging out, eating, and just being together.”
Like a typical Thanksgiving – theirs also reunites friendly faces.
“There's nationals throughout the whole year,” said Vicario. “There's a whole bunch of people that are familiar, friends from all over.”
The competition also unites people from all across the country -- and the world.
“It's a nice place,” Gonzalo Molina said about Tulsa. But “it's so cold” this time of year, he added.
That’s because right now it’s summertime back home in the southern hemisphere for this racer.
“We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Argentina,” he told 2 News. “But I know here it’s a big, big day. So, yeah, we try to celebrate [it while] here.”
Mario Brattoli from Pequannock, NJ, has raced with Vicario for a few years now in Tulsa.
When asked if he would do Thanksgiving any other any other way, Brattoli replied, “Nope. It's the only way to do it.”
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