McCormick Field Raceway

McCormick Field Raceway was constructed around 1957 and is a quarter-mile oval track built around the famous baseball diamond after the city had lost its minor league team. The track hosted weekly stock car races and a pair of NASCAR Convertible Series (Now Nationwide Series) and one Grand National (Now Sprint Cup) race.

History

Grand National

NASCAR's top series only raced once at McCormick Field. A likely reason for the abbreviated run was a large obstacle the drivers had to avoid. Built around the tight confines of a baseball field, drivers had to pay particularly close attention. If they ran wide or got loose, they didn't run the risk of banging the wall or sliding through the infield, they might find themselves wedged down into the first-base dugout. It happened to Lee Petty during his championship winning season of 1958. Petty was running near the front during a heat race at the track when a bump from Cotton Owens sent him running into the dugout. The team repaired Petty's car in time for the main event and he finished one lap down in fourth place. Jim Paschal won driving a car owned by Julien Petty, Lee's brother.

Convertible Division

There is very little known about the Convertible Division's two races but we do know that Richard Petty won both in the 1958 season and Ralph Earnhardt made three starts in the Convertible Division and two were at McCormick Field one resulting in a second place finish 3 laps down another he had a horrific crash he got turned at the high speed backstretch and it sent his car flipping only to land on the freeway he was uninjured.

Ending

The safety officials thought the track was too dangerous so it was turned into McCormick Fields Baseball Park.