“Rad” Brad Oxley, a champion Speedway Motorcycle racer and promoter, has entered Wednesday night’s (Aug. 27) event at the speedway, in The Grand arena on the Industry Hills Expo Center grounds.

“I’ve got a rider on our program that nobody has gotten in a long time,” promoter Jeffrey Immediato said. “This will be one of those special nights for the sport and the Speedway world knows it.”

It will be the first race for Oxley, 48, since 2002. That’s when the San Juan Capistrano resident retired as a rider to concentrate on promoting events at Costa Mesa Speedway, the track on the Orange County Fair site where his father, Harry, introduced Speedway Motorcycle racing in June, 1968.

Oxley, whose riding career spanned 26 years, is a two-time U.S. national champion and six-time Costa Mesa track champion. This will be his first appearance at The Grand, where he will compete against old rivals like Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell and Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz and rising young stars like Ricky Wells, the 17-year-old from Yorba Linda who has won the past four main events and five of the past six.

The return of Oxley is a “must see” event, but it’s not the only attraction. There’s also the “Battle of the Ages,” a match race between 76-year-old Division 3 rider Hugh Randolph of Costa mesa and 9-year-old Nicky Reimer of Seal Beach, who races in the PeeWee and Youth divisions.

Those two may not provide an answer to the question of whether age and experience can beat youth and enthusiasm, but their head-to-head battle on the 150-yard dirt oval should be fun to watch.

Entrance gates at The Grand open at 5:30 p.m. and racing gets under way at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors, students and military, and $5 for children 6-13.