The Manzanita Speedway was a dirt track racing facility located in the suburban southwestern part of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The facility had a 1/3 mile and 1/2 mile tracks. The track held USAC events up through the 2009 Sprint Car season opener. The track was sold to a rigging company and the final race was held on April 11, 2009.[1]
Originally a dog-racing track known as Manzanita Park, it was converted into a 1/4 mile jalopy race track during the summer of 1951. The first race was held August 25, 1951 in front of 3,923 fans. In 1954, Manzanita added a 1/2 mile track and opened it with a 25-hour marathon race.
In 1965, Keith Hall purchased the facility and renamed it Manzanita Speedway. In 1968, he founded the Western States Championships (now the Western World Championships) at the track, offering an at-the-time generous $10,000 purse. This race became part of the triple crown of sprint car racing.
Hall sold the track in 1984, but soon repossessed it when the new owners defaulted on the loan. In 2004, Joe and Millie Kimbro took over ownership of the facility.
In 2007, the Kimbros sold the track to the Martin family, well known in the sprint car ranks. The ownership change became effective August 15, 2007.
Closureedit
In 2009 the Martins sold the track to Southwest Rigging and the company is set to level the site and use it for parking and equipment storage after closing the doors on April 12, 2009. The final event was the Donnie Davis Memorial.[1] Describing the reason for the sale, Bobby Martin said "I thought we'd get 10 years out of it before we'd have to sell it. But attendance is down 40 percent, and we lost ($468,465) last year ... the nail in the coffin was some environmental issues involving dust and also noise complaints from neighbors. We knew eventually we'd get closed down because of it."[2]
The American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) Regional Tours had to rearrange their schedules for the 2009 season. The Discount Tire Company ASCS Canyon Region had to reschedule some of their 17 events at other speedways. Events were split between Hollywood Hills Speedway in San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico and USA Raceway in Tucson. The series had competed at the track for over 50 years.[3]
Racesedit
In the 1960's they had figure eight dirt races that were televised on the local TV channel, KPHO TV Channel 5.
The track hosted over 500 racers each year during 75 to 80 nights of racing. The track featured USAC/CRA sprint cars to bombers.[4]
manzanita, speedway, dirt, track, racing, facility, located, suburban, southwestern, part, phoenix, arizona, united, states, facility, mile, mile, tracks, track, held, usac, events, through, 2009, sprint, season, opener, track, sold, rigging, company, final, r. The Manzanita Speedway was a dirt track racing facility located in the suburban southwestern part of Phoenix Arizona United States The facility had a 1 3 mile and 1 2 mile tracks The track held USAC events up through the 2009 Sprint Car season opener The track was sold to a rigging company and the final race was held on April 11 2009 1 Frontstretch in 2008 Contents 1 History 1 1 Closure 2 Races 3 Notable track alumni 4 References 5 External linksHistory editOriginally a dog racing track known as Manzanita Park it was converted into a 1 4 mile jalopy race track during the summer of 1951 The first race was held August 25 1951 in front of 3 923 fans In 1954 Manzanita added a 1 2 mile track and opened it with a 25 hour marathon race In 1965 Keith Hall purchased the facility and renamed it Manzanita Speedway In 1968 he founded the Western States Championships now the Western World Championships at the track offering an at the time generous 10 000 purse This race became part of the triple crown of sprint car racing The track hosted 3 NASCAR Winston West Series races between 1974 and 1975 Hall sold the track in 1984 but soon repossessed it when the new owners defaulted on the loan In 2004 Joe and Millie Kimbro took over ownership of the facility In 2007 the Kimbros sold the track to the Martin family well known in the sprint car ranks The ownership change became effective August 15 2007 Closure edit In 2009 the Martins sold the track to Southwest Rigging and the company is set to level the site and use it for parking and equipment storage after closing the doors on April 12 2009 The final event was the Donnie Davis Memorial 1 Describing the reason for the sale Bobby Martin said I thought we d get 10 years out of it before we d have to sell it But attendance is down 40 percent and we lost 468 465 last year the nail in the coffin was some environmental issues involving dust and also noise complaints from neighbors We knew eventually we d get closed down because of it 2 The American Sprint Car Series ASCS Regional Tours had to rearrange their schedules for the 2009 season The Discount Tire Company ASCS Canyon Region had to reschedule some of their 17 events at other speedways Events were split between Hollywood Hills Speedway in San Felipe Pueblo New Mexico and USA Raceway in Tucson The series had competed at the track for over 50 years 3 Races editIn the 1960 s they had figure eight dirt races that were televised on the local TV channel KPHO TV Channel 5 The track hosted over 500 racers each year during 75 to 80 nights of racing The track featured USAC CRA sprint cars to bombers 4 The track occasionally hosted World of Outlaws events Notable track alumni editBilly Boat 5 Lealand McSpadden Ron Shuman J J Yeley Butch BeardReferences edit a b Manzanita Speedway sold last race next month KTVK March 13 2009 Archived from the original on March 19 2009 Retrieved 2009 03 14 Help Center the Arizona Republic Canyon Southwest schedules revised Manzanita closing Motorsport com March 13 2009 Retrieved 2009 03 14 Manzanita Speedway www scrafan com Manzanita Speedway www hammerdownusa com Upton Larry McDonald Judy 2012 The Historic Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix ISBN 978 1439649961 External links editOfficial website Manzazita Speedway archive at Racing Reference 33 24 15 N 112 07 55 W 33 404137 N 112 131824 W 33 404137 112 131824 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Manzanita Speedway amp oldid 1176248850, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
