I've decided to pick four examples of race meetings being cancelled or postponed, with three of them being due to a health scare. Name City County Date Added; Adrian Fairgrounds: Adrian: Lenawee: 08-28-2003: Adventure Mountain Raceway: Greenland: Ontonagon: 10-05-2007: Air Park Speedway: Fennville In 2007 the historic racetracks in Texas we're inducted into the Hall of Fame to commemorate their indelible impression left on horse racing in Texas. Progress. Jimmie's OldTime Site NASCAR just raced at Nashville. Just as she had after digging up nearly every other memory of the old track, Zuniga laughed. The following racetracks have closed since 2000. always trying to use the message boards, whose URL links often dry up. Just one more turn, then maybe this NASCAR track won't be completely empty and abandoned, forgotten and left behind, as if it never existed in the first place. But these empty lanes are gyratingaround the circuit, going in circles for eternity, without end, until one day it's either torn down or the lanes are completely erased by the elements, foliage, plants, and grass growing in the cracks, ever-widening them until the tarmac is replaced with plants. Approximate latitude, longitude. Instead, most of the buildings have been both vandalized . Phoenix Trotting Park Apetc on Flickr (Creative Commons) Theyre the club sports of the racing community. It was just that atmosphere of a community, being able to connect with the drivers. Not far underneath the low-flying airplanes descending into Austin-Bergstrom International Airport lies the old quarter-mile Longhorn Speedway, a former local short track which resides, defunct and wilting from age, under five miles away from Circuit of The Americasthe shiny, new 3.427-mile international motorsports facility that hosted nearly 270,000 spectators over its Formula One weekend in the fall of 2016. This race track just recently closed, so its very fresh in that community. For that reason, qualifications actually fulfilled their name. The Beaumont Flyer, Freddy Fryar, said Upchurch, summoning back his announcer voice as if hed called a race yesterday. Joined. Let's take a look at 20 abandoned racetracks NASCAR wants us to forget about. Another three sets of the once-packed grandstands at Longhorn remain, rusted, contorted with age and visibly fighting off the inevitable forces of overgrown weeds and gravity that continue to overtake them. This speedway hasn't seen a race in decades now, it closed in 1995. But if you look down the gravel road leading to that flea market and strain your eyes just enough, some faint white lines will come into viewlines that used to mark the lanes on a race track. This is where the commentators would be, so they could see the whole thing happening as clearly as possible, so as to narrate the events of the race factually. Location. They havent raced there since 1984, and its a short track. It was a really good speedway, said Denise Beier Zuniga, who regularly attended everything from weekly races to demolition derbies, figure-eight racing and stunt shows at Longhorn as a child after moving down from Pennsylvania in the late 1960s. After all, Zuniga sat in those grandstands so many years ago that she can remember drivers showing up to race in T-shirts and jeans rather than fire-resistant race suits. The first and second turns at Longhorn Speedway, with weeds creeping through the cracks on a track that sits just off of a busy road near the Austin airport. Dale Earnhardt Jr. explores abandoned racetracks on 'Lost Speedways,' Season 2 debuts July 1 on Peacock Season 2 moves beyond the South to visit deserted raceways. Cool commercial spaces ripe for conversion. But also Metrolina meant so much to this community, and when it was successful and thriving in the mid-70s, the racing community knew that was the place to be. Day after day it sees a new level of decay and rot, with signs peeling in the rain and weather, paint coming off, grass pushing cracks wider and wider. In fact, it's only the things that we've constructed that fall apart. These stands are filled with the vacuum of crowds that once cheered and roared like nothing else, with thunderous cheering and waving. Police said they contacted Beasley, who said she had been in the apartment two nights before, when her 1-year-old husky, Harley, was "alive, alert, and fine." Erica Larson Odello Graphic Designer (2000-present) Author has 92 answers and 317K answer views 4 y Related Why are so many race tracks derilict? recent Google Earth photos, I happened upon the Historic Aerials site, which That sounds great. Classic Car Lovers Unite & Compete with New App! really cool to look at. But Upchurch said the race track continued to operate for over a year after Thunderhill opened, only for its management to realize that the track just couldnt compete. Design. 353. The half-mile Meyer Speedway in Houston, which hosted a 1971 Cup Series race in which Bobby Allison and Richard Petty started on the front row in front of 9,000 spectators, went down in the late 1970s. This pavilion in the center of the circuit provides an absolutely perfect view of the racing action. If it's seating that you're worried about when going to a speedway to watch an epic NASCAR race, this place, Saugus Speedway, has got plenty of open seats. In 1950 Raleigh's population was only 65,000, yet the Speedway saw record-breaking crowds of over 16,000 people -- a true testament to the raging popularity of racing . paradise for speed nuts and driving enthusiasts, that $879k Houston home with its own private karting track. Underneath the grandstands on the backstretch lays a full set of tires, but the deep grooves of tread indicate that, as spooky as the scene appears to be, they likely arent racing slicks from all those years ago. With clouds, underexposure, and shadows of abandoned memories, it's full of dynamic contrast and richness. Sometimes it would be red and sometimes black, depending on the specific product it advertised from the brewing company. This is easier on you than Like plenty of other short tracks across the country, there were areas where Longhorn lacked proper safety precautions. I think were eager to go these new tracks and see how the cars react and drivers react for the first time. After visiting tracks across the country throughout the series, Earnhardt will offer up exclusive access to the viewer a tour of his race car graveyard and abandoned dirt track in Mooresville . Thats the first race track I came to watch races. Quarter Horse racing was particularly popular at the time as it remains today throughout the Texas hill country. For the next years, professional racing returned to the Texas World Speedway when it hosted races for the Automobile Racing Club of America.But unfortunately, this revival was short-lived. To say Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a fan of old race tracks is an understatement. Longhorns distinctive winning race flags often had black-and-white checkers bigger than the rose-tinted sunglassesand the regular glasses, for that matterof the era, and purse money would likely go into getting the car ready for next weekends race rather than thickening up the winners wallet. Mountain View Motorsports Park Entrance Bridge. The track was acquired by Donald J. and Michael F. Ronca for $225,000 at a sheriff's sale in December 1973 with the goal of redeveloping the track into an industrial park. Stained concrete floors compliment the open floor plan, and the kitchen features custom cabinetry, granite countertops, and a walk-in pantry. The 1997 Grand National Is Postponed. by ScottKo in RacingIn News, Rivalry Renewed: Lanigan & Richards Set To Face Off In 2015 As Richards Returns To Full-Time World of Outlaws Competition The only tangible things that remain, really, are the photos. It didn't have to end this way for I-70 Speedway outside Odessa, Missouri. Nowadays there's just LED screens that display a vast amount of graphics, words, and info that's different every time. Weaver. It ended nearly a century of racing at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg. This list contains photos of abandoned and disused tracks that have mostly been left to nature. It was a dirt track at nascence and then repaved in 1987 for bigger races. There were still the same drivers, Bobby Joe New, Larry Darity and all of them who used to race down at Speed-O-Rama and in San Antonio, but the feel was totally different.. 302. When they were exporting the product to their clientele, they had modified their cars to go extra fast in case the cops caught them and came after them. Gambling at Texas tracks was commonplace, but it wasn't until 1905 that it was sanctioned by the legislature "on the day and within the enclosure where such races are run". Relocated here ca. It's all that reigns in this abandoned raceway not many mayknow of. 14.2K Likes, 74 Comments. For decades, the starting grid used to line up for photos in front of those grandstands before firing up their engines to race around the old track. And its just crazy to think when you stand in there, youre like, I cant believe this is sitting here. After the prohibition was over, they started racing their modified cars, and soon enough a pretty big sport was created. There's something about the photography opportunities galore, the empty hollow and stories that echo silently through the space, resonating with all that once was, that is truly captivating. Technology, performance and design delivered to your inbox. Red Cedar Speedway offers dirt track racing on Friday nights. The track closed immediately. Dirt tracks were made, with seating around the curves, then bigger tracks were made, paved tracks, then raceways and speedways were made, with all kinds of infrastructure and seating for thousands upon thousands of spectators. And so that helped me when we went to these other race tracks to tap into the community, and see what they thought and felt about this race track, and what it meant to them when it was successful, and how they miss it, how they experienced so many good things there. This rural utopia is listed for $449,000a bargain considering its location, size, and condition. Sources: Seph Lawless, USA Today & My Fox 8. I will share this abandoned dirt oval I found near the area I was in earlier, Latrobe, PA. to the racing community for 50+ years. When RAF Davidstow Moor, a coastal command base, became inactive after World War II, the airfield was turned into a race track. Modern Era Defunct Even abandoned things have a hope of resurrection sometimes. Yes, that's really the name of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener. The leaseholders gave up the track. Leaseholders began to change more frequently than they had in the past, and Upchurch said there would be the occasional season that would start later than usual while the new management sorted everything out. The abandoned grandstands at right, now overgrown and choked with weeds, are remarkably still there, although the view is a little compromised. Restoration of original Metrolina Speedway sign completed. FOX 4. When we had that many cars, we had to limit the starting field to 18 or 20 for manual-scoring reasons, said Upchurch, referring to the days when positions on each lap had to be checked off by hand. But once you find someone, the memories come to the same general conclusion. It could fit a lot of people; it was always crowded. by ScottKo in Profile Tips For Users, Interest in Grassroots Racing Grows 40% in 2014 With Great Opportunities Ahead in 2015 Since he's been domesticated, it might be that he has a hard time finding food. Want to Visit? While any gearhead would kill for a garage like Jay Leno's, an even more perfect piece of real estate has popped up in the Lone Star State of Texas. Rockingham Speedway is another one of those iconic race tracks from NASCAR that has not survived to our day, despite its huge popularity in the past. The old Wasaga Speedway. Many people watched for the spectacular crashes, some loved the push and pull that so many exhaustive laps garnered. And I got there and I was like, oh man, this is sad. Packed with period features and no end of character, industrial spaces are the ideal blank canvases to transform into your dream home. Abandoned race tracks litter the country. When Season 1 debuted in 2020, Earnhardt admitted his motivations behind the show were purely selfish because he loves the mystique and eeriness of abandoned things, especially when those things are race tracks.. But, since the Wilkesboro Speedway has shut down, that tarmac has gone neglected. Race Tracks & Motor Sports Real Estate. Some of us old fart historians, who It hasn't for some time, and the roar of NASCAR engines no longer pushes out the silence. @LostSpeedways pic.twitter.com/jguNuiPMTu, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) November 12, 2015. Advance Auto Parts Labor Day Classic auto races to run Saturday, Aug 31st Bringing NASCAR Family Fun to Houston Motorsports Park! The 254 Speedway Road in Hartwell, GA dirt track is now for sale. In this same period, only three new tracks have opened: Pinnacle in Michigan which, as youll see, closed after only two years Presque Isle in Pennsylvania and Running Aces (harness) in Minnesota. Visited another old racetrack this past week.the track at North Wilkesboro that had been on the NASCAR cup circuit. Upon being asked if any visitors ever stop by, he turned his head toward the small part of the banked third turn that could still be seen from the former pit area. Earnhardt Proving Grounds Episode 1 - 28 mins Dale Earnhardt Jr. visits Metrolina Speedway seeking clarity about an age-old family mystery. With such a successful and massive sport, there are plenty of things that have been forgotten about over its storied history. Racing $449,000 Texas Estate With 1.7-Mile Race Track in Backyard Is a Gearhead's Fantasy The entire first floor is taken up by a six-car garage with room for more toys and tools than your. NASCAR is known for its high speed of racing. NASCAR has had quite a storied history with America since the very beginning. The topmost view of the NASCAR races that used to take place here can be seen from the box in the above picture. But it was more than just a local operation in many ways, as areand were, for many of themother short tracks across the country. Given how long it has been since some of these tracks last saw a race, they have deetiolated almost beyond recognition. I dont know these things when I sign up to race in the XFINITY series. Macau Grand Prix Includes Scary Crash for Sophia Floersch, NASCAR Offers to Purchase International Speedway Corporation (ISC), 8 KAM Drivers Vying for a Chili Bowl Ride thru the KKM Giveback Classic. San Antonio Speedway opened in 1977, but closed its gates a few decades later. 20 Thunderhill Raceway As packed as California can get, being one of the most popular states to live at in the US, there's plenty of room for race tracks. But Upchuchhe seems to have been more expectant of the outcome. The Late Model tours still swung through several times a year. Racetrack for Sale .. asking $295,000 . The entire subject of the photo is about endings, as this is an abandoned and lost NASCAR speedway that's been shut down. No matter how many tracks there already are, or have just been deemed "too dated," or "not relevant", they will keep making and building newer and better ones, all in the name of making more money, drawing more fans, justifying higher ticket prices. With that, the demise of Longhorn Speedway became final. Alas, not all good things can last forever, no matter how successful, and this speedway was shut down in 1996. It was one of only eight superspeedways of two miles - or longer - in the United States.Other superspeedways were among others the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana and the also lost Ontario Motor Speedway in California.Except the long 2 Mile oval there was also a smaller oval inside, and a road course with several layouts possible. Plants, animals, nature, it all starts to come back in a way that isn't possible with humans. [Turns] one and two were a little more of a pointed corner, and three and four were a little rounder corner. I guess I will. The plan is to have a place for fans of McFarland to come and he has many. Let's take a look at 20 abandoned racetracks NASCAR wants us to forget about. It features seven classes of racing: Crate Late Model, Hobby 602, Modified Street, Stock V8, Stock Four and Front Wheel Drives. Road America Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course are coming up. The old track is so stifled by tall, dead grass that it becomes hard to tell fence from weeds after a while. What impact do you think NASCAR's new schedule is having on the sport? Provided by The Oklahoman. But, no more is that the case, because all remains empty now, filled with empty space and silent atmosphere, long faded echoes of the races that once roared here. [San Antonio Speedway] came up a couple of times like a drowning person coming up for a breath of air, Upchurch said. It was the race track itself, too. Soon all these kinds of signs will be forgotten, decayed completely. You pretty much had to be on your game the whole race.. But it turned out to be a home run at Nashville Superspeedway, so you hope that all the new tracks we go to will have similar success, be just as exciting. Foyt, who did make at least one trip there as a spectator. So we found the person that had witnessed it and told us all about it. Please check your email for a confirmation. Since then it has gone up for auction and is apparently being renovated. They put up some cyclone fencing or something like that.. Dirt track owners set a price for the beloved speedway. +40.23481, -104.97875 (decimal degrees) 4014'05" N, 10458'44" W (degreesminutes'seconds") Approximate UTM coordinates. 84 talking about this. The big daddy of the lot, the Nazareth Speedway remained in operation for nearly a century - beginning 1910 and closing its doors in 2004. A shortened version of the piece can be read here. It was a NASCAR original, too, in operation since the very inception of NASCAR itself, and held many iconic races over the years. Business partners Jerry Green and Charles Hester took the speedway over just three years after the racing group did in 1971, promising exciting, fast-moving shows and kids nights with free rides in figure-eight races. So are you just going to go straight from the car to NBC's broadcast booth? Quarter Horse racing was particularly popular at the time as it remains today throughout the Texas hill country. He just cant pinpoint when things all started to go downhill. I think its gotten things freshened up a little bit, created some new energy in the fan base. We uncovered a really unique story about when my father raced my grandfather for the one and only time. In its first year as Capital Speedway in 1968, Longhorn managers didnt open the track until mid Aprilan entire two months after the years Daytona 500. As he called races at different short tracks across the state, Upchurch saw the declining popularity of local short-track racing in Texas as it happened and said it wasnt singular to Longhorn Speedway or the Austin market. Nothing besides the decaying tarmac, the growing plants, animals taking up roost, and the falling apart of all the structures of this NASCAR raceway that they want us to just forget about. Track draws racers from. And itll be good because when I get into booth, I can say, Hey, I was just out there! A race course was built in Brownwood in 1880; Hyde Park was established in 1850 in Austin; and Dallas had fair park in 1886. Then, as the 1990s came to a close, the real problem set ina problem far outside of Longhorns control. Texas World Speedway is rapidly approaching "Abandoned" status. Maybe they said, Well sell you a ticket, but you cant sit down.. Some paint schemes had the classic flames, others a neon design to stand out. Race Rainout for Saturdays Advance Auto Parts Race Night at The Oval at Houston Motorsports Park. She couldnt believe who just signed in., But it wasnt all about the atmosphere or the memories made at Longhorn. The stands are empty, there are no cars, it's overgrown with foliage. It really does.. All eight episodes of Lost Speedways Season 2 willpremiere Thursday, so For The Win spoke with Dale Jr. about the show, new tracks on NASCARs schedule in 2021 and the track he hopes is eventually added to the lineup. [and some not so dead]. Kyle Bartz, we appreciate your contribution very much!Also special thanks to Simon Smith for the voiceover. Racers, cars, blunders, and even tracks. Everything else, for the most part, thrives and can come back to life. You're getting back in the car for a one-off race this fall at Richmond, and the XFINITY race is the same day as the Cup race. . Zunigas husband was never into racing as a kid, but will ask her where things used to be. Less than 30 minutes away, construction began on a new asphalt short track that would run local classes on three-eights of a mile in Kyle, Texas. Things happened more quickly. But itll be fine. There are spirits about. B. and Louis Wusterhausen opened the track, owning and managing for eight years before the Statesman reported that a local racing group took over the lease. owner and founder of Niftee 50ees; . The reduction and the closure of [asphalt] tracks has been a very slow cancer to creep along and eventually, we have one go down permanently.. In 1933 legislation allowing pari-mutuel betting was passed and four major tracks were built - Arlington Downs between Dallas and Fort Worth, Epsom Downs in Houston, Alamo Downs in San Antonio, and Dallas State Fair Park. Its just good to have something new to talk about and have a new experience. Posted 6 weeks ago $1,900,000 Iowa , IA 1 LED SPEEDWAY LIGHTING / FINANCING AVAILABLE (OAC) WE SPECIALIZE IN SPEEDWAY LED LIGHTING. He even found some classic open wheeled race cars in the abandoned warehouse. This photo was taken at the end of the day, just after sunset. by KyleBrinkmannRacing in KyleBrinkmanRacing, a racer from Elkhorn, WI, What a year as we transition onto dirt racing! Lap after ghostly lap passes by, endlessly without number, as the lap counter doesn't keep track of how many. If only these cars could talk, the stories they'd tell. Meaning urban explorers, of course. Who had a bad race: Tyler Reddick, who ran the Cup race earlier in the day, finished 36th in the 38-car field with a damaged car. Track/ Made for legendscars. There wasnt as much room. by ScottKo in RacingIn News. The cars changed, too, and soon enough they were flying around the circuit at 200 miles an hour and faster. However, the cost of the land purchase and refurbishing the track will cost millions depending on the track condition and location. GB. Everyone who watches silently wishes they could see a crash, as they are excited at such high speeds. The Texas racing scene from all those years ago has become a blur for those who used to frequent the track, and they cant remember whether Terry Labonte, a native Texan and future Cup Series champion, raced at Longhorn. The decay and abandonment are clear in this photo, with refuse piled up against the stands. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Click here to tell us about it. - YouTube After discovering Augusta International Raceway in the process of mapping every road course in North. Metrolina [Speedway in Charlotte] was a lot of fun because that tracks right in our backyard. However, those years it was also used for private testing, among others by NASCAR and IndyCar teams.After Hurricane Harvey caused a lot of damage in the area on August 25, 2017, the entire 600-acre facility was being leased as a catastrophe storage facility for damaged vehicles.The Texas World Speedway official closed on September 18, 2017 as a race venue. Let's just hope that they didn't forget to get everything out of the fridge and freezer. This is the place to post abandoned racetracks, be it dirt or paved, oval or otherwise, nationally known or locally known. $2,100,000: Go-Kart Racing Facility and Business For Sale: 20: MA / Braintree It was a place where if you learned how to pass there, other race tracks were pretty easy. This famous track played host to NASCAR's top series from 1958-1988. On this day in 1994, @DaleJr won his first late model race at Myrtle Beach Speedway. With almost no notice, leaseholder Tim Self, whose NASCAR-bound son raced out at the track for much of his short-tracking days, decided not to renew his claim on the race track following the 2016 race season. Within about a decade of Zunigas visit with her family, the feel at Central Texas Speedway changed yet again. Upchurch did the same. His passion is the backbone of Lost Speedways, his Peacock series that explores shuttered, dilapidated and abandoned race tracks around the country, as the (mostly) retired NASCAR driver. AERIAL VIEWS OF DEAD RACE TRACKS. It makes me sad. You keep going back to these other race tracks, and you kind of know what to expect. A Monkey on the Racetrack. In this same period, only three new tracks have opened: Pinnacle in Michigan - which, as you'll see, closed after only two years - Presque Isle in Pennsylvania and Running Aces (harness) in Minnesota. These old signs seem to hold more of meaning after they're abandoned, as these signs give a glimpse into the knowledge of the past, the ways of life, styles, and more.