Fastest Track In US

[billetbirdcage]

kazual, the High Banks folks have signs around the track that boast the Belleville High Banks as the fastest 1/2 mile dirt track in the world. A lot of the High Banks memorabilia has that claim printed on it, as well. It wouldn't surprise me. Many tracks, when measured objectively, aren't as long as they're claimed to be. That isn't the case with Belleville. It's a actually a tick over 1/2 mile when measured 20' down from the outside wall all the way around.

The late models are scary on a mile dirt and aren't built to withstand the impact their speeds could produce. That said, I've seen the late models on a mile dirt and I've seen the midgets several times at Belleville and the late models on a mile dirt don't hold a candle to how scary the midgets were at the High Banks. It came as no surprise that USAC, or any other sanction, refused to race there after Bryan Clauson was killed. The midgets came back 1 final time the year after BC died but that ended it, probably forever.

These are sprint cars and is from a ways back, but measured of google earth and the lap records at the time


Bristol Motor Speedway
.53 miles @ 13.860, or 137.66 (average MPH)
Belleville High Banks
.51 miles @ 14.321, or 128.20 (average MPH)
Knoxville Raceway
.50 miles @ 14.407, or 124.94 (average MPH)
Volousia Raceway Park
.43 miles @ 12.569, or 123.16 (average MPH)
Eldora Speedway
.43 miles @ 12.707, or 121.94 (average MPH)
Selinsgrove Speedway
.54 miles @ 16.207, or 119.95 (average MPH)
Williams Grove
.53 miles @ 16.140, or 118.22 (average MPH)
Perris Auto Speedway
.37 miles @ 13.875, or 096.00 (average MPH)

Bristol and Belleville obviously didn't have many times the 410 sprints ran on them

[EvelB7]

I heard the 170 MPH thing about Bloomer years ago when we ran Golden Isle, think that could have been exaggerated a bit. I can tell you the gearing was as high as anyplace I ever ran (I think it was like a 4:68 or something, remember telling the guys to put the 'smaller gear on top').

[GrocMax]

Bristol the two times they laid down dirt, and Belleville KS come to mind.

[No_Weak_Links]

It's been 15 years since I've been there but Knoxville in hot laps was crazy fast. Guys would never lift. Also remember when golden isle was hold it to the floor.

[sozo]

Appreciate the comment guys. So I can take Bellville off my bucket list? 😔

[CIRF]

These are sprint cars and is from a ways back, but measured of google earth and the lap records at the time


Bristol Motor Speedway
.53 miles @ 13.860, or 137.66 (average MPH)
Belleville High Banks
.51 miles @ 14.321, or 128.20 (average MPH)
Knoxville Raceway
.50 miles @ 14.407, or 124.94 (average MPH)
Volousia Raceway Park
.43 miles @ 12.569, or 123.16 (average MPH)
Eldora Speedway
.43 miles @ 12.707, or 121.94 (average MPH)
Selinsgrove Speedway
.54 miles @ 16.207, or 119.95 (average MPH)
Williams Grove
.53 miles @ 16.140, or 118.22 (average MPH)
Perris Auto Speedway
.37 miles @ 13.875, or 096.00 (average MPH)

Bristol and Belleville obviously didn't have many times the 410 sprints ran on them

I vaguely remember seeing these measurements and times posted on another board a while back. I could be off base here but in my mind (which no one really cares what's in it) Bristol was a novelty, basically an anomaly which only happened a couple of times. A permanent dirt track is a bit of a different animal. Not saying how I look at it is correct, just saying.

[bb14]

I asked Bill Schlieper how fast they were really running and he told
me that by multiplying the gear ratio and rpm in some formula = 175 at Golden Isles.

I was there when Skip Arp ran like a 15.65 or something close. The announcer said 144 mph.

I argued on the way down there that year that a late model would not go that fast and probably topped out around 140. On the way home I told them they were closer to 170 than 140.

Dwayne Hommel told me that Brunswick was too fast when your a$$ is held together by pop rivets.

I am sure Springfield was too fast for those cars. Belleville is bad fast. Brush Creek was bad fast. Pretty amazing no one has been really hurt bad at these tracks in a late model.

[HoosierDirtFan]

The old Hartford Speedway in Hartford, Michigan was bad fast before they cut the track down to a 3/8's a few years back. The called it "The Wicked 1/2 Mile" but I guarantee it was a 5/8's at minimum. I see wing sprint pull a 15 second lap there years back. The didn't call it The Wicked 1/2 mile for nothing. See a WOO Sprint show there a few years ago and Shane Stewart flipped out of the park in turn 1 into the east parking lot just missing a few cars. Said that had to have been the fastest he's ever been in a race car.

[Late_Model_Mark]

CIRF, what about the old moody mile at Syracuse during Super Dirt Week, the WoO boys ran there as well and I think I recall 170+ was achieved there.


LMM

[billetbirdcage]

Pretty amazing no one has been really hurt bad at these tracks in a late model.

The only serious injury that I recall from Belleville in a LM was Earl Kinderknecht, where he went over the turn 4 wall and into the pit area. This was before they scraped the track along the wall, over time it would build up to a curve along the guardrail where you could only see 2 of the 3 rails. He climbed it with the RF and sent him over the wall and flipped several times in the pits. He was in a halo for about 6 months, from some broke vertebrae in his neck.

Back in around 2002 to 2006, when open LM's used to run there a fair amount. Typically the faster cars of the normal people to show up was, Kelley Boen, Al Purkey, John Anderson, Terry Phillips, Kyle Berck, would run lap times in the 16.30 to 16.50 range when the track was fast. Typically you pulled at 5.04 to 5.23 gear

[Blackmagic5]

What about Pittsburgh?? I’m not quite sure but I believe Ed lynch jr held the record at 147 mph average for a sprint car there ??

[dirttalker]

A top late model driver told me that Tazwell gives you the most sensation of speed

[Josh Bayko]

PPMS is usually slicker than whale snot, but on the rare occasions it actually has “lots of tack, she’s bad fast.

[CIRF]

CIRF, what about the old moody mile at Syracuse during Super Dirt Week, the WoO boys ran there as well and I think I recall 170+ was achieved there.


LMM

Yep, I've read that the NYSP had some of the WoO sprint cars running near or above 170 MPH at the end of the straightaway at The Moody Mile.

Mark, IIRC Billy Pauch's record lap in a WoO sprint car at Syracuse is a little over 1/2 MPH slower than Sammy's Springfield record. As I mentioned earlier, by all accounts, Springfield is a couple hundred feet longer than a mile and if that's the case the average lap speed would mathematically be a bit higher than the 145.637 MPH that is used as Sammy's benchmark speed. Don't know what the official measurement was for the Syracuse Mile, I presume it was considered 5280".

[Josh Bayko]

Yep, I've read that the NYSP had some of the WoO sprint cars running near or above 170 MPH at the end of the straightaway at The Moody Mile.

Mark, IIRC Billy Pauch's record lap in a WoO sprint car at Syracuse is a little over 1/2 MPH slower than Sammy's Springfield record. As I mentioned earlier, by all accounts, Springfield is a couple hundred feet longer than a mile and if that's the case the average lap speed would mathematically be a bit higher than the 145.637 MPH that is used as Sammy's benchmark speed. Don't know what the official measurement was for the Syracuse Mile, I presume it was considered 5280".

I’m pretty sure Syracuse was a true mile.