- Selinsgrove Speedway
Selinsgrove Speedway is one-half mile (0.8 km) dirt
racetrack in Penn Township just south of Selinsgrove, Snyder County,Pennsylvania in theUnited States . It hosts Road-Runner, Pro Stock, Late Model, andSprint Car racing every Saturday night. It also hosts Go-kart and Micro Sprint races every Friday night on its in-field track, the one-fifth mile (0.3 km) Selinsgrove Raceway Park.History
Selinsgrove Speedway was built in 1945 under the supervision of
Joie Chitwood , a Hollywoodstunt man and race car driver from Denison,Texas . cite web | url = http://www.selinsgrovespeedway.com/speedwayhistory.html | title = "The Story" - The History of Selinsgrove Speedway | accessdate = 2007-07-08 | author = Dave Herrold | publisher = Selinsgrove Speedway ] The land had previously been afamily farm owned by the Allison and Davis families of Snyder County. They sold it to the Dauntless Hook and LadderVolunteer Fire Department of Selinsgrove in 1941 as a permanent home for the fire company's annual carnival. The first race was held onJuly 20 ,1946 as anAmerican Automobile Association sanctioned event. The winner wasBill Holland , who would go on to win theIndianapolis 500 in 1949. Placing second wasRed Byron , who won the firstNASCAR -sanctioned race ever, held onFebruary 15 ,1948 at theDaytona Beach Road Course and would go on to become the first champion of the NASCAR's Strictly Stock division, now known as theNextel Cup .The
grandstand at Selinsgrove Speedway was constructed in 1948. Still standing as of 2008, the grandstands were built from 175,000board feet (400 m³) oflumber with a capacity of 5,500 spectators. Lights for night racing were added in 1953. Selinsgrove Speedway began hosting weekly events in 1950, under the promotion of George "Buster" Keller. Weekly racing continued until 1959, when the action at the track slowed to occasional races. In 1962, weekly racing resumed once again.Chris Economaki , a pioneer ofmotorsports writing, served as the track announcer during the early 1950s. The track continued to expand its operation over the years and was managed by several promoters.As of 2008, Selinsgrove Speedway is owned by the Selinsgrove Fair Association, with Charlie Paige as the promoter. Paige has directed improvements and expansion at Selinsgrove Speedway. New concession stands have been built, as have new restrooms and V.I.P. facilities. The smaller Selinsgrove Raceway Park was built in the infield in 2001 and the backstretch and turns 1 and 3 were widened in 2006.
elinsgrove Open
The track started the
sprint car racing special event in 1983.cite web|url=http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=105757&FS=SPRINT|title=Selinsgrove Open September 14th preview|date=2002-09-10|publisher=Motorsport.com|accessdate=2008-08-21] The event was won by 1984 track championMaynard Yingst . Yingst won the event in 1984 and 1985 before becoming the national championship winningFunny Car crew chief for 1989 NHRA driverBruce Larson . Several national sprint car drivers have won the event, includingDave Blaney ,Sammy Swindell , andGreg Hodnett .
*1983Maynard Yingst
*1984 Maynard Yingst
*1985 Maynard Yingst
*1986 Don Kreitz, Jr.
*1987Dave Blaney
*1988 Keith Kauffman
*1989 Doug Wolfgang
*1990Sammy Swindell
*1991 Johnny Mackison
*1992 Don Kreitz, Jr.
*1993 Todd Shaffer
*1994 Todd Shaffer
*1995 Fred Rahmer
*1996 Fred Rahmer
*1997 Fred Rahmer
*1998Greg Hodnett
*1999 Fred Rahmer
*2000 Fred Rahmer
*2001 Todd ShafferRacing Series
The following racing series have run events at Selinsgrove Speedway since 1946.
* The All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC)
*American Automobile Association (AAA) Sprints
* American Racing Club (ARC) Midgets
*American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) Midgets
*Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Stock Cars
* Central States Racing Association Midgets
* Empire States Sprints (ESS)
* Modcar Modifieds
* National Auto Racing Association (NARA) Sprints
*National Sprint Tour (NST)
* Penn-Jersey Sprint Association
* Penn-Mar Racing Association Stock Cars
* SCODA Sports Stock Cars
* Super Midget Racing Club (SMRC)
* Super Sportsman
* Tri County Stockcars
* United Racing Club (URC) Limited Sprints
* United Sprint Association
*World of Outlaws References
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