Speedway Park

Speedway Park
Aerial photograph of Speedway Park (1952)
LocationJacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Coordinates30°18′05″N 81°44′42″W / 30.301316°N 81.745083°W / 30.301316; -81.745083
Capacity~5,000
Opened1947
Closed1973
Major eventsNone (defunct)
Dirt oval track
Length0.500 miles (0.805 km)

Speedway Park was a 0.5-mile (0.80 km) dirt, oval, auto racing track, located in Jacksonville, Florida. [1]

It was built in 1946 by Eddie Bland on land belonging to the family farm and later came to be known as Jacksonville Speedway after it was sold in 1954. [2]

Opened in 1947, the track was located at the intersection of Lenox Avenue and Plymouth Street in southwest Jacksonville.[3] NASCAR Grand National Series races were held at the track during the 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1961 and 1964 seasons.[4] The final Grand National Series race at the track was won by Wendell Scott, the first African-American to win in NASCAR's top series.[5]

In addition to auto racing, the track hosted the Duval County Exposition.[6] The NASCAR Grand American Series also competed there.[7] After a final NASCAR Grand National East Series race in 1972 won by David Pearson,[4] the track was closed in 1973; a housing development now stands at the site.[8]

Race results

Date Series Driver Make Laps Avg. Speed
November 4, 1951 NASCAR Grand National Series Herb Thomas Hudson 200 53.412 mph (85.958 km/h)
March 3, 1952 NASCAR Grand National Series Marshall Teague Hudson 200 55.197 mph (88.831 km/h)
March 7, 1954 NASCAR Grand National Series Herb Thomas Hudson 200 56.461 mph (90.865 km/h)
February 13, 1955 NASCAR Grand National Series Lee Petty Chrysler 200 69.031 mph (111.095 km/h)
November 20, 1960 NASCAR Grand National Series Lee Petty Plymouth 200 64.400 mph (103.642 km/h)
December 1, 1963 NASCAR Grand National Series Wendell Scott Chevrolet 202 58.252 mph (93.748 km/h)
March 14, 1972 NASCAR Grand National East Series David Pearson Chevrolet 202 54.758 mph (88.124 km/h)

References

  1. ^ "Auto Race Tracks". The Billboard, April 13, 1957, page 81.
  2. ^ Jones, Anne; McFarland, Rex (April 25, 2007). All Around the Track: Oral Histories of Drivers, Mechanics, Officials, Owners, Journalists and Others in Motorsports Past and Present. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 175. ISBN 978-0786429882.
  3. ^ Coble, Don. "Yarbrough lived and raced fast, fell even faster Archived 2014-05-02 at the Wayback Machine". June 27, 2011. Brainerd, MN: Brainerd Dispatch. Accessed 2014-05-01.
  4. ^ a b "Race Results at Speedway Park". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Accessed 2014-05-01.
  5. ^ "1963 NASCAR controversy: Racing or race?". The Florida Times-Union. Jacksonville, FL. June 27, 2010. Archived from the original on 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
  6. ^ The Billboard, October 20, 1958, page 47.
  7. ^ "Lund Wins". Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal. Daytona Beach, FL. October 4, 1970. p. 2D. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  8. ^ Allaway, Phil. "The Critic's Annex: 39-Wendell Scott: A Race Story". February 23, 2011. Frontstretch. Accessed 2014-05-01.