- Orange County Speedway
-
For other uses, see Orange County (disambiguation).
Coordinates: 36°13′40″N 78°57′41″W / 36.22778°N 78.96139°W
Orange County Speedway The Fastest 3/8-mile Race Track in America
3/8 mile ovalLocation Little River Township, Orange County, at 9740 NC Highway 57, Rougemont, North Carolina 27572 Time zone GMT-5 Capacity 12,400 Owner Orange County Speedway Racing, LLC Operator Orange County Speedway Racing, LLC Opened 1966 (reopened 2006) Closed 2003 Former names Trico Motor Speedway Surface Asphalt Length 3/8 mi (0.6 km) Turns 4 Banking 19° turns
16° straightawaysOrange County Speedway is a 3/8 mile (0.6 km) asphalt oval in Orange County, near Rougemont, North Carolina. It first opened in 1966 as 1/4 mile (0.4 km) and 5/8 mile (1.6 km) dirt ovals, which operated until 1967 and 1973, respectively. With a slogan of "the fastest 3/8-mile race track in America," the oval features 19 degree banking through the turns and 16 degrees on the straightaways creating four distinct grooves making for very fast turns. The grandstands stretch from Turn 4 all the way down the front straightaway to Turn 1. The speedway closed in 2003, but reopened on March 11, 2006 as an American Speed Association member track.
Some of the most famous names in stock car racing have raced at the Orange County Speedway, including Jeff and Ward Burton, Elliott and Hermie Sadler, Scott Riggs, Todd Bodine and Bobby Labonte. Notable drivers David Pearson and Glen Wood raced at the speedway the while it was a dirt track.
Major results
NASCAR Busch Grand National Series
The NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now Nationwide Series) raced at the speedway from 1983 until 1994.
Date Winning driver Make Average speed Race length June 18, 1983 Jack Ingram Pontiac 73.55 mph (118.37 km/h) 75 miles (121 km) July 2, 1983 Tommy Houston Chevrolet 69.32 mph (111.56 km/h) July 9, 1983 Tommy Houston Chevrolet 79.83 mph (128.47 km/h) October 1, 1983 Sam Ard Oldsmobile 77.08 mph (124.05 km/h) April 21, 1984 Jack Ingram Pontiac 79.69 mph (128.25 km/h) June 6, 1984 Jack Ingram Pontiac 74.18 mph (119.38 km/h) July 7, 1984 Jack Ingram Pontiac 69.23 mph (111.41 km/h) June 15, 1985 Larry Pearson Pontiac 71.66 mph (115.33 km/h) 56 miles (90 km) September 28, 1985 Jack Ingram Pontiac 70.73 mph (113.83 km/h) June 14, 1986 Tommy Houston Buick 84.40 mph (135.83 km/h) August 16, 1986 Dale Jarrett Pontiac 52.56 mph (84.59 km/h) September 28, 1986 Larry Pearson Pontiac 65.98 mph (106.18 km/h) June 27, 1987 Mark Martin Ford 64.88 mph (104.41 km/h) August 15, 1987 Larry Pearson Chevrolet 62.48 mph (100.55 km/h) June 11, 1988 Tommy Houston Buick 84.83 mph (136.52 km/h) August 13, 1988 Rick Mast Buick 48.84 mph (78.60 km/h) June 10, 1989 Jimmy Spencer Buick 72.06 mph (115.97 km/h) 75 miles (121 km) August 12, 1989 Robert Pressley Oldsmobile 67.55 mph (108.71 km/h) June 9, 1990 Chuck Bown Pontiac 65.98 mph (106.18 km/h) August 11, 1990 Chuck Bown Pontiac 82.72 mph (133.12 km/h) June 8, 1991 Robert Pressley Oldsmobile 72.53 mph (116.73 km/h) 113 miles (182 km) August 10, 1991 Jimmy Hensley Oldsmobile 77.04 mph (123.98 km/h) June 6, 1992 Robert Pressley Oldsmobile 66.94 mph (107.73 km/h) August 8, 1992 Jimmy Spencer Oldsmobile 78.72 mph (126.69 km/h) May 1, 1993 Ward Burton Buick 68.03 mph (109.48 km/h) September 2, 1993 Hermie Sadler Oldsmobile 60.59 mph (97.51 km/h) April 30, 1994 Hermie Sadler Chevrolet 70.29 mph (113.12 km/h) See also
References
- Brown, Alan E. (2003). The History of America's Speedways: Past & Present (Third edition ed.). Comstock Park, MI: Brown. p. 528. ISBN 0931105617.
- "Orange County Speedway". VisitNC.com. 2008. http://www.visitnc.com/tools_search_detail.asp?Propertyid=36930. Retrieved 2008-07-13.[dead link]
- "Track Facts". Orange County Speedway. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-06-25. http://web.archive.org/web/20080625095836/http://www.ocstrack.com/ocs1_002.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
External links
NASCAR Nationwide Series race venues Current Atlanta • Bristol • California • Charlotte • Chicagoland • Darlington • Daytona • Dover • Indianapolis (LOR) • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Las Vegas • Loudon • Miami • Michigan • Montreal • Nashville • Phoenix • Road America • Richmond • Talladega • Texas • Watkins GlenFormer Asheville • Caraway • Gateway • Greenville-Pickens • Hickory • Langley • Lanier • Louisville • Martinsville • Memphis • Mexico City • Milwaukee • Motor Mile • Myrtle Beach • Nashville • Nazareth • North Wilkesboro • Orange County • Oxford Plains • Peach State • Pikes Peak • Road Atlanta • Rockingham • South Boston • VolusiaCategories:- Sports venues in Orange County, North Carolina
- Motorsport venues in North Carolina
- NASCAR tracks
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.