By Scott Roblin

Medicine Hat’s Toth gearing up for World Finals in California

Sep 17, 2017 | 6:31 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – When Riley Toth crossed the finish line in Woodburn, Oregon earlier this month, he booked his place among the best motorcycle racers on the planet.

The Medicine Hat native finished in first place at NHRA divisional qualifiers on September 2, securing a spot at the World Finals in Ponoma, California in November.

Toth said it was an experience that he won’t soon forget.

“It was amazing, it was probably one of the best days of my life when I crossed the finish line there in the final in Woodburn. It’s just crazy that we get to go there and compete for a world championship in November.”

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Toth finished with a time of 8.833 seconds in the bracket-style competition, beating his opponent by four-tenths of a second.

Joining Toth in Oregon were his parents and brother Zach, who watched the young racer qualify for his first World Finals.

Riley’s father Dave, who is also president of the Medicine Hat Drag Racing Association, said it’s been a long time coming for the family.

“I’ve runner-ed up once, Zach runner-ed up last year to it and this year Riley sealed the deal, so it’s pretty emotional,” said Dave. “We had the whole team there and the team was in the stands going nuts, it was pretty exciting.”

“Family was there right away, our whole Medicine Hat team was down there, and there was a lot of emotions there,” said Riley. “It hasn’t really kicked in yet, it probably won’t until we leave for the trip.”

Locally, Riley has been at the top of the superbike and pro bike leader boards for much of the season, neck-and-neck with Zach.

On Sunday, Riley claimed first place in the ‘King of the Track’ competition, beating out competitors in a number of different classes.

While the season hasn’t been 100% smooth, Riley said his Kawasaki K2 1000 series bike has been more than consistent.

“The bike’s been doing its job,” he said. “I’ve been hit and miss sometimes, but when I’m not there the bike’s always dead on.”

Spending time at the drag strip has been a weekly tradition for the Toth family, something that Dave said he holds close to his heart.

“Not too many families get to do a family sport like this and do what they love to do, right?” said Dave. “It’s fantastic, we have an awesome facility at our back door seven minutes from our house, you can’t get any better than that.”

“I’m super lucky to be born into this, it’s so awesome,” said Riley. “It brings our family so much closer too, and being together every weekend at the race track.”

The Toth’s head to California in less than two months time, with the World Finals running between November 9 and 12.

Meanwhile at the local drag strip, the final races of the season will be held between September 29 and October 1.