Old DOMINION SPEEDWAY - MANASSAS VA
In April 1952, a 22 acre plot was purchased which contained what was the Longview Speedway. It was a little over a quarter of a mile long and was a dirt track, and was basically flat. Right from the start, the owner paved the track and lengthened it to a 3/8 mile. It started out racing roadsters; but after three years they were replaced with Modifieds, with flat-head Ford motors as the powerplants. The Northern Virginia Stock Car Club was formed shortly thereafter, and stock cars became the way of life around the speedway. The first NASCAR sanctioned race saw the convertible division race here in 1957. It was 150 laps, and Joe Weatherly just beat Glen Wood by a slim, two second margin. NASCAR came to the track in 1958 and brought the Cup cars. The first race was 150 laps and Frankie Snider beat Jack smith to get his only
career win. NASCAR didn't return here until 1963, and increased the race distance to 300 laps. Richard Petty beat Ned Jarret by a lap and went to victory lane. There were two races in 1964. The July race was expanded to 400 laps and Ned Jarrett got the win over David Pearson. The September race was again expanded; this time to 500 laps. Ned Jarrett once again beat David Pearson. The remaining three races were contested at the 400 lap distance. In July 1965, Junior Johnson would win here; making it one of his 13 wins that season. September of that year saw Richard Petty beat Jarrett by a lap. The final race at the track was in 1966; Elmo Langley got his second (and final) Cup win as he
whipped the field by seven laps. John sears was second; followed by James Hylton and Larry Manning. The track continued to operate after the NASCAR Series left in 1967. With heavy manufacturer support and the advent of big sponsorship dollars, the Grand National cars had become too fast and the crowds too large for the smaller tracks like Old Dominion. Even so, the track remained successful for
many more years, in large part due to the Late Model Stock racing class that track promoter Dick Gore pioneered. The class reduced costs for local racers, increasing the car count for each race and thereby the paying spectators. It was the progression of Prince William County to a bedroom community that doomed the speedway in the end. All those new folks who moved in near the racetrack weren’t too pleased when the engines roared on a Saturday nights. Even mufflers and sound walls couldn’t calm the outcry. The track shut down for good in 2012. So, the race engines are silent now, replaced by the drone of traffic. The fearless, grease-smeared throttle-jockeys have moved on -- replaced by commuters in SUVs. The last owners of Old Dominion opened a speedway south of Fredericksburg after developing the Old Dominion property with townhouses.
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