SANTA CLARA FAIRGROUNDS - SAN JOSE CA
This was a 1/2 mile dirt oval and was the fair grounds for Santa Clara County. Racing was no stranger to the fairgrounds. Th e AAA held champ car races on the mile in 1951 and 1952. The NASCAR Pacific Coast late model stock cars raced there in 1956 & 1957. Eddie Pagan won the 150 lap race on October 15, 1956 with local favorite Clyde Palmer taking 3rd. The Cup series made their lone appearance here in 1957. Marvin Porter was the winner on September 15, in a race that ended after 116 of the 200 laps after a 9 car accident. No info could be found on exactly why the race wasn't continued. 22 cars started the
race an after the crash only five cars were still running. Two cars were on the lead lap, and the next car running was four laps back. The final finishing order saw Porter with the win over Eddie Pagan. Lloyd Dane was third; followed by Ernie Young and Jim Blomgren. The final three were all out of the race. The track was rebuilt in 1990 to a 1/3 mile dirt oval. Racing continued at the fairgrounds thru October 1999 when Terry McCarl won the final night of the Trophy Cup with Brent Kaeding taking the overall Trophy Cup title. The fair board did not renew the racing contract for 2000 and instead pursued several development plans. As of now, the facility remains active but the track is gone.
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