FANTASY NASCAR Racin

The track opened in 1952 as Southland Speedway. It was a one mile paved oval track. It was the second superspeedway ever built (the first being the 1.366-mile Darlington Raceway in, SC). It was also the first lighted superspeedway and the first track on which NASCAR sanctioned night-time races. The track had a long and narrow shape, like a paper clip, with the front and back straights about 500 feet apart and the straightaways about 1,850 feet long. The turns were banked at 16° and the straightaways were flat. Its first major event was a 200-mile AAA sanctioned Indy Car race held on July 4, 1952. That race was won by Troy Ruttman in an

Offy powered Kuzma. From 1953 the track was known as Raleigh Speedway. NASCAR races were held at the track from 1953 to 1958. (Make sure to check out the photos and the huge crowds the races attracted) On the 1/4-mile infield track there were weekly Modified and Sportsman races on Fridays. Occasionally, the Sportsman and Modified's ran on the one-mile track. From 1953 the track was known as Raleigh Speedway. NASCAR races were held at the track from 1953 to 1958 and ran races of 100, 250, or 300 miles. In the first race

Fonty Flock would start 43rd and out run Speedy Thompson by two laps to get the win in the 300 miler. This record for the worst start by a race winner in NASCAR's top series still stands as tie to Johnny Mantz' win from 43rd at the 1950 Southern 500 in Darlington. Herb Thomas would win here in 1954 and 1955 while Fonty Flock would win again in the fall 1955 race. 1956 would see Fireball Roberts get his first win since 1950; and the first win in his iconic #22. Carl Kiekhaefer protested the legality of the #22's flywheel after this race. They didn't have a scale at the track, so they had to weigh it at a local fish market. The flywheel was found to be legal, and Fireball kept his victory. In 1957 Paul Goldsmith would out duel Frankie Schneider to get his fourth win that season. 1958 again saw Fireball Roberts in victory lane for the tracks final race. The race started 55 cars and saw Roberts collect $3,800 for the win. A hefty sum for

those days. The NASCAR Convertible series also raced here. The drivers to get win were Frank Mundy, Curtis Turner and Bill Amick. The final three Cup races were held on July 4, 1956, 1957, and 1958. When the Daytona International Speedway opened, the July 4 Grand National event moved to that track. Shortly thereafter, the Raleigh Speedway closed due to noise complaints from residents of nearby neighborhoods. The track was demolished in 1967. Some interesting facts from the speedway include: Jocko Flocko, Tim Flock's pet monkey, accompanied the racer in-car for the final time at the 1953 Grand National race. Somehow Jocko got loose from his seat harness and began exploring the race car. He found a string that lifted a trap door where the driver could check the condition of the right-front tire. As Jocko opened the door, a pebble flew up and struck

him in the head. The monkey went berserk and Tim, who was leading the race at the time, had to pit to have the crazed primate removed from the car. Tim finished third as a result. The only fatalities at the track occurred during a night race on September 19, 1953. Drivers Bill Blevins and Jesse Midkiff were killed during the start of a combined Modified and Sportsman race. Blevins car would not start as the 60-car field took off. He got a start from a push truck, but stalled and came to a stop in the racing line at the exit of turn two on the backstretch — perhaps under the mistaken assumption that he would get another push-start. Blevin's dark maroon car went unnoticed by race officials as the green flag waved. Some in the crowd noticed the stalled car and yelled and pointed, but the flag

Fantasy NASCAR Racing

RALEIGH SPEEDWAY - RALEIGH NC