What is the first race track you ever attended?

[20fan]

1957-2 weeks old. Jackson Motor Speedway Jackson, Mi.

[JabberJaws83]

Just curious, but do you guys drive or have raced on the old track versus the new track? i raced on both, and the new one is fun, and fast, old one was ok, but that no wall at night was a pain in the... at night. I much prefer the new track, especially when its clean and you can run up against the wall. I have thought the track prep was a little off there, with the new track, its to lose and heavy, needs to be more packed in tight like Florence, but that's just my opinion.

Shoulda kept same shape and close to same size and put a wall around it.

[Barbecueboy]

Dad told me I was at bowman gray in the mid 60s as a tike.....don't really remember my first visit but as I got older and was around 9 or 10 we would go as a family and one of my favorite memories was walking up the hill and smelling that sweet smell of race fuel burning.

First NASCAR race....1969 world 600 ....watched it from the infield on top of my uncles camper...we had driven in the night before and I was asleep but when I woke up the next morning and I walked out and saw the banking in 3 and 4 it was probably the one of the coolest things I had ever seen.

Only NASCAR race I ever saw the 98 win.

First dirt race would have been Dublin motor speedway on the big track back in mid 80s sometime.

[klemmabyna]

Dad may have taken me somewhere else before, but the first I remember:

Adams County Speedway, Corning Iowa. mid to late 60's. still get back there several times a year.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

That's not reality. Everybody likes an underdog, but let's keep the rules at least close for all. If you don't have the motor, then you just do the best you can with the rest of the car.

I'm not talking about handicaps. 5 years ago, a 700 hp car could crush a 900 hp car almost anywhere. It can still happen a lot of places, but as we keep adding aero load, it gets harder.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Just curious, but do you guys drive or have raced on the old track versus the new track? i raced on both, and the new one is fun, and fast, old one was ok, but that no wall at night was a pain in the... at night. I much prefer the new track, especially when its clean and you can run up against the wall. I have thought the track prep was a little off there, with the new track, its to lose and heavy, needs to be more packed in tight like Florence, but that's just my opinion.

The old track was my favorite place to race. No wall is a get out of jail free card

[Morgs153]

Where I grew up, paved tracks for weekly racing were all close by so my first race(s) I can possibly remember would have been in 1968-69. I was 5-6 years old and my folks took me to Golden Sands Speedway between Plover and Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. The weekly shows at that time featured D!ck Trickle, Tom Reffner, Marv Marzofka, Larry Detjens, Mike Miller, Jim Back, Jim Bohmsach, and many other talented late model drivers.

My first dirt race(s) were fairgrounds half miles and which one came first I'm not too sure but I think it was Marshfield, WI and then the Marathon County Fairgrounds in Wausau. Those were in the mid 70's. I hate to admit it but those shows were so rough and dusty that I didn't go back to dirt for many years after. Now I pretty much go to nothing but dirt shows.

The first "big show" I got to go to was a USAC stock car show at the Milwaukee Mile (1976). As a kid I thought that place was huge. Ramo Stott won the race in a Plymouth Volare kit car after a dominating Butch Hartman blew an engine. The great Larry Moore started on the pole.

First road course was Heartland Park Topeka (1998) while working as a tech for NASCAR MW Series.

[ride height]

1964. St. Charles Speedway. (Missouri). Remember it well. I was a little scared of the modifiers...they were loud. I remember that, and a car riding up on the wall and almost turning over. Everyone stood up. I remember the place was packed like cordwood in December. Been an addict ever since.

[castone]

I enjoyed reading all these comments - some kinda sad, but Great ! Thanks to the Author and Posters.

[jr29]

Fun thread.
My first race was at Garnertown Speedway in Lexington, Tennessee. It was a 1998. I was 15.
Garnertown was a big, big 3/8 mile with pretty steep banking.

[racincowboy02]

Cherokee Speedway 1992

[jog49]

Dirt . . . Dillom, South Carolina . . . a long time ago
Asphalt . . . Darlington Motor Speedway . . an even longer time ago

both more than 1/2 century ago

[mskdorf]

Bloomington Speedway. Bloomington,IN. Raced lates and winged sprints every Friday night. Probably around ‘83. Was more of a sprint guy back then.
For what it’s worth, I also like the “newer” Lawrenceburg. I also agree with the track prep being a little off from time to time.

[Patansplant]

It as either McKean County Raceway in East Smethport, PA, Bradford Speedway, Rew, PA or Stateline Speedway, Busti, NY. Can't remember which was first. They were all good back then, late 60's early 70's.

[Clayton_Wetters]

I'm not talking about handicaps. 5 years ago, a 700 hp car could crush a 900 hp car almost anywhere. It can still happen a lot of places, but as we keep adding aero load, it gets harder.

Oh come on now!!! Anywhere it got too slick to get traction maybe.

I don't see ANYONE chucking big motors and saying let' just beef up a crate. lol Is Lucas doing that?

Any track with a sizable straightaway, then not a chance.

I do agree with the aero part though.

[grumfan]

I think it was 1956 or so at the Cambria County Fairgrounds in Ebensburg, PA. I was 6.

[Rocky]

Oh come on now!!! Anywhere it got too slick to get traction maybe.

I don't see ANYONE chucking big motors and saying let' just beef up a crate. lol Is Lucas doing that?

Any track with a sizable straightaway, then not a chance.

I do agree with the aero part though.

Heck no they aren't saying that and I get it my fear is that they dump steel block in my area then I have to sell my car and get a modified. Nobody wants to have a $70,000 motor that you can't run. Except not too many guys actually have those and there's plenty of guys running late model vs open motors with stuff that's not anywhere as "Super" as the track announcer would have you believe. I don't have a solution to stop guys that are smarter than me. If I did I would just beat them.

Beefed up crate, that's what the motors were in the glory days. I wish there was a way that guys would crack those seal bolts open port those aluminium heads, throw that stock bottom end in the scrap pile and put a god cam and rotating assy in there and race super but it ain't gonna happen. I have read so many times people whining that there's not 105 cars on a regular night at Brownstown or wherever anymore right on here. It's because more than half the cars have crate motors nowadays. Just like they used to be. We can either fix the REAL PROBLEM, or you guys can stay home because there's only gonna be crate racing in 10 years. I know how people feel about watching that.

I'm sorry to be mucking up this great post guys.

[kazual]

Waynesville, Missouri asphalt track, 1958 or so. My Dad and a couple of his friends took me. In later years I had the privilege of taking him. First dirt was Springfield, Missouri fairgrounds maybe 1967 approximately. Recall having to be talked into attending my first dirt race thinking why would you race on dirt? Then I found out why.

[over4T]

Probably the Ashtabula County Fairgrounds in Jefferson, Ohio around 1954 or 55. Me and a buddy in junior high school used to hitchhike (remember that?) about 10 miles out to the podunk town on Friday nights through the farm roads to watch the old coupes and coaches, most with flatheads or inline sixes and some with big for the day Olds, Cadillac and Chevies. One class and 60 or 80 cars on the typical dusty, primitive 1/4.

It was like $.50 to get in and we never had the money so we generally climbed a fence behind the livestock barns and make a run through the manure for the grandstands. Got caught about half the time and tossed out so we'd try another entry till we made it. The backstretch fence was along side a road and one night after being caught at our other entries we jumped the fence during a break in the action and made a run for the infield pits. Made it that time.

Usually didn't have much trouble hitching to the joint but getting picked up at 11 or 12 p.m. heading home was another thing. Not a lot of cars out at that time in the sticks and the rides we did get were often only a mile or so and a lot of walking so it often ended up a 2 or 3 hour trip. Much simpler times and a lot of memories.

[i like racing]

Thunderhill Raceway in Sturgeon Bay, WI.