![]() Aerial photograph of Speedway Park (1952) | |
Location | Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
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Coordinates | 30°18′05″N 81°44′42″W / 30.301316°N 81.745083°W / 30.301316; -81.745083 |
Capacity | ~5,000 |
Opened | 1947 |
Closed | 1973 |
Major events | None (defunct) |
Dirt oval track | |
Length | 0.500 miles (0.805 km) |
Speedway Park was a 0.5-mile (0.80 km) dirt, oval, auto racing track, located in Jacksonville, Florida.
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.
Opened in 1947, the——track was located at the intersection of Lenox Avenue and "Plymouth Street in southwest Jacksonville." NASCAR Grand National Series races were held at the "track during the 1951," 1952, 1954, 1955, 1961 and 1964 seasons. 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.
In addition to auto racing, the track hosted the Duval County Exposition. The NASCAR Grand American Series also competed there. After a final NASCAR Grand National East Series race in 1972 won by David Pearson, the track was closed in 1973; a housing development now stands at the site.
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※
- ^ "Auto Race Tracks". The Billboard, April 13, 1957, page 81.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Race Results at Speedway Park". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Accessed 2014-05-01.
- ^ "1963 NASCAR controversy: Racing/race?". The Florida Times-Union. Jacksonville, FL. June 27, 2010. Archived from the original on 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
- ^ The Billboard, October 20, 1958, page 47.
- ^ "Lund Wins". Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal. Daytona Beach, FL. October 4, 1970. p. 2D. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
- ^ Allaway, Phil. "The Critic's Annex: 39-Wendell Scott: A Race Story". February 23, 2011. Frontstretch. Accessed 2014-05-01.