[aXe]

Originally Posted by cmakin The speedway used to be the only thing that made money at the fairgrounds. Of course the city power brokers slathered all over themselves to set up that silly CART/OWRS obstacle course.

That street race had nothing to do with the demise of the fairgrounds spdwy.
The racers did it to them selves again I think,to loud to late to dusty, Agrued for years with the home owners at the end of the back stretch of the mile. Instead of giving out a bunch of comp tickets to those familes they argued for a few years then the Families finely got the right backing and tossed the racers out! Last time for Me out there was back in the mid nineties and the fan base had just about halved from what It was when I lived out there. first went the bikes on the miles whose fan base had shrunk considerably also. then the 3/8s dirt got shut dwon. someone with a fast talking agent had the idea of an open air or enclosed ampitheatre but no funds and when it got done nothing was there to replace the race track. now ( I was there a few weeks ago, Paint ball, bicycle moto and Motorcycle moto also there is even a very small dirt arena surrounded by about 8 or 9 hundered seats not sure whyat that is used for?
aXe

[SpfldMile]

Another old track to look at is the mile at the Minnesota State Fair. There is a smaller asphalt track that is also partially gone, but if you look close, there looks like the outline of the mile. Anyone know anything about this track? Another interesting track is Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta. A couple of years ago, I could see the outline of the track real well on Google earth, but now the track is barely visible on the Virtual Earth.

[6157]

I recall CMS being very flat. Too flat. I never saw the Midget shows there but the ASA and Hooters Cup shows left a lot to be desired.

Originally Posted by DonMoore10 I also visited on virtual Earth the Santa Clara Fairgrounds, San Jose, CA where they used to have a mile track and a 1/3 or 1/2 mile inside the mile.

I seem to remember rumors the fair board had very ambitious plans of a major concert hall/amphitheater where the track was. The track was closed and the promotion company pulled out of the deal, so the land sits empty. The fair board tried for years to bring in other offers but nothing was ever signed. People tell me San Jose Speedway was a fantastic place to watch a race and it's unfortunate it's no longer around.

[cmakin]

Originally Posted by aXe That street race had nothing to do with the demise of the fairgrounds spdwy.

And I am not saying that it did. I just find it rather ironic that the powers that be tend to embrace racing of a different style. I also understand that the Santa Clara County Fair Board is a diffent entity that the folks that run the city of San Jose. What I think is sad is the fact that the last race in a city with a racing history like San Jose was a farce.

[DonMoore10]

The Lakewood Fairgrounds Speedway is interesting. I've also looked at it with Virtual Earth. The grandstand is still there and you can see somewhat where the track used to be... gosh the backstretch must have been only a few feet from that infield lake. For those that don't know, Smokey and the Bandit movie with Burt Reynolds was filmed there and that movie uses part of the grandstand and track plus part of the old fairgrounds. I think later there was a movie done there that featured the demolition of the roller coaster as part of the set.

Regarding the Minnesota Fairgrounds, it was a mile track from 1904 to 1939, then a half mile according to the book HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN SPEEDWAY by Allen Brown, a reference I highly recommend.

The Bainbridge Fairgrounds mile track, east of Cleveland, Ohio and about a mile west of the defunct Geauga Lake Park, Aurora, OH, ran champ cars and midgets ca. late 40's and a NASCAR GN event in 1950. Shortly after, it became a horse track until the grandstand burned down a few years later. Part of the track is still there along with where the grandstand used to be. The first and second turn is now a Home Depot store.

Off topic: Chippewa Lake Park, an amusement park south of Medina, OH near the interesection of I-76 and I-71 last operated ca. 1977. When it closed the owners just walked away leaving everything there including the wooden roller coaster. It's still all there including a very rare ride (only 4 made)!!! But all grown up in huge trees and brush. It's pretty spooky actually. I went there as a kid. It was recently sold for an upscale development but with the economy, I'm not sure that's going to happen. In the meantime, you can see what it's like by going to UTUBE and do a search for Chippewa Lake Park. There have been several people who have illegally entered the place and videoed the remains. Vandals burned down the ballroom in 2002.

[SpfldMile]

Don, check out Good Time Park in Goshen, NY. It is a dirt mile, but it is a triangle. The track is still visible from the air. I guess it was mostly a horse race track that had auto races occasionally. Can you imagine Silver Crown on something like that today? It is definitely unique.

[DonMoore10]

Goshen, NY.... tri oval 1936-1947 There's a pic of the grandstands in the Brown book on page 235.