Ona speedway8/1/2023 ![]() ![]() Once part of the so-called Northern Tour, Albany now runs weekly Sportsman races.Ĭup schedule 1964-71 (six races). Track now runs a Late Model schedule weekly.Ĭup schedule 1970-71 (two races). Attend enough races here and you’ll eventually eat one of the track’s famous bologna burgers.Ĭup schedule 1969-71 (three races). Track now hosts Late Models every other week. SoBo also hosted Xfinity and Camping World Truck races but dropped off the national-series schedule in 2003 with its last Truck race. View Gallery: Car racing at Bowman Gray StadiumĬup schedule 1960-71 (10 races). PHOTOS: CAR RACING AT BOWMAN GRAY STADIUM The track remains strong, however, and has built a regional reputation for fierce racing and occasional over-the-top driver confrontations. Reynolds, Bowman Gray was one of the casualties of the top series’ downsizing. Despite being in the headquarters city of then-new NASCAR sponsor R.J. Richard Petty won five of the last seven Cup races here.Ĭup schedule 1958-71 (29 races). Track continues to operate with Late Model racing on an irregular schedule. promoted the first race at the track in 1946.Ĭup schedule 1965-71 (12 races). David Pearson and Ralph Earnhardt (Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s father) won track championships at the half-mile, which hosted the first flag-to-flag network television coverage of a Cup race (April 10, 1971). Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Easley, S.C.Ĭup schedule 1955-71 (28 races). The racing surface, now part of the park, is used for bicycling and walking. Adjacent to the French Broad River, New Asheville was a hotbed for regional racing after the Cup Series left town, but the track was closed in 1999 when the area was converted to a city park. After closing and becoming overgrown with weeds and sitting dormant for more than 30 years, the facility reopened in 2009 as a venue for concerts, corporate outings, car shows and similar events.Ĭup schedule 1962-71 (eight races). A legendary stock car racing short track, Columbia Speedway is remembered for providing solid experience for future champions like Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough. When the track held Sunday afternoon races, it suspended competition to eliminate engine noise while funeral services were held at an adjacent cemetery.Ĭup schedule 1951-71 (43 races). Now runs weekly schedule highlighted by Late Models. Thirteen short tracks were booted from the schedule at the end of the 1971 season: The asphalt track is presently in need of maintenance but the track remains a local favorite for short track racing fans.NASCAR reduced the schedule of its top national series dramatically in 1972 - from 48 races to 31. Today, the grandstands only hold about 2500 people instead of the 16,000 that showed up in 1963. The last NASCAR race at Ona Speedway was in 1971 as the "Mountaineer 500" won by another NASCAR Hall of Famer, Bobby Allison.Įvery October the inaugural race lives on through the "Mountaineer 100" for the late model series. NASCAR then wouldn't return to West Virginia until 1970 where they again ran the "Mountaineer 300". Richard Petty would get the win this time. The NASCAR series would race here the following year again but this time go 500 laps in the "Mountaineer 500". Richard Petty would finish 10th in this race. The winner of the first "Mountaineer 300" was Fred Lorenzen as he led 165 of the 300 laps. Several NASCAR legends competed in the event including "The King" Richard Petty who would go on to win 7 NASCAR Winston Cup Championships. The race was titled "The Mountaineer 300" and had a 1st place prize of $1,600. The first race ran at Ona Speedway (at that time known as the West Virginia International Speedway) was a NASCAR Grand National Race on August 18, 1963. The track is currently under new ownership who are working towards renovating the racetrack. Visitors to the area are surprised to find that the former host of American Bandstand was once was the owner of this track. The racetrack has gone by several names over the years including the Huntington Raceway, West Virginia International Speedway, and Dick Clark's International Raceway Park. Ona Speedway is a 7/16 mile short track located in Ona, West Virginia, just between Charleston and Huntington. ![]()
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