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History of Cup Series racing at unique race tracks
By Pat DeCola and Ken Martin | Wednesday, April 13, 2022
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NASCAR is once again set to play in the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway in the most unique race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. In the long-running history of NASCAR's premier series, there have been several tracks that stood out as individuals over the years. Here are some of the most notable.
Watch the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on FOX.
Watch the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on FOX.
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Honorable mention: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles, California)
While not a points-paying race, NASCAR opened the Next Gen era with a bang at one of the country's most historic overall venues -- the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. NASCAR worked with the stadium crew to transition the multi-purpose football field into a 0.25-mile racing surface, producing close-quarters action in a race won by Joey Logano.
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Daytona Beach and Road Course
Of course, there's the track that kicked off decades of history in the racing capital of Florida. The Daytona Beach and Road Course was the first "mixed surface" track that Cup competed upon. The course featured two miles of asphalt on highway A1A and two miles of sand along the Atlantic ocean. The corners were made of sand, bringing the course length to 4.15 miles. The Cup series competed 10 times on the beach and road course from 1949 to 1958.
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Islip Speedway
Islip Speedway -- Islip, New York -- is the shortest track to host a Cup race -- just 0.2 miles. The Cup Series competed six times here from 1964-71 as part of its "Northern Tour." NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Bobby Allison had two Islip wins each. "The King" won the final Cup race there, with a race length of 230 laps for a total of 46 miles -- the shortest Cup race in history. The race was initially scheduled for 250 laps, but the race was shortened 20 laps when a scoring error caused the race to be mistakenly flagged early.
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Oakland Stadium
The Cup Series competed three times at Oakland Stadium in Oakland, California. This 0.625 mile track featured ultra-high banking in the corners. Marvin Burke won the first race on the high banks on Oct. 14, 1951, becoming NASCAR’s only perfect-record driver. He competed in one Cup race and won that race. Danny Letner won the final Cup race at the speedway in August 1954, after the track had been reconfigured as a half-mile.
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Willow Springs Speedway
Now called Willow Springs International Raceway, this Lancaster, California, road course was originally dirt -- just imagine a 2.5-mile road course with a non-paved surface. It's the oldest permanent road course in the U.S., unchanged from initial configuration. The Cup Series competed on the dirt twice in 1956 and '57, in races won by Chuck Stevenson and Marvin Panch. There are no photos available from these races, but ARCA Menards Series driver and actor Frankie Muniz put some laps down alongside NBA Hall of Famer Karl Malone there in 2005.
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Memphis-Arkansas Speedway
The largest dirt oval that Cup ever raced on was the 1.5-mile, banked Memphis-Arkansas Speedway in LeHi, Arkansas. Five races were held between 1954 and 1957. In the inaugural race there, a pair of Hall of Famers took the pole (Junior Johnson) and win (Buck Baker). Curtis Turner won the pole there for the Sep. 16, 1956 NASCAR Convertible Series race at 105.758 mph to post the fastest recorded lap on dirt for a NASCAR major touring series. He also won the 300-mile race.
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Langhorne Speedway
One of the more notorious tracks NASCAR has ever run at, "The Great Left Turn" or "The Track That Ate Its Heroes," Langhorne was a 1-mile track in the shape of a circle -- meaning the drivers were always turning. The Pennsylvania track was famous for how tough it was on drivers -- one area was called "Puke Hollow." Several drivers unfortunately also lost their lives at the track, which closed in 1971. The Cup Series competed there 17 times from 1949-57, with Herb Thomas picking up a track-record three wins.
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