Do you support your local short tracks?

Joniki

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There is another thread about bringing back tracks that NASCAR has abandoned. This got me thinking about how drivers get started and whether people support their local tracks. Rockingham went belly up because the numbers didn't support the track.

I have three short tracks within an hour of me and within a three hour drive, I have several awesome tracks. Baer field, Angola, New Paris, Salem, Winchester, Eldora, Toledo, Berlin are just a few. I have seen some of the best racing of my life at these tracks.

Saturday night local tracks produce some great racing. Come to think of it, maybe it should be against NASCAR nation law to run a cup race on Saturday evening just to protect the local tracks. ;)

Let me hear about your local tracks...
 
I go to Slinger Speedway a few times a year, which is the fastest quarter-mile in the world after some guy set a 9-second lap in a high-wing sprint car a few years ago. Cup never raced there, but it was a major stop on the Midwest late model touring series (ASA, ARTGO, etc.) for years and a lot of Cup guys from the Midwest raced there coming up (Rusty Wallace, Matt Kenseth, Alan Kulwicki, Dick Trickle, etc. even Mark Martin).

Also been to the short tracks at Kaukauna and Madison, Wisconsin as well as the track at Norway, Michigan (upper pennisula). Some GREAT short track action at Norway, probably my second favorite short track after Slinger.

Never been to the short track at La Crosse, Wisconsin, even though it was a major stop on the ASA/ARTGO tours for years. Also, have to go down to Rockford, Illinois to see the National Short Track Championships at the Rockford Speedway sometime. It's on my bucket list.
 
Greenville Pickens. close to my home. Some Nascar teams test there. I don't get to go as much anymore.
 
Greenville Pickens. close to my home. Some Nascar teams test there. I don't get to go as much anymore.

If you get a chance go to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race there on labor day, they always put on a really good show!
 
There's nothing within an hour, unfortunately. The local dirt track closed several years ago.


I've spent most of my season at Kingsport, Lonesome Pine and South Boston. Each are 2.5+ hours away. Franklin County's 20 minutes away and I go to every race there since I work there. And Motor Mile's 45 minutes away.
 
There is another thread about bringing back tracks that NASCAR has abandoned. This got me thinking about how drivers get started and whether people support their local tracks. Rockingham went belly up because the numbers didn't support the track.

I have three short tracks within an hour of me and within a three hour drive, I have several awesome tracks. Baer field, Angola, New Paris, Salem, Winchester, Eldora, Toledo, Berlin are just a few. I have seen some of the best racing of my life at these tracks.

Saturday night local tracks produce some great racing. Come to think of it, maybe it should be against NASCAR nation law to run a cup race on Saturday evening just to protect the local tracks. ;)

Let me hear about your local tracks...

Winchester TN? I might be racing there at some point this year
 
Paducah (just running once a blue moon now) within 45mins
Camden, Clayhill (Atwood), Clarksville are all in TN and are with in an hour and half of me
Someone bought Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway, so maybe it will open back up, it is 35 mins

Benton MO is not to far away.

All are dirt
 
I used to go every weekend from 15 years old til I was 22. Norther and southern California. Stockton 99 Speedway, Altamont raceway, Madera Speedway, Merced(dirt track), Chowchilla(dirt track), Watsonville(dirt track)

My weekends would resemble this....

Friday night Chowchilla speedway.
Saturday either Stockton, Madera, or Altamont depending on the schedule.
Sunday's usually at home watching the NASCAR race, but occasional dates at local tracks.

I don't go nearly as much and in fact haven't been in 2 years. Altamont is now closed. Chowchilla changed ownership. Stockton closed and then re opened, but I am not a fan of their owners and the way they do business. I have a couple of friends that race there in Late Models.

I want to go more because my son(1/12) loves race cars and the noise, but the nights are so late and it throws his schedule out of whack. Hopefully again soon though.

Also went down to Irwindale for the last west coast shoot out
 
Not to completely turn this into a trip down memory lane, since the OP poses the question about supporting local tracks (present tense), but have to get these out:

Growing up in Big D, my first memories of attending a race in person are when my cub scout pack went to Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite. It was cool, but I wasn't quite hooked... yet.

Moved to Chicago suburbs 25 years ago, and my favorite brother-out-law was a regular at Santa Fe Speedway, 1/4 mile clay oval. The weekly show was usually late models and sportsman class, and they had a popular 'tournament of destruction' (team demo derby) about once a month. My favorites were AMA flat track bikes, and they had a TT there at least one year, as well as World Of Outlaws. Bobby Allison and Kyle Petty visited, and I remember seeing Rich Vogler drive his sprint car there on Friday night, then qualify at Indianapolis for the 500 the next day. It closed in the mid 90's and is now a high end neighborhood of very expensive homes. I still remember that rumblin' sound...

The closest track now is Sycamore Speedway. About a dozen years ago, a couple of coworkers at my new job had sportsman cars they ran out there, and I still have my track driver's license from one night when they let me turn some laps. I haven't been in awhile, but may have to go now.
 
Unfortunately no, but I'd go to Concord Motorsports Park if I could find someone to go with me. :(

A short track that I'd love to go it is Hickory. They used to race the Grand National Series there.
 
Is Concord still even open?

Oh, and ain't nothin' wrong with going by yourself if no one else wants to go.
 
Is Concord still even open?

Oh, and ain't nothin' wrong with going by yourself if no one else wants to go.

Yes they race there in the Spring and then start up again in August I think. Good point, maybe I'll go on some Friday or Saturday night when my wife has to work.
 
That's no excuse. 1 hour is my clostest track. The others I regularly attend are 2.5 to 3 hours away.

I've spent most of my season at Kingsport, Lonesome Pine and South Boston. Each are 2.5+ hours away. Franklin County's 20 minutes away and I go to every race there since I work there. And Motor Mile's 45 minutes away.

Maybe y'all consider 2.5+ to be 'local', but that doesn't fit my definition. We've already established that I don't have anything within 20 or 45 minutes, so I'm not sure why that's relevant.

I've reached the point where driving home after 10:30 or so on a Saturday night will likely involve falling asleep at the wheel. I make the exception for Darlington once a year; otherwise, a 1 hour radius is the limit. Florence, Dillon, GP, Modoc, Sumter are just too far to safely come home by myself. I-20 Speedway was less than half an hour; I was there monthly until it closed several years ago.

When I'm visiting my parents in southeastern NC, we've been known to run down to Myrtle Beach. They have a great 4-day LMS and truck event every November. I'll hit Salem or Clarksville when I'm with the in-laws in southern IN. I paid for an extra hotel night in Pittsburgh on business to go to Jennerstown. Our National Guard unit often went to camp at Ft. Stewart, GA, and sometimes we could get to Oglethorpe. In all of those cases, there are at least two of us so I'm not as likely to nod off, and each are within 60 minutes of those I'm staying with.
 
Went to Franklin County and New River Valley Speedway quite a bit when I lived in VA. Frequented Columbus Motor Speedway when I lived in OH. Now that I'm in TN, I'm gonna go check out Clarksville Speedway soon, which is a dirt track about 30 miles from me.
 
I go to Spartan Speedway (about 2.5 miles from my house) about 3 times per year. Sadly, the car counts suck and they end up doing school bus figure 8's, trailer figure 8's and pony stocks with only one modified and one late model race.
 
I support my local New Zealand track Western Springs which has a great history and is 15 minutes from my house.

http://www.springsspeedway.com/

Wow, a track that's been running since 1929. That's great.

The video has got a lot of intense action shots, including wrecks obviously.

Regarding the wreck at the two minute mark, how would you like to be sitting in the 5th row of the stands and see a car go higher than where your sitting ?

Love the announcer on the video. "Whoaaaaaaaaaaa ! He's up-side-down !!! "
 
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