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Occoneechee Speedway

August 28, 2023

Occoneechee Speedway was one of the first two NASCAR tracks to open. It closed in 1968 and is the only dirt track remaining from the inaugural 1949 season.[2]

Occoneechee Speedway
Revitalized flag stand - 2010 Car Show
LocationElizabeth Brady, 0.3 N of US 70 Business, Hillsborough, North Carolina, United States
OwnerClassical American Homes Preservation Trust
OpenedMay 5, 1947
ClosedJune 1968
Former namesOrange Speedway
Major eventsHillsboro 150 (1949–1968)
Oval
SurfaceDirt
Length0.9 miles (1.5 km)
Turns4
Occoneechee Speedway
Coordinates36°4′23″N 79°4′57″W / 36.07306°N 79.08250°W / 36.07306; -79.08250
Area44 acres (18 ha)
NRHP reference No.02000435[1]
Added to NRHPMay 2, 2002

It is located just outside the town of Hillsborough, North Carolina.

Site history Edit

Occoneechee Speedway / Orange Speedway Edit

The Occoneechee Farm occupied the land in the late 19th century. The farm was named after the Occaneechi Indians that lived in the area in the late 17th century and late 18th century. The landowner, Julian S. Carr, raced horses, and built a half mile horse racing track on the site.[3]

Bill France noticed the horse racing track and expanse of open land while piloting his airplane.[3] On the site of the earlier horse track, he built a 0.9-mile dirt track in September 1947, two months before NASCAR was organized. In its earliest days, Fonty Flock and his brothers Bob and Tim dominated the track. Louise Smith became NASCAR's first female driver at the track in the fall of 1949.[4] The Occoneechee Speedway hosted stock car racing legends such as Fireball Roberts, Richard Petty, Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson. It was a crown jewel in NASCAR for most of its existence.[citation needed]

The Sunday racing schedule prompted grassroots opposition in Hillsborough, and the final race at the track, which by that time was called the Orange Speedway, was a Richard Petty victory on September 15, 1968.[5][6]

The loss of the speedway later made Bill France look for a new spot in the area to build a bigger, better, and faster track with speeds in excess of Daytona International Speedway. Eventually he looked towards South Carolina and eventually Alabama where he built the Talladega Superspeedway which opened a year later where it took Occoneechee Speedway’s date on the schedule.[citation needed]

The Occoneechee/Orange speedway, along with North Wilkesboro Speedway, is one of the inspirations for the dirt track Thomasville Speedway in the Pixar movie Cars 3 in which Petty voices the character Strip Weathers.[7]

Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail Edit

The Occoneechee Speedway site is now heavily forested with pines and sycamores. The grandstands are still visible, as is much of the mile–long oval track. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and now comprises 44 acres (180,000 m2) with over 3 miles (4.8 km) of trails.[2] A walking trail was built in 2003 that crisscrosses the clay track. A non-profit local group, , continues to organize volunteers to renovate historic structures and maintain the track and trails. The group has collected an impressive archive of videos, photographs, and historical information about the site.

In 2022, the site, owned by the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust, was transferred to state ownership to become part of Eno River State Park.[8]

Winners Edit

Race Date Cars Winner Make / Model Length Miles Purse Pole Speed (mph)
1949-03 08/07/49 28 Bob Flock 1948 Oldsmobile 1.000 200 $5,000 76.800
1950-10 08/13/50 27 Fireball Roberts 1949 Oldsmobile 1.000 100 $3,975
1950-19 10/29/50 29 Lee Petty 1949 Plymouth 1.000 175 $4,675 85.898
1951-05 04/15/51 33 Fonty Flock 1950 Oldsmobile 1.000 95 $4,665 88.287 80.889
1951-31 10/07/51 24 Herb Thomas 1951 Hudson 1.000 150 $3,550 79.628 72.454
1952-15 06/08/52 19 Tim Flock 1951 Hudson 1.000 100 $3,425 91.977 81.008
1952-30 10/12/52 29 Fonty Flock 1952 Oldsmobile 1.000 150 $5,045 75.901 73.489
1953-26 08/09/53 19 Curtis Turner 1953 Oldsmobile 1.000 100 $3,425 89.078 75.125
1954-08 04/18/54 28 Herb Thomas 1954 Hudson 1.000 100 $3,825 86.767 77.386
1955-07 03/27/55 21 Jim Paschal 1955 Oldsmobile 1.000 100 $3,800 91.896 82.304
1955-45 10/30/55 25 Tim Flock 1955 Chrysler 1.000 100 $4,285 81.673 70.465
1956-17 05/13/56 31 Buck Baker 1956 Chrysler .900 90 $4,285 89.305 83.720
1956-50 09/30/56 23 Fireball Roberts 1956 Ford .900 99 $4,560 88.067 72.734
1957-07 03/24/57 19 Buck Baker 1957 Chevrolet .900 99 $3,835 87.828 82.233
1958-06 03/23/58 18 Buck Baker 1957 Chevrolet .900 99 $3,585 83.076 78.502
1958-47 09/28/58 33 Joe Eubanks 1957 Pontiac .900 99 $3,885 87.308 72.439
1959-04 03/01/59 22 Curtis Turner 1959 T-Bird .900 99 $3,785 87.544 81.612
1959-40 09/20/59 22 Lee Petty 1959 Plymouth .900 99 $3,945 85.533 77.868
1960-18 05/29/60 23 Lee Petty 1960 Plymouth .900 99 $3,985 88.190 83.583
1960-39 09/18/60 18 Richard Petty 1960 Plymouth .900 99 $3,785 85.285 80.161
1961-11 04/02/61 20 Cotton Owens 1960 Pontiac .900 99 $3,895 91.836 84.695
1961-52 10/29/61 20 Joe Weatherly 1961 Pontiac .900 149 $5,625 95.154 85.249
1962-09 03/18/62 21 Rex White 1961 Chevrolet .900 99 $4,575 96.285 86.948
1963-10 03/10/63 23 Junior Johnson 1963 Chevrolet .900 149 $6,900 95.716 83.129
1963-54 10/27/63 24 Joe Weatherly 1963 Pontiac .900 150 $6,650 93.156 85.559
1964-15 04/12/64 27 David Pearson 1964 Dodge .900 150 $6,800 99.784 83.319
1964-55 09/20/64 28 Ned Jarrett 1964 Ford .900 150 $7,000 89.280 86.725
1965-08 03/14/65 23 Ned Jarrett 1965 Ford .900 150 $6,600 98.570 90.663
1965-53 10/24/65 20 Dick Hutcherson 1965 Ford .900 101 $4,540 98.810 87.462
1966-45 09/18/66 23 Dick Hutcherson 1966 Ford .900 150 $6,600 95.716 90.603
1967-44 09/17/67 28 Richard Petty 1967 Plymouth .900 150 $6,850 94.159 81.574
1968-43 09/15/68 24 Richard Petty 1968 Plymouth .900 150 $6,900 93.245 87.681

Gallery Edit

  •  

    The horse racetrack on Occoneechee farm, 1938

  •  

    Aerial view of Occoneechee Speedway in 1955

  •  

    Former ticket office

  •  

    Former outhouse location

  •  

    Pepsi coolers at the concession area

  •  

    View of the grandstand lights

  •  

    Stairs leading from the track level through the grandstands

  •  

    Overgrowth covers the remains of the grandstand

  •  

    The track around the start/finish line

  •  

    Grandstands back in use – 2010 Car Show

  •  

    A rusted car that was modified for racing on the speedway

References Edit

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Brief History, Page 1
  3. ^ a b Brief History, Page 2
  4. ^ Jennifer Martin and Sarah Woodard, and Virginia Freeze (August 2001). "Occoneechee Speedway" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places — Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  5. ^ Cruze, Sidney. "Kickin' Up Dust Again at the Orange Speedway, North Carolina Electric Cooperatives, 2004-01. Accessed 2017-12-26.
  6. ^ . Historic Speedway Group. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  7. ^ Mark Vaughn (May 22, 2017). "'Cars 3' will pay tribute to abandoned 'ghost' tracks". AutoWeek.
  8. ^ Keck, Aaron (2022-03-11). "Historic Speedway Trail To Be Part of Eno River State Park Expansion". Retrieved 2022-12-24.

Further reading Edit

  • Occoneechee-Orange Speedway — Magazine (Speedway Spotlite Publications) by Ed Sanseverino (1994)

External links Edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Occoneechee Speedway.
  • Kickin' Up Dust At The Orange Speedway
  • NASCAR track history at racing-reference.info

August 28, 2023
occoneechee, speedway, first, nascar, tracks, open, closed, 1968, only, dirt, track, remaining, from, inaugural, 1949, season, revitalized, flag, stand, 2010, showlocationelizabeth, brady, business, hillsborough, north, carolina, united, statesownerclassical, . Occoneechee Speedway was one of the first two NASCAR tracks to open It closed in 1968 and is the only dirt track remaining from the inaugural 1949 season 2 Occoneechee SpeedwayRevitalized flag stand 2010 Car ShowLocationElizabeth Brady 0 3 N of US 70 Business Hillsborough North Carolina United StatesOwnerClassical American Homes Preservation TrustOpenedMay 5 1947ClosedJune 1968Former namesOrange SpeedwayMajor eventsHillsboro 150 1949 1968 OvalSurfaceDirtLength0 9 miles 1 5 km Turns4Occoneechee SpeedwayU S National Register of Historic PlacesCoordinates36 4 23 N 79 4 57 W 36 07306 N 79 08250 W 36 07306 79 08250Area44 acres 18 ha NRHP reference No 02000435 1 Added to NRHPMay 2 2002It is located just outside the town of Hillsborough North Carolina Contents 1 Site history 1 1 Occoneechee Speedway Orange Speedway 1 2 Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail 2 Winners 3 Gallery 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksSite history EditOcconeechee Speedway Orange Speedway Edit The Occoneechee Farm occupied the land in the late 19th century The farm was named after the Occaneechi Indians that lived in the area in the late 17th century and late 18th century The landowner Julian S Carr raced horses and built a half mile horse racing track on the site 3 Bill France noticed the horse racing track and expanse of open land while piloting his airplane 3 On the site of the earlier horse track he built a 0 9 mile dirt track in September 1947 two months before NASCAR was organized In its earliest days Fonty Flock and his brothers Bob and Tim dominated the track Louise Smith became NASCAR s first female driver at the track in the fall of 1949 4 The Occoneechee Speedway hosted stock car racing legends such as Fireball Roberts Richard Petty Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson It was a crown jewel in NASCAR for most of its existence citation needed The Sunday racing schedule prompted grassroots opposition in Hillsborough and the final race at the track which by that time was called the Orange Speedway was a Richard Petty victory on September 15 1968 5 6 The loss of the speedway later made Bill France look for a new spot in the area to build a bigger better and faster track with speeds in excess of Daytona International Speedway Eventually he looked towards South Carolina and eventually Alabama where he built the Talladega Superspeedway which opened a year later where it took Occoneechee Speedway s date on the schedule citation needed The Occoneechee Orange speedway along with North Wilkesboro Speedway is one of the inspirations for the dirt track Thomasville Speedway in the Pixar movie Cars 3 in which Petty voices the character Strip Weathers 7 Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail Edit The Occoneechee Speedway site is now heavily forested with pines and sycamores The grandstands are still visible as is much of the mile long oval track It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and now comprises 44 acres 180 000 m2 with over 3 miles 4 8 km of trails 2 A walking trail was built in 2003 that crisscrosses the clay track A non profit local group The Historic Speedway Group continues to organize volunteers to renovate historic structures and maintain the track and trails The group has collected an impressive archive of videos photographs and historical information about the site In 2022 the site owned by the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust was transferred to state ownership to become part of Eno River State Park 8 Winners EditRace Date Cars Winner Make Model Length Miles Purse Pole Speed mph 1949 03 08 07 49 28 Bob Flock 1948 Oldsmobile 1 000 200 5 000 76 8001950 10 08 13 50 27 Fireball Roberts 1949 Oldsmobile 1 000 100 3 9751950 19 10 29 50 29 Lee Petty 1949 Plymouth 1 000 175 4 675 85 8981951 05 04 15 51 33 Fonty Flock 1950 Oldsmobile 1 000 95 4 665 88 287 80 8891951 31 10 07 51 24 Herb Thomas 1951 Hudson 1 000 150 3 550 79 628 72 4541952 15 06 08 52 19 Tim Flock 1951 Hudson 1 000 100 3 425 91 977 81 0081952 30 10 12 52 29 Fonty Flock 1952 Oldsmobile 1 000 150 5 045 75 901 73 4891953 26 08 09 53 19 Curtis Turner 1953 Oldsmobile 1 000 100 3 425 89 078 75 1251954 08 04 18 54 28 Herb Thomas 1954 Hudson 1 000 100 3 825 86 767 77 3861955 07 03 27 55 21 Jim Paschal 1955 Oldsmobile 1 000 100 3 800 91 896 82 3041955 45 10 30 55 25 Tim Flock 1955 Chrysler 1 000 100 4 285 81 673 70 4651956 17 05 13 56 31 Buck Baker 1956 Chrysler 900 90 4 285 89 305 83 7201956 50 09 30 56 23 Fireball Roberts 1956 Ford 900 99 4 560 88 067 72 7341957 07 03 24 57 19 Buck Baker 1957 Chevrolet 900 99 3 835 87 828 82 2331958 06 03 23 58 18 Buck Baker 1957 Chevrolet 900 99 3 585 83 076 78 5021958 47 09 28 58 33 Joe Eubanks 1957 Pontiac 900 99 3 885 87 308 72 4391959 04 03 01 59 22 Curtis Turner 1959 T Bird 900 99 3 785 87 544 81 6121959 40 09 20 59 22 Lee Petty 1959 Plymouth 900 99 3 945 85 533 77 8681960 18 05 29 60 23 Lee Petty 1960 Plymouth 900 99 3 985 88 190 83 5831960 39 09 18 60 18 Richard Petty 1960 Plymouth 900 99 3 785 85 285 80 1611961 11 04 02 61 20 Cotton Owens 1960 Pontiac 900 99 3 895 91 836 84 6951961 52 10 29 61 20 Joe Weatherly 1961 Pontiac 900 149 5 625 95 154 85 2491962 09 03 18 62 21 Rex White 1961 Chevrolet 900 99 4 575 96 285 86 9481963 10 03 10 63 23 Junior Johnson 1963 Chevrolet 900 149 6 900 95 716 83 1291963 54 10 27 63 24 Joe Weatherly 1963 Pontiac 900 150 6 650 93 156 85 5591964 15 04 12 64 27 David Pearson 1964 Dodge 900 150 6 800 99 784 83 3191964 55 09 20 64 28 Ned Jarrett 1964 Ford 900 150 7 000 89 280 86 7251965 08 03 14 65 23 Ned Jarrett 1965 Ford 900 150 6 600 98 570 90 6631965 53 10 24 65 20 Dick Hutcherson 1965 Ford 900 101 4 540 98 810 87 4621966 45 09 18 66 23 Dick Hutcherson 1966 Ford 900 150 6 600 95 716 90 6031967 44 09 17 67 28 Richard Petty 1967 Plymouth 900 150 6 850 94 159 81 5741968 43 09 15 68 24 Richard Petty 1968 Plymouth 900 150 6 900 93 245 87 681Gallery Edit The horse racetrack on Occoneechee farm 1938 Aerial view of Occoneechee Speedway in 1955 Former ticket office Former outhouse location Pepsi coolers at the concession area View of the grandstand lights Stairs leading from the track level through the grandstands Overgrowth covers the remains of the grandstand The track around the start finish line Grandstands back in use 2010 Car Show A rusted car that was modified for racing on the speedwayReferences Edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service March 13 2009 a b Brief History Page 1 a b Brief History Page 2 Jennifer Martin and Sarah Woodard and Virginia Freeze August 2001 Occoneechee Speedway PDF National Register of Historic Places Nomination and Inventory North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office Retrieved 2015 02 01 Cruze Sidney Kickin Up Dust Again at the Orange Speedway North Carolina Electric Cooperatives 2004 01 Accessed 2017 12 26 History Speedway Group History Historic Speedway Group Archived from the original on November 16 2019 Retrieved November 15 2019 Mark Vaughn May 22 2017 Cars 3 will pay tribute to abandoned ghost tracks AutoWeek Keck Aaron 2022 03 11 Historic Speedway Trail To Be Part of Eno River State Park Expansion Retrieved 2022 12 24 Further reading EditOcconeechee Orange Speedway Magazine Speedway Spotlite Publications by Ed Sanseverino 1994 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Occoneechee Speedway The Historic Speedway Group Kickin Up Dust At The Orange Speedway NASCAR track history at racing reference info Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Occoneechee Speedway amp oldid 1152195995, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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