Originally Posted by nathans1012:
If i remember correctly ISC doesn't own the dragstrip or the dirt track. The Dragstip & dirt track were built around 1998 and the NASCAR track came a few years later in 2001. I was at the 1st dirt late model race there.
I was at the first one, too (was at the first dirt open wheel race there, as well). A friend and neighbor was racing a DLM at that time. The dirt track was considerably longer than it is now and the dirt contained a lot of gravel. IIRC there were some people in the stands who got hit kinda' nastily with rocks. The lower rows of the bleachers were empty and you could hear the gravel hitting the aluminum bleachers.
Silver Crown Championship Dirt Cars properly driven on a one mile dirt track are classic poetry in motion. Using that analogy, Jack Hewitt is one of the greatest poets of all time.
Originally Posted by ISF:
I was at the first one, too (was at the first dirt open wheel race there, as well). A friend and neighbor was racing a DLM at that time. The dirt track was considerably longer than it is now and the dirt contained a lot of gravel. IIRC there were some people in the stands who got hit kinda' nastily with rocks. The lower rows of the were empty and you could hear the gravel hitting the aluminum bleachers.
Yep. Felt like getting hit and peged by pea gravel. The old track made the dirt track at Charlotte and Texas look small and their both 4/10s miles.
2024 Season: Race 1 - April 20th Brownstown (Crate LM). Unlike many I don't discriminate on what racing I choose to watch.
Originally Posted by ISF:
Dirt Oval Route 66 is a one of the nicest racing facilities of any kind we've ever attended. It's less than an hour drive for us. We've supported all the racing held there and have had both good experiences and some not so good. From the outside looking in it's impossible for us to determine why the place seems never to really catch on. As mere spectators we've gotten burned a couple of times (see USAC National Midgets/All Star winged sprint cars a few years ago) but we will still support the place since it's an obvious asset to local racing.
It's perplexing how demo derby's and monster trucks will nearly sell the place out but racing can't seem to be sustained.
Brent, I could very well be wrong but I think he was involved with the deal that turned what was the horse track I believe was Sportsman’s Park into a race track.
Ganassi was the guy behind Sportsmans Park. The catch fence ended up at Kokomo, Montpelier, Springfield mile, and Fairbury. Pretty sure it was Dale Coyne. IMS was very active in getting the big track built.
