Orange County Speedway
Coordinates: 36°13′40″N 78°57′41″W / 36.22778°N 78.96139°W
The Fastest 3/8-mile Race Track in America | |
---|---|
3/8 mile oval | |
Location | 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° straightaways |
Orange County Speedway is a 3/8 mile (0.6 km) asphalt oval in Orange County, North Carolina, near Rougemont. It first opened in 1966 as 1/4 mile (0.4 km) and 5/8 mile (1.6 km) dirt oval (Trico Speedway), which operated until 1967 and 1973, respectively. The facility was reopened and paved in 1983. 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 three distinct grooves making for very fast turns. The aluminum 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 Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Davey and Donnie Allison, Dale Jarrett, Jeff and Ward Burton, Elliott and Hermie Sadler, Scott Riggs, Michael Waltrip, Todd Bodine, Kyle Petty and Bobby Labonte. Some more recent notable drivers include Timothy Peters, Darrell "Bubba" Wallace, Jr., Ryan Blaney, Jeb Burton, Timmy Hill, Ryan Reed, Jesse Little and Gray Gaulding. David Pearson and Glen Wood raced at the speedway when it was a dirt track. The track is still up and running.
Major results
NASCAR Busch Grand National Series
The NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now Xfinity 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 ed.). Comstock Park, MI: Brown. p. 528. ISBN 0-931105-61-7.
- "Orange County Speedway". VisitNC.com. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- "Track Facts". Orange County Speedway. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-06-25. Retrieved 2008-07-13.