- New Smyrna Speedway
-
New Smyrna Speedway 
Aerial view of New Smyrna SpeedwayLocation S.R. 44 and County Rd. 415, Samsula, Florida Time zone EST/EDT (-0500/-0400) Coordinates 29°00′48″N 81°04′12″W / 29.0133°N 81.070°WCoordinates: 29°00′48″N 81°04′12″W / 29.0133°N 81.070°W Capacity 8,000 Owner Heart family Operator F.A.S.C.A.R. Oval Surface Asphalt Length 0.8 km (0.48 mi) Turns 4 Banking Turns 1,2-18 degrees turns 3,4-23° Lap record (David Rogers (most feature wins), , ) Banking 18 degrees Banking 23 degrees New Smyrna Speedway is an asphalt track that is 0.48 of a mile in length, located near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, that races Florida Association of Stock Car Automobile Racing (FASCAR) stock cars every Saturday night. It also has a smaller track, known as "Little New Smyrna Speedway" in the infield. This track races Quarter midgets on Friday nights.
Contents
Overview
Richie Evans competes at New Smyrna Speedway circa 1985
New Smyrna Speedway plays host to the annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing, featuring nine consecutive nights of Racing that runs during Speedweeks every February. The World Series has seen many of the current and former top names in Nascar competing on the high-banked half-mile including Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Geoff Bodine, Richie Evans, Jimmy Spencer, Pete Hamilton and more, and continually draws the top talent from around the United States and Canada.
The event features NASCAR Tour Type Modifieds, 'SK' Type Modifieds, Florida/IMCA Type Modifieds, Super Late Models, Late Models, Crate Engine Late Models, Winged Sprint Cars, and Pro-Trucks. Only Geoff Bodine has won a championship at the annual event, and gone on in his career to win the Daytona 500.
New Smyrna Speedway also hosts the annual Florida Governor's Cup 200 Super Late Model race each November. Widely regarded as the most prestigious Super Late Model Race in Florida and is among the elite short track racing events in the Country.
The racing surface was repaved in January 2007.
Since the repaving project, the track has seen quite a few NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Truck teams use it for testing. Teams test for places such as Martinsville, Richmond, and even Phoenix. The recent testing ban instituted by NASCAR has increased the draw of teams that test at the high-banked half-mile. Names that have tested there include Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya, David Ragan, and more.
History
The track was built in 1964 by Benny Corbin. It was originally designed as a clay track, but was covered in asphalt in 1967. Afterwards, Corbin partnered with racing promoters Bob Bartel and Ed Otto to launch the World Series of Asphalt Auto Racing at New Smyrna Speedway.[1]
References
- ^ "Volusia County's Benny Corbin Loves Dirt Track Racing". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Feb. 11, 1982. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ktohAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tJ8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=5619,5132667&dq=new+smyrna+speedway&hl=en.
External links
- New Smyrna Speedway official site
- FASCAR official site
- New Smyrna Race Track Features Future Stars, Daytona Beach Morning Journal, Aug. 10, 1968.
- Where's Pete Hamilton Now?, Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal, Feb. 16, 1975.
- Pit Stop, Morning Record and Journal (Meridan, CT), Feb. 11, 1977.
- Allison Back in Spotlight, St. Petersburg Times, Feb. 16, 1977.
- Sunday, It'll be 7 Hours of Country, Daytona Beach Morning Journal, June 23, 1977.
- Racing Thrives at Local Level, The Madison Courier, Feb. 18, 1981.
- New Smyrna Speedway May be Movie Site, Daytona Beach Morning Journal, Oct. 9, 1981.
This article about a motor sport venue is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
