Lawrenceburg Speedway........
Lawrenceburg Speedway........
Old Kankakee before the O’Connor’s re did it
Looks like every track I have been to is now closed...lol
Bardstown KY
Kamp Speedway In
Atomic Tn
Kentucky Lake
Cleveland Tn
Garnertown Tn
Green Valley Al
BIR Birmingham
Childersburg Al
Central Alabama (Clanton)
Milam Speedway Tn.. The night Bloomers hauled burned.
Hanceville Al
Bull Ring, Columbus Ms. They only have 1 or 2 races a year.
Soon to be East Bay
Atomic in Lenoir City for sure. That place was one of my favorite places to race.
Cleveland, TN if for no other reason the history, but also a pretty cool track
Green Valley in Alabama, only got to go a couple of times but that place was a blast
This post got me reminiscing....
Amen. The new one sucks.Quote:
Originally Posted by JabberJaws83
Hales Corners... not so much for the track but the racers and fans. Ran my first race there in a '59 Chrysler (I won!). Sad to say I hauled precast wall panels to the site of the old track where a Menard's store was built. The old oak tree around which we did after race parties for so many years is still standing. Some guys stop by and pee on her once in awhile for old times sake.
Chilton Fairgrounds... tiny 1/5 mile banked with the stickiest Calumet county clay you could even find. I ran my rebuilt Galaxie late model there (now a Torino) in 1981. Instant love affair. Came back in 1988 to promote the joint (and lose $40,000 in the process).
Cedarburg Raceway @ Fireman's Park Cedarbug, WI... closed in 1979 it was one of our midweek tracks during our five nights per week schedule. Right in the little village of Cedarburg it had a classic wooden grandstand and the coolest atmosphere around. Had to drive thru the Milwaukee ghetto to get there before the freeway's were built.
Beaver Dam 1/4 mile. Our Tuesday night track. Sticky clay. Coupe modifieds. $500 sportsman cars. Natural amphitheater seating on wood planks. Great taverns to visit after the races with great food and cute barmaids. A classic. The only track my wife gave me permission to buy. But I didn't.
DePere, WI... another one that didn't make it thru the 70's. Big, fast 1/2 mile. Mostly ran Sunday nights. Great black dirt surface. Engaged in a late model purse war with Seymour Speedway. 30 miles apart. Both ran Sunday nights. Drew drivers from Iowa on a routine basis (Sanger, Webb et al). Might pay $3,000 to win on a good night (ran for 40% of the gate back then).
Had a paved 1/4 mile in the infield for the old coupes to run on the same nights as the late models.
Metrolina Speedway, Charlotte... Visited there in late 70's. Promoter Henry Lee Furr gave me a free pass since I was a racer and 1000 miles from home. Saw Dale Earnhardt run in a Mustang six cylinder. Later that night I got drunk on some moonshine a guy from KY provided in a mason jar. Woke up in a motel with two of the ugliest women to ever live in the Carolinas. My Kentucky buddy was long gone.
That's my story...
Yep, you can thank the mayor at the time and a certain NHRA drivers father for that.Quote:
Originally Posted by MasterSbilt_Racer
As per Monett Speedway Facebook page, the track has been leased by the Easley family. No details yet on what night they will run.Quote:
Originally Posted by ride height
Used to visit Monett in the late 70's/early 80's when I was stuck in town without any freight. Sometimes we'd venture up to Bolivar or even the short lived US65 Speedway north of Branson run by Ferris Collier.Quote:
Originally Posted by JimBo
http://www.midwestracingarchives.com...sociation.html
I-20 Speedway - Blacksburg, SC
7 Flags Speedway(aka West Atlanta) - Douglasville, GA
West Minister Speedway - West Minister, SC
Riverside Speedway - hwy 11 in SC
Thunder Valley Speedway - Lawndale, NC
The old Boyd's speedway in Chattanooga in the late 70s on Friday night that was the place to be.
Manzanita in AZ
Newberry in SC
Columbus Speedway when Johnny Stokes had it at its best at Columbus, MS
Atomic Speedway at Oak Ridge, TN
Cleveland Speedway at Cleveland, TN
Here’s one that a lot of folks won’t remember, Queen City Speedway in Meridian, MS. It was the home track of James “The Wild Child” Dean. This was back in the time when a lot of drivers carried the left wheel in the air most of the way around the track and Dean would carry it as high as anybody.
I've heard people say Pecatonica at Winnebago Co. Illinois was pretty crazy. I cannot even find it on Youtube.
Paducah International Raceway.
Santa Fe Speedway. Also, Dad got the racing fan thing going at O'Hare Speedway. I was around 7 when they closed and we switched to Santa Fe. Would be cool to see O'Hare and how much of it I remembered.
Attended racing events at Manzy only twice but it was a VERY cool place! Both the 1/2 mile and the 1/4 were great tracks. The time we were out there for the Western World they ran the 360's on the 1/4 mile and the 410's on the 1/2. Only track I ever attended that had to stop selling general admission tickets because they were totally full of spectators. Best track food I ever had. Authentic Mexican and it was superb!Quote:
Originally Posted by johnE
Pecatonica was a nice place and we saw some great racing there back in the day. We watched Steve Boley and Kevin Weaver wage an epic battle there with Weaver getting the win. Saw the Badger Midgets there a couple of times and they put on great shows despite the longer 1/2 mile track. Pecatonica reportedly fell victim to several things. 1/2 mile tracks falling out of favor due to obscenely high engine costs, disgruntled neighbors and a fair board that didn't allow promoters to make any money. Beautiful facilities with concrete grandstands, etc. There was rumors that some guys were going to try to stage some racing there a few years ago but that seemed to fade away without any events or fanfare. Not sure the track even exists in a usable form anymore.Quote:
Originally Posted by Phatdaddy
Edards recollection of Columbus Speedway in MS brought back a fond memory of the only time I and my son were there 8 or 10 years ago. One of the finest prepared tracks we'd ever seen.
Jonathan Davenport, whom we'd barely heard of, was the fastest by far the first night but think he got busted in tech and left. Mike Marlar, another new name to us, won the big main the second day. Met Bub McCool, a very entertaining guy, and still got one of his T shirts.
Can't forget the "penthouses" and the great atmosphere and it's a shame the joint isn't still in operation.
IN MY AREA
Crown Point Speedway (A.K.A. Southlake Speedway / Broadway Speedway) Crown Point, Indiana - closed in Feb. 2006 - My Home Track
Santa Fe Speedway (Southwest side of Chicago at 93rd & Wolf Road in Willow Springs) - Closed in 1995
Rensselaer Speedway - Rensselaer, Indiana at the Jasper County Fairgrounds - Closed after 1985 season
Kankakee Speedway - Late 1980's / early 1990's or pre 2006
Illiana Motor Speedway (asphalt) - Schererville, Indiana (About hour from downtown Chicago) - closed spring of 2016
Raceway Park (southside of Cook County / Chicago area) Asphalt
OUTSIDE OF MY AREA
Atomic Speedway in Tennessee
Red Hill Raceway in Illinois
Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, Arizona
Ascot Park near Los Angeles
Godfrey Speedway in Illinois
Warsaw Speedway - Warsaw, Indiana
Hales Corners Speedway in Southeast Wisconsin
16th Street Speedway in Indianapolis
Tommy Rients never had any luck at Santa Fe and he raced there a lot over the years. He hated the place. He once said they should make Santa Fe into a toxic waste dump!! LOL! He was the bottom car in a wreck where they were stacked 3 high on top of him. He told me the back side of his fire suit was soaked with fuel and fuel was literally running into one of the track surface drains. Thank God there was no fire because it's doubtful Tommy woulda' made it and that fuel running down the drain would have made a HUGE BOOM!Quote:
Originally Posted by IL LM Fan
For those who might not recognize the name Tom Rients he holds the record for most Fairbury dirt late model track championships. I believe he won 6 total. If I'm wrong I'm sure one of the rabid FALS fanatics will correct me.