TROG or to spell it out, The Race of Gentlemen, was the creation of Mel Stultz and the Oilers motorcycle and car club of New Jersey. The first TROG was held in 2012 on the beach in Asbury Park, New Jersey—just days before Hurricane Sandy hit. New Jersey has a long tradition of beach racing stretching back to 1905 that includes an epic 1-mile beach race in Cape May featuring Louis Chevrolet, Henry Ford, and record holder Walter Christie. At the time, the Cape May beach was deemed the ‘finest racing beach’ in the world.

TROG has since moved from Asbury Park to Wildwood, NJ — a stone’s throw from Cape May—for its flatter, wider beaches. Sadly, in 2022, the Jersey event was cancelled apparently due to weather but according to NewJersey.com it was cancelled due to concerns over an unsanctioned pop-up car rally (nothing to do with TROG) that left two dead and two seriously injured. Weather certainly played its part.

The answer: Move to California and the tiny but cool Flabob Airport. Founded in 1925 as Riverside’s first civil airport, Flabob is the seventh oldest surviving airport in California. As such, Flabob proved an ideal location for a bunch of hot rodders to tear up the 1/8-mile asphalt with vintage airplanes and palm trees as the backdrop.