Tracks you saw racing at but are now gone

petey · 10/26/07, 10:04 AM

A little twist of the tracks you wish you could have seen thread. It's ok to mention tracks that are just closed as well. Once again no DA tracks! THAT will return to grace as well as N. Vernon.

The one I miss the most is the original dirt track at Memphis Motorpsorts Park. Before the little 1/4 outside of turn one of the paved track went under two years ago to provide for NAPCAR parking, the original track sat where the paved track is now. It went under three different configurations between 1987-97. A 1/2 for three years, a 1/3rd or so for about 4 years and then it had it's turns widened to make a very fast 3/8th's. Was fortunate to see the WoO race on all three.

I only saw one race at Godfrey, Ill. before it went under the dozer last year. Racey place that one was.

Another track I've been to that is up for sale right now and hasn't seen any action in the last couple of years or so is Delta Bowl Speedway in Tunica, Miss. MARA and SMRS ran a co-sanctioned show there along with the All-Star's in what was called the Hooker Hood Classic in June of 2003. Then in Oct. of that year the WoO held a weekend of racing.

Bruce Harrison · 10/26/07, 10:56 AM

Little Springfield
Louisville Motor Speedway (the oval, not the weird triangular, 1-lane track)
16th Street (the newer version)
St. Charles Speedway on the far west side of St. Louis
Tri-County/Queen City

Mud Packer · 10/26/07, 11:32 AM

When I lived in Illinois I attended what was once known as 67 Raceway Park in Godfrey. It was once a pretty decent race track but toward the end it was closer to the outhouse.

I attended a few races at the Louisville Speedway. It was a real unusual place with a D shaped configuration. Going into turn 1 you went up hill and going into the final turn you went downhill. Strange in that if you asked anyone how many turns there were, you would get a number of answers.

When I was a very small child I went to Lake Hill Speedway in Valley Park, MO. I wonder what ever happened to that place?

Also attended a race at a track just outside of Centralia, IL. Can't remember the name of the place but it wasn't in business very long.

One that I hated to see close was the Queen City Speedway just outside of Cincinnati. ASA used to open their season there and it was a great facility. They turned the place into a truck driving school the last time I heard anything.

Seadog · 10/26/07, 11:58 AM

New Bremen
Dayton Speedway
Cincinnati Race Bowl
Glen Este Speedway
Tri-County/Queen City Speedway
Santa Fe Speedway (Chicago)
Louisville Speedway before they ruined it
16th Street (both old and newer editions)
Lawrenceburg 1/2 mile

Brolzy · 10/26/07, 12:20 PM

Pinebrook Speedway in NJ (3/4 midgets and microstocks). I actually raced an R/C car there once, too. Way too big for that.

Silver Spring Speedway in Mechanicsburg, PA. It is so sad that this track is gone. The Sportsman 100 was the bomb. PA Sprintweek shows there were incredible for wanged racing.

16th Street Speedway. Man, when I moved out here and was writing for Hoseheads, I actually had people telling me (of a people) to inquire about the promoters job. That's what a joke then end was there. It's so sad, it could have been so much more.

Nazareth Speedway, PA (1/2 Mile). I remember my uncle launching one of their "recap" track tires in the stands leading with 2 to go in a 100 lapper there in the early '80s. He wasn't happy.

Nazareth National, PA (Mile dirt). I was there when it re-opened in the early 80's. My favorite show was with the modifieds, NDRA late models, and the USAC Silver Crown cars (my first show with them).

Pennsylvania Internation Raceway, Nazareth, PA. This was alwys our team's "homecoming" with the family's NASCAR Busch Series car. I also saw the DIRT mods there on the pavement, a pretty good show.

Mock-A-Tec, Northeast PA. This place was right on the lake, and was backwoods kind of track. Tiny 1/4 mile with the backstretch lower than the frontstretch.

Those are the ones I remember...that was a fun little trip down memory lane.

Dick Monahan · 10/26/07, 2:56 PM

Here's my list, which includes the size & type of track (D=dirt,
P=paved), the typof car I saw and, in some cases, why I was there.
(A) = Announcer, (C) = Crew, (R) = Reporter for the old CompuServe
MotorSports Service.

There may be some of these that are still running under different names. OTOH, there are undoubtedly others where I've been, that I don't know are gone.

Note that a few of the dirt tracks have been paved.

California
Fremont (Baylands) 3/8 D Sprint
Gardena (Ascot) 1/2 D Sprint
San Jose Fairground 1/4 D Sprint
San Jose Fairground 1/3 D Sprint (R)
Connecticut
Danbury 1/3 P Midget
Stafford Springs 1/2 D Mod (C)
Thompson 5/8 P Midget (C,A)
Waterford 1/3 P Midget (C,A)
Florida
Auburndale 1/4 P Midget (A)
Hialeah 1/4 P Midget (A)
Hollywood 1/4 P SM
Jacksonville 1/2 D Sprint
Tampa (Fgnd) 1/2 D Dirt, Sprint (R)
Tampa (GldnGate) 1/3 P SM
Tampa (Plant Field) 1/2 D Sprint
West Palm Beach 1/2 P SM
Illinois
Hinsdale (Santa Fe) 3/8 D Sprint
Springfield (Little) 1/4 D Midget
Massachusetts
Agawam (Rvrsd Pk) 1/4 P Midget (C)
Dracut 1/4 P Midget
Groveland (Pines) 1/4 P Midget
Lakeville 1/2 D Midget (A), Sprint
Millers Falls 1/4 D Mod (C)
Norwood 1/4 P Midget
Westboro 1/4 P Midget (C,A)
West Peabody 1/4 P Midget
New
Brookline 1/4 P Midget
Claremont 1/4 D Mod (C)
Keene (Cheshire Fgnd) 1/3 D Mod (C)
Lee County 1/3 P Midget (A)
Loudon (Bryar Park) 1/3 P SM
New
Flemington 1/2 D Midget (C)
Teaneck (Armory) 1/9 P TQ
Trenton (Fgnd) 1 P Champ
Ohio
Cleveland (Cloverleaf) 1/4 P Midget (C)
New Bremen 1/2 D Sprint (C)
S. Amherst (Lorain) 1/2 D Midget (C)
Pennsylvania
Hatfield 1/3 D Midget
Langhorne 1 D Champ
Long Pond (Pocono) 3/4 P Midget (O)
Nazareth 1 D Dirt
Nazareth 1 P Dirt
Reading (Fgnd) 1/2 D Sprint (C)
Silver Springs 1/2 D Sprint
Vermont
Essex Junction 1/2 D Midget (C)
Milton (Catamount) 1/3 P Midget (C)

Al Soran · 10/26/07, 3:23 PM

My Dad took me to see my first races in Marion, IL around 1970-71where we saw a guy named Chuck Amati wheeling the Bruce Cogle Ford #44. Been hooked since.

Pat O'Connor Fan · 10/26/07, 3:49 PM

There have been too many, but a few that I really wish to have seen more races before "progress" took them:
Topping my list, of course, is "Little" Springfield :crying:, which many of us have really missed since Joe passed away.
Lincoln, IL (there was a racy little 1/5 or 1/4 dirt track about a block east of US66 and just north of the fairgrounds -- I saw Jerry Blundy, Larry Cannon, Chuck Lynch, Chuck Weyant, Wib Spalding, etc. run there)
Ascot
Sante Fe Park, both the "1/2" and the "1/4"
Mazon Speed Bowl
New Bremen
Dayton

SpfldMile · 10/26/07, 3:49 PM

My dad introduced me to racing at Little Springfield.(we called it Shaheen's) I haven't been to near as many tracks as most of you guys, but enough to know that little place was cool. I've seen races at Godfrey that is now gone. I guess I can also add the 1/2 mile at Granite City.

Danny Burton · 10/26/07, 3:55 PM

2 tracks here, one on 25th St., now a mall. The other just southeast of town. The pet cemetary is near there now.

3 tracks in Louisville, the old Fairgrounds Motor Speedway and the newer track(s) south of town mentioned by Bruce.

Dayton Speedway, Tri-County (West Chester, OH) both the dirt and paved version, both 16th St. Speedways the old and the new, Smoky Mountain Raceway near Cherokee NC....does the old Kokomo track count? For that matter, does the old version of the Atlanta Motor Speedway count?

10/26/07, 10:56 AM	#2 Re: Tracks you saw racing at but are now gone
Bruce Harrison Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 290	Little Springfield Louisville Motor Speedway (the oval, not the weird triangular, 1-lane track) 16th Street (the newer version) St. Charles Speedway on the far west side of St. Louis Tri-County/Queen City _________________________________________________ Last edited by Bruce Harrison; 6/9/09 at 11:45 AM. Reason: added some more tracks

10/26/07, 3:55 PM	#10 Re: Tracks you saw racing at but are now gone
Danny Burton Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2,338	2 tracks here, one on 25th St., now a mall. The other just southeast of town. The pet cemetary is near there now. 3 tracks in Louisville, the old Fairgrounds Motor Speedway and the newer track(s) south of town mentioned by Bruce. Dayton Speedway, Tri-County (West Chester, OH) both the dirt and paved version, both 16th St. Speedways the old and the new, Smoky Mountain Raceway near Cherokee NC....does the old Kokomo track count? For that matter, does the old version of the Atlanta Motor Speedway count? __________________ http://www.hoseheads.com/dannyb.html Quiet, numbskulls. I'm broadcasting.

10/26/07, 10:04 AM	#1 Tracks you saw racing at but are now gone
petey Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 925	A little twist of the tracks you wish you could have seen thread. It's ok to mention tracks that are just closed as well. Once again no DA tracks! THAT will return to grace as well as N. Vernon. The one I miss the most is the original dirt track at Memphis Motorpsorts Park. Before the little 1/4 outside of turn one of the paved track went under two years ago to provide for NAPCAR parking, the original track sat where the paved track is now. It went under three different configurations between 1987-97. A 1/2 for three years, a 1/3rd or so for about 4 years and then it had it's turns widened to make a very fast 3/8th's. Was fortunate to see the WoO race on all three. I only saw one race at Godfrey, Ill. before it went under the dozer last year. Racey place that one was. Another track I've been to that is up for sale right now and hasn't seen any action in the last couple of years or so is Delta Bowl Speedway in Tunica, Miss. MARA and SMRS ran a co-sanctioned show there along with the All-Star's in what was called the Hooker Hood Classic in June of 2003. Then in Oct. of that year the WoO held a weekend of racing.

10/26/07, 11:32 AM	#3 Re: Tracks you saw racing at but are now gone
Mud Packer Senior Member Race Count Last Year: 59 Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 5,093	When I lived in Illinois I attended what was once known as 67 Raceway Park in Godfrey. It was once a pretty decent race track but toward the end it was closer to the outhouse. I attended a few races at the Louisville Speedway. It was a real unusual place with a D shaped configuration. Going into turn 1 you went up hill and going into the final turn you went downhill. Strange in that if you asked anyone how many turns there were, you would get a number of answers. When I was a very small child I went to Lake Hill Speedway in Valley Park, MO. I wonder what ever happened to that place? Also attended a race at a track just outside of Centralia, IL. Can't remember the name of the place but it wasn't in business very long. One that I hated to see close was the Queen City Speedway just outside of Cincinnati. ASA used to open their season there and it was a great facility. They turned the place into a truck driving school the last time I heard anything.

10/26/07, 11:58 AM	#4 Re: Tracks you saw racing at but are now gone
Seadog Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2,136	New Bremen Dayton Speedway Cincinnati Race Bowl Glen Este Speedway Tri-County/Queen City Speedway Santa Fe Speedway (Chicago) Louisville Speedway before they ruined it 16th Street (both old and newer editions) Lawrenceburg 1/2 mile

10/26/07, 12:20 PM	#5 Re: Tracks you saw racing at but are now gone
Brolzy Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 143	Pinebrook Speedway in NJ (3/4 midgets and microstocks). I actually raced an R/C car there once, too. Way too big for that. Silver Spring Speedway in Mechanicsburg, PA. It is so sad that this track is gone. The Sportsman 100 was the bomb. PA Sprintweek shows there were incredible for wanged racing. 16th Street Speedway. Man, when I moved out here and was writing for Hoseheads, I actually had people telling me (of a people) to inquire about the promoters job. That's what a joke then end was there. It's so sad, it could have been so much more. Nazareth Speedway, PA (1/2 Mile). I remember my uncle launching one of their "recap" track tires in the stands leading with 2 to go in a 100 lapper there in the early '80s. He wasn't happy. Nazareth National, PA (Mile dirt). I was there when it re-opened in the early 80's. My favorite show was with the modifieds, NDRA late models, and the USAC Silver Crown cars (my first show with them). Pennsylvania Internation Raceway, Nazareth, PA. This was alwys our team's "homecoming" with the family's NASCAR Busch Series car. I also saw the DIRT mods there on the pavement, a pretty good show. Mock-A-Tec, Northeast PA. This place was right on the lake, and was backwoods kind of track. Tiny 1/4 mile with the backstretch lower than the frontstretch. Those are the ones I remember...that was a fun little trip down memory lane.

10/26/07, 2:56 PM	#6 Re: Tracks you saw racing at but are now gone
Dick Monahan Senior Member Race Count Last Year: 26 Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,139	Here's my list, which includes the size & type of track (D=dirt, P=paved), the typof car I saw and, in some cases, why I was there. (A) = Announcer, (C) = Crew, (R) = Reporter for the old CompuServe MotorSports Service. There may be some of these that are still running under different names. OTOH, there are undoubtedly others where I've been, that I don't know are gone. Note that a few of the dirt tracks have been paved. California Fremont (Baylands) 3/8 D Sprint Gardena (Ascot) 1/2 D Sprint San Jose Fairground 1/4 D Sprint San Jose Fairground 1/3 D Sprint (R) Connecticut Danbury 1/3 P Midget Stafford Springs 1/2 D Mod (C) Thompson 5/8 P Midget (C,A) Waterford 1/3 P Midget (C,A) Florida Auburndale 1/4 P Midget (A) Hialeah 1/4 P Midget (A) Hollywood 1/4 P SM Jacksonville 1/2 D Sprint Tampa (Fgnd) 1/2 D Dirt, Sprint (R) Tampa (GldnGate) 1/3 P SM Tampa (Plant Field) 1/2 D Sprint West Palm Beach 1/2 P SM Illinois Hinsdale (Santa Fe) 3/8 D Sprint Springfield (Little) 1/4 D Midget Massachusetts Agawam (Rvrsd Pk) 1/4 P Midget (C) Dracut 1/4 P Midget Groveland (Pines) 1/4 P Midget Lakeville 1/2 D Midget (A), Sprint Millers Falls 1/4 D Mod (C) Norwood 1/4 P Midget Westboro 1/4 P Midget (C,A) West Peabody 1/4 P Midget New Brookline 1/4 P Midget Claremont 1/4 D Mod (C) Keene (Cheshire Fgnd) 1/3 D Mod (C) Lee County 1/3 P Midget (A) Loudon (Bryar Park) 1/3 P SM New Flemington 1/2 D Midget (C) Teaneck (Armory) 1/9 P TQ Trenton (Fgnd) 1 P Champ Ohio Cleveland (Cloverleaf) 1/4 P Midget (C) New Bremen 1/2 D Sprint (C) S. Amherst (Lorain) 1/2 D Midget (C) Pennsylvania Hatfield 1/3 D Midget Langhorne 1 D Champ Long Pond (Pocono) 3/4 P Midget (O) Nazareth 1 D Dirt Nazareth 1 P Dirt Reading (Fgnd) 1/2 D Sprint (C) Silver Springs 1/2 D Sprint Vermont Essex Junction 1/2 D Midget (C) Milton (Catamount) 1/3 P Midget (C)

10/26/07, 3:23 PM	#7 Re: Tracks you saw racing at but are now gone
Al Soran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 172	My Dad took me to see my first races in Marion, IL around 1970-71where we saw a guy named Chuck Amati wheeling the Bruce Cogle Ford #44. Been hooked since.

10/26/07, 3:49 PM	#8 Re: Tracks you saw racing at but are now gone
Pat O'Connor Fan Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 8,029	There have been too many, but a few that I really wish to have seen more races before "progress" took them: Topping my list, of course, is "Little" Springfield :crying:, which many of us have really missed since Joe passed away. Lincoln, IL (there was a racy little 1/5 or 1/4 dirt track about a block east of US66 and just north of the fairgrounds -- I saw Jerry Blundy, Larry Cannon, Chuck Lynch, Chuck Weyant, Wib Spalding, etc. run there) Ascot Sante Fe Park, both the "1/2" and the "1/4" Mazon Speed Bowl New Bremen Dayton

10/26/07, 3:49 PM	#9 Re: Tracks you saw racing at but are now gone
SpfldMile Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 1,345	My dad introduced me to racing at Little Springfield.(we called it Shaheen's) I haven't been to near as many tracks as most of you guys, but enough to know that little place was cool. I've seen races at Godfrey that is now gone. I guess I can also add the 1/2 mile at Granite City.