AIRBORNE SPEEDWAY - PLATTSBURGH NY
(Plattsburgh International Raceway)
Starting out in 1954, Airborne has survived until the present time, largely running under some sort of the name "Airborne" due to the fact it was constructed at the same time as Plattsburgh's sprawling Strategic Air Command base (which has long since been closed). The track was a 1/2 mile distance, built on a tract of land south of Plattsburgh. The track was originally dirt and the partners learned quickly that their entrance ticket booths could not be right on Rte 22, as there were tremendous traffic jams the opening week. It started out running mostly Modified and sportsman events. In 1955; NASCAR hosted a Cup race there. In the race, Lee Petty would start on the pole and lead the first 25 laps. Buck Baker would assume the lead and lead the next 37 circuits after Petty got loose and Baker slipped by. Petty retook the lead on lap 63 and led going away; taking the checkered
flag over a lap ahead of second place finisher Buck Baker. Tim Flock, Bob Welborne and Carl Krueger rounded out the top five. Petty would pick up the lion's share of the $5,00 prize fund. He won $1,000 for his winning efforts. Baker win $650 and Flock $450. The event saw 2,600 people pay the three dollar admission to see the race. The owners could see that the track was progressing along well; but, there were two things that maybe weren't settling well: the dust and subsequent problems associated with a dirt track. So, within the period of 1959 to 1960, he managed to both pave the track and sign up with the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing. This not only availed his track of many of the biggest NASCAR sportsman stars of the era, but it also put it under the autocratic thumb of Big Bill France. The zenith may have come in 1961, when not only
did Airborne have both national champions running there, but it had animpressive number of those who finished in the top twenty in points that year. The track hosted various NASCAR divisions through 1975, and is still in operation as of 2022.
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