- Columbus Motor Speedway
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For the racetrack in Wisconsin, see Columbus 151 Speedway.
Columbus Motor Speedway or CMS, is a 1/3 mile asphalt oval and figure 8 racing track located south of Columbus, Ohio within the town limits of Obetz.[1]
Contents
Track History
In 1945, John Nuckles & Robert Roseberry purchased 50 acres (200,000 m2) of land for site of the future race track. The track opened in 1946 as a dirt track for motorcycles. In 1950 the track was given lighting, and in 1957, the track was paved for the first time as car racing, specifically stock car racing became more popular. Robert Roseberry sold his portion to John Nuckles after the paving was complete. The track was run by the late Nuckles for many years, and is still owned and operated by the Nuckles family today. Among the drivers to make their names at CMS are, Neal Sceva, Dick Freeman, Benny Parsons and Ralph O'Day.
Track Facts
The track is one of two tracks in Ohio to be granted a NASCAR sanctioning agreement,[1] the other being Kil-Kare Speedway. It hosts Whelen All-American Series (formerly the Dodge Weekly Racing Series) races sanctioned by NASCAR. As of 2009, weekly race series are late models, modifieds, stock cars and compact car divisions.[1] Occasional race series include midgets, legends, winged-sprint cars, and go carts.
It also hosts many exhibition events, which are some of the most popular attractions, including trailer races, school bus figure 8 races, demolition derbies, "roll over" contests, monster truck stunt rallies, "powder-puff" races, and NASCAR "legends" races which feature famous NEXTEL Cup drivers. Due to the relatively high compensation required to secure Nextel Cup driver participation in the NASCAR "legends" races, said events have not occurred for several years now and may not occur in the future. However, in 2011, the K&N Pro Series East will race for the first time.
2009 platform collapse
The race track made national headlines on April 11, 2009, when the concrete platform that supported the announcer's box collapsed shortly after the gate opened.[1] One person was temporarily stuck in the rubble, and six people suffered minor injuries at the season-opening event.[1] Local rescue workers were called to the scene and the events were canceled for the evening. Since the incident the platform has been repaired and reinforced to prevent a similar episode from ever happening in the future.
2009 bus crash
At approximately 10:35 pm on May 23, 2009, a school bus crashed head on at nearly 20 mph into the concrete wall in turn one during the evening's scheduled school bus figure 8 race. Minor injures were sustained to approximately one dozen spectators as small pieces of rubble from the wall flew into the grandstands.
A shocking video of the incident was captured by a viewer with a home video camera, and was played on new stations throughout the country that weekend. Currently said video exists on Youtube, and can be viewed by searching for "columbus motor speedway bus crash". It is the first video in the search results.
Sources
- ^ a b c d e Gray, Kathy Lynn (April 11, 2009). "6 injured, 1 trapped in collapse at Columbus Motor Speedway". Columbus Dispatch. http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/04/11/speedway.html?sid=101. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- Columbus Motor Speedway at cityguide, Retrieved June 23, 2007
- Columbus Motor Speedway at na-motorsports.com, Retrieved June 23, 2007
External links
Coordinates: 39°53′11.01″N 82°56′35.28″W / 39.8863917°N 82.9431333°W
Categories:- Buildings and structures in Franklin County, Ohio
- Motorsport venues in Ohio
- Visitor attractions in Franklin County, Ohio
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