Fading Thunder...Abandoned Racetracks in Virginia and the Carolinas

They are leaving the planet everyday, these old timers. Better go visit with them, interview them, and enjoy them now while you still can.

RIP, my friend. Sad to see.

 

An Open Letter Regarding Track management at Richmond International Raceway:


[COLOR=black][FONT=arial][SIZE=2][COLOR=black][FONT=arial][SIZE=2][COLOR=black][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Just wanted to clarify something I'm certain many of you already know, but has really irritated me.

When Richmond International Raceway first began to promote the theme of 60 years of NASCAR on January 12 of this year, I wrote them the same day to remind them that NASCAR races at the Richmond 1/2-mile dirt track began on May 16, 1948, not 1953 as they indicated in all their promo material.

As you may know, Red Bryon on 5/16/1948 won the very first NASCAR race of any kind staged in the Commonwealth of Virginia - a Modified event in NASCAR's inaugural season. In fact, in 1998, RIR celebrated its 50th Anniversary, along with NASCAR when former Richmond Times-Dispatch Sports Editor, Jack Berninger arranged for the late Bill France, Jr. to deliver the keynote address to the Associated Press Sports Editors National Convention in Richmond.

When I informed Aimee Turner of the track's real NASCAR history, she claimed she was unaware and that all old media materials had evidently been thrown away. BUT, the track never took any steps to correct its mistake at a time when it could. It continued to publicize the myth that NASCAR racing at Richmond began in 1953, not 1948.

I have no idea how many NASCAR Modified events were held at Richmond between 1948 and 1953, but I'm sure it was a good number. It just strikes me as extremely disrespectful and rude to ignore the true heritage of the Richmond track and men like Red Byron, along with Glen Wood, another Richmond modified winner, as well as the scores of Richmond modified participants and champions, like Junie Donlavey, Eddie Crouse, Sonny Hutchins, Ray Hendrick, Cal Johnson and on and on.

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Regards,
Dave Fulton
Charlotte


[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=2][COLOR=black][/COLOR][/SIZE][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=2][COLOR=black][/COLOR][/SIZE][/COLOR] [B]1948 NASCAR Modified Results[/B]






<table cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table style="width: 100%;" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 16%;" align="center">[B]Number[/B]</td><td style="width: 16%;" align="center">[B]Date
[/B]</td><td style="width: 16%;" align="center">[B]Site
[/B]</td><td style="width: 16%;" align="center">[B]Race Winner
[/B]</td><td style="width: 16%;" align="center">[B]Car
[/B]</td><td style="width: 16%;" align="center">[B]Speed
[/B]</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 16%;">1</td><td style="width: 16%;">2/15/48 </td><td style="width: 16%;">Daytona Beach, FL
</td><td style="width: 16%;">[URL="http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/red-byron.htm"]Red Byron[/URL]
</td><td style="width: 16%;">Ford
</td><td style="width: 16%;">75.47
</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;">2
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">2/24/48
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">Jacksonville, FL
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">[URL="http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/fonty-flock.htm"]Fonty Flock[/URL]
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">Ford
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">n/a
</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;">3
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">3/27/48
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;"> Atlanta, GA
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">Fonty Flock
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">Ford
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">n/a
</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;">4
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">3/04/48
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">Macon, GA
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">Fonty Flock
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">Ford
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">n/a
</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;">5
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">4/11/48
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">Augusta, GA
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">Bob Flock
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">Ford
</td><td style="vertical-align: top;">n/a
</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">6
</td><td valign="top">4/18/48
</td><td valign="top">Jacksonville, FL
</td><td valign="top">Skimp Hersey
</td><td valign="top">Ford
</td><td valign="top">56.524
</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">7
</td><td valign="top">4/18/48
</td><td valign="top">Greensboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Fonty Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford
</td><td valign="top">n/a
</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">8
</td><td valign="top">4/25/48
</td><td valign="top">N. Wilkesboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Red Byron
</td><td valign="top">Ford
</td><td valign="top">n/a
</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">9
</td><td valign="top">5/02/48
</td><td valign="top">Lexington, NC
</td><td valign="top">Red Byron
</td><td valign="top">Ford
</td><td valign="top">n/a
</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">10
</td><td valign="top">5/09/48
</td><td valign="top">Wadesboron, NC
</td><td valign="top">Red Byron
</td><td valign="top">Ford
</td><td valign="top">n/a
</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">[COLOR=crimson][B]11
[/B][/COLOR]</td><td valign="top">[COLOR=crimson][B]5/16/48
[/B][/COLOR]</td><td valign="top">[COLOR=crimson][B]Richmond, VA
[/B][/COLOR]</td><td valign="top">[COLOR=crimson][B]Red Byron
[/B][/COLOR]</td><td valign="top">[COLOR=crimson][B]Ford[/B][/COLOR]</td><td valign="top">[COLOR=crimson][B]n/a[/B][/COLOR]</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">12
</td><td valign="top">5/23/48
</td><td valign="top">Macon, GA
</td><td valign="top">Gober Sosbee
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">13
</td><td valign="top">5/23/48
</td><td valign="top">Danville, VA
</td><td valign="top">Bill Blair
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">14
</td><td valign="top">5/23/48
</td><td valign="top">Dover, NJ
</td><td valign="top">Johnny Rogers
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">15
</td><td valign="top">5/29/48
</td><td valign="top">Greensboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Bob Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">16
</td><td valign="top">5/30/48
</td><td valign="top">N. Wilkesboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Marshall Teague
</td><td valign="top">Ford
</td><td valign="top">n/a
</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">17
</td><td valign="top">5/30/48
</td><td valign="top">Jacksonville, FL
</td><td valign="top">Paul Pappy
</td><td valign="top">Ford
</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">18
</td><td valign="top">6/04/48
</td><td valign="top">Danvile, VA
</td><td valign="top">Bob Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">19
</td><td valign="top">6/05/48
</td><td valign="top">Greensboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Red Byron
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">20
</td><td valign="top">6/06/48
</td><td valign="top">Lexington, NC
</td><td valign="top">Bob Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">21
</td><td valign="top">6/13/48
</td><td valign="top">Wadesboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Fonty Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">22
</td><td valign="top">6/20/48
</td><td valign="top">Birmingham, AL
</td><td valign="top">Fonty Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">23
</td><td valign="top">6/20/48
</td><td valign="top">Columbus, GA
</td><td valign="top">Bob Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">24
</td><td valign="top">6/20/48
</td><td valign="top">Greensboro, GA
</td><td valign="top">Tim Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">25
</td><td valign="top">6/27/48
</td><td valign="top">Hillsboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Fonty Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">26
</td><td valign="top">7/04/48
</td><td valign="top">Martinsville, VA
</td><td valign="top">Fonty Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">27
</td><td valign="top">7/11/48
</td><td valign="top">Charlotte, NC
</td><td valign="top">Red Byron
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">28
</td><td valign="top">7/18/48
</td><td valign="top">N Wilkesboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Curtis Turner
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">29
</td><td valign="top">7/25/48
</td><td valign="top">Greensboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Curtis Turner
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">30
</td><td valign="top">7/25/48
</td><td valign="top">Columbus, GA
</td><td valign="top">Billy Carden
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">31
</td><td valign="top">8/01/48
</td><td valign="top">Lexington, GA
</td><td valign="top">Curtis Turner
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">32
</td><td valign="top">8/08/48
</td><td valign="top">Daytona Beach, FL
</td><td valign="top">Fonty Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">33
</td><td valign="top">8/15/48
</td><td valign="top">Langhorne, PA
</td><td valign="top">Al Keller
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">60.883</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">34
</td><td valign="top">9/05/48
</td><td valign="top">Columbus, GA
</td><td valign="top">Gober Sosebee
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a
</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">35
</td><td valign="top">9/05/48
</td><td valign="top">N. Wilkesboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Curtis Turner
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">36
</td><td valign="top">9/05/48
</td><td valign="top">N. Wilkesboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Curtis Turner</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">37
</td><td valign="top">9/12/48
</td><td valign="top">Charlotte, NC
</td><td valign="top">Curtis Turner</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">38
</td><td valign="top">9/12/48
</td><td valign="top">Charlotte, NC
</td><td valign="top">Buddy Shuman
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">39
</td><td valign="top">9/19/48
</td><td valign="top">Hillsboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Fonty Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">40
</td><td valign="top">9/19/48
</td><td valign="top">Hillsboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Fonty Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">41
</td><td valign="top">9/26/48
</td><td valign="top">Lexington, NC
</td><td valign="top">Fonty Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">42
</td><td valign="top">9/26/48
</td><td valign="top">Lexington, NC
</td><td valign="top">Gober Sosebee
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">43
</td><td valign="top">10/03/48
</td><td valign="top">Elkin, NC
</td><td valign="top">Buddy Shuman
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">44
</td><td valign="top">10/03/48
</td><td valign="top">Elkin, NC
</td><td valign="top">Curtis Turner
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">45
</td><td valign="top">10/03/48
</td><td valign="top">Macon, GA
</td><td valign="top">Billy Carden
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">46
</td><td valign="top">10/03/48
</td><td valign="top">Macon, GA
</td><td valign="top">Red Byron
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">47
</td><td valign="top">10/10/48
</td><td valign="top">Greensboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Fonty Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">48
</td><td valign="top">10/16/48
</td><td valign="top">Greensboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Fonty Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">49
</td><td valign="top">10/17/48
</td><td valign="top">N. Wilkesboro, NC
</td><td valign="top">Red Byron
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">50
</td><td valign="top">10/24/48
</td><td valign="top">Charlotte, NC
</td><td valign="top">Red Byron
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">51
</td><td valign="top">10/31/48
</td><td valign="top">Winston-Salem, NC
</td><td valign="top">Fonty Flock
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">52
</td><td valign="top">11/14/48
</td><td valign="top">Columbus, GA
</td><td valign="top">Red Byron
</td><td valign="top">Ford</td><td valign="top">n/a</td></tr></tbody></table>[/FONT]

 

Just further evidence of how the "new" generation of track promoters and p.r. media types have no appreciation of the history of the sport and when enlightened, they take no steps to rectify their mistakes. Sad.

 

Agreed.

Just went through a similar situation with a local car show that claimed its 50th Anniversary- but there were participants with pics of shows prior.

But stay after the historical accuracy. It makes a huge difference to some of us. Thanks for the ost.

 

Saw where former Richmond/Chesterfield GN driver Larry Manning passed away yesterday. He used to run GN for Bob Adams. The car picture I'm posting was taken by Richmond's Ray Lamm as he has it posted on the Stock Car RacersReunion website.



Larry Manning

| Visit Guest Book


MANNING, Larry Niles Sr., 70, of Chesterfield, went to be with the Lord Wednesday, May 23, 2012. He was preceded in death by his parents, Theodore and Melbourne Manning. He is survived by his beloved wife of 38 years, Country Manning; daughters, Marie "Dumplins" DeMay (Perry); sons, Chris "Ray Ray" Manning (Jess Stumbo), Nate "Murphy" Manning (Nickie Horner), Larry "Captain" Manning and Larry "Speedy" Manning Jr.; sister, Joyce Musselman (Donald); grandchildren, Kayla Riddle, Cameran, Jaydan and Mackenzie Manning, Austin, Amanda and Ashley DeMay, Jordan Morris; and a host of other family members and friends. Larry owned and operated Pyramid HVAC. He had a deep love for racing and was active in NASCAR, racing at many tracks including Southside Speedway and South Boston Speedway. The family will receive friends 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday (today) at Morrissett Funeral and Cremation Service, 6500 Iron Bridge Rd. (Rte. 10). His funeral service will be held 11 a.m. on Friday at the funeral home. Upon Larry's request, the family asks everyone to dress casual for the visitation and service. Interment will follow at Dale Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the American Cancer Society , 4240 Park Place Ct., Glen Allen, Va. 23060.


Published in Richmond Times-Dispatch on May 24, 2012

 

What a really great thread! Make s me kind of sad seeing all the old tracks closed...it must have been something back in the day with all those tracks going! Also think of all the old tin that was destroyed racing.......makes me realize we are all in on the tail end of the great American love affair with the auto. There are no speed shops near me, nothing but late model shit on the road all around me. There are two drag tracks in Maine, several roundy round tracks and some cool car museums...are they all destined for the museum or just being dusted off for parades? Often I feel like I am in a hobby most of the world doesn't get or understand. But turning the key and heading out in the open air with a carbed v-8 and a three speed manual will make one forget all about that.

 

I don't think we quite realized the little bit of car heaven we had at the time. It was possible to see racing on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There were more than a dozen drag strips in North Carolina where I grew up; plenty of oval tracks; major venues at Charlotte, North Wilkesboro, and Hillsborough; off-road racing; motorcycle races outdoors and indoors; road racing; and hill climbs.

"End of the great American love affair with the automobile...." Yup, that's just about right.
Sad but true.

 

There was a dirt short track in Sumter S.C. Still open in 1972, when I left there....Is it still open ? Story was that Cale Yarborough raced there, in his early days .

4TTRUK

 

Here's the 1955 Chevy 302 cubic inch dirt Limited Sportsman car we ran at Wilson County Speedway in Wilson, NC on Saturday night and at Wake County Speedway in Raleigh, NC on Friday nights in the early 1970s.

The car was owned, built and driven by Danny Lee of Bailey, NC.

This photo was taken Labor Day night 1973 at Chantilly Speedway in Weldon, NC (Roanoke Rapids) during their big 200-lapper.

 

I remember that car....

 

Any more pictures & info on this 55?

 

I'm thinking I saw this car in a clip about a racer from Ga, who also ran a Willys???? Gotta dig in the brain archive for that one!!

 

Please do thanks!

 

I was thinking of Bogan Renfro. And I looked in some archives from his racing days and can only find the Willys, called the Cat Skinner

 

Here's the pictures of Lakeview Dragstrip in Bassett as it sits now. They have a car show there every year. If any of you know where Donnie Minters shop is, this is just right down the road from him. He's one of the ones that puts the car show together. You wouldn't be able to find it though if you didn't know it was there.
Sorry it took me so long to post this I didn't subscribe & kept forgetting to do it.
If I can get around to it I'm going to see if Donnie has any pictures from it when they were running. I haven't seen him in a while but I thought at one time he told me somebody had some.

 

I've been reading this thread a couple of times & there's a little bit of confusion on some tracks here that I want to clarify.
Oak level raceway/ Fork Mountain raceway is a TOTALLY different track than Log Cabin raceway.
Oak Level raceway/Fork Mountain raceway is located just off route 220 in Oak Leevel just outside of Bassett, Virginia in Henry County. If your headed towards Roanoke on 220 coming from Bassett you turn right at the Bank Services office at the top of the steep incline about a mile past the old Jim Mills Lincoln Mercury Jeep dealership that is now owned by Nelson. Darive on that road about a half a mile and go left at the fork & Oak Level/Fork Mountain raceway is up the road on the right within a couple of miles.
Oak Level was rebuilt in the late 90's & made bigger. It was around that time that the name changed to Fork Mountain raceway. It has changed hands a couple of times since it was Oak Level but I couldn't tell you how many.

Log Cabin raceway is located off of Providence Church Rd. which is off of Henry Rd. headed towards Philpott Lake in Franklin County. If your coming from Bassett towards Roanoke you go to the bad turn on 220 where ALL the bad tractor trailer wrecks are & turn left on Henry Rd. Providence Church Rd. is on the right a couple of miles after you turn onto Henry Rd. The race track is kind of hard to describe where it's at on the road because it's fenced in & surrounded by trees. It's owned by Satch Worley. I've lived in Franklin County since I married my wife in 1995 after leaving A.G Dillard Motorsports & it was closed before then. I was told it was the NICEST dirt track in the south but Satch didn't want nobody to run it so he asked so much to lease it you would have lost BIG money to even start to lease it. A friend of mine was down there recently & said everything is still there but that it's been let go for so long huge trees are now growing up though the track & it wouldn't even be worth fooling with.
I'm going to try & ask around about the Fairystone speedway & let you'll know of it's location.
Mr. Lang had talked about this on here earlier but I just wanted to get all the locations & name clarified.

 

Thank you for the clarification. Still curious where Fairystone was. The sign used to be on Route 57 outside of Basset going toward Stuart. It was just before Blondie Pilson's junkyard. The sign was on the right hand side, after the turnoff to Philpott lake. hope that helps. Somebody will remember.

Pete

 

Roddy Moore from up at Ferrum tells me they used to run Super Stocks and FX cars at Lakeview! Hard to imagine as narrow as the lanes look.

 

VERY true! I'm going to try to get with Donnie & see if he or somebody he knows has any pictures from there, I'd love to see them.
Until this forum I had never heard of Fairystone. We're on vacation at the Outer Banks this week so when I get back I'm going to try to find out more.
I also want to find out about the dragstrip at Oak Level that was talked about somewhere on here.

 

Where was Starkey dragstip at in Roanoke?
I know there's nothing there anymore but I've always tried to figure out where it was & just can't.

 

Was the drag strip located at the Starkey oval track?
Bobby Williamson posted an aerial of that location several years ago on the web site Local Race Chat:

 

From the web site www.roanokeradio.com:

[SIZE=+4]Old Roanoke[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+4][SIZE=+1]1[/SIZE][SIZE=+1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34[/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=+1] 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]85[/SIZE][SIZE=+1] 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 [/SIZE]​

[SIZE=+1]next[/SIZE]​

<hr>
Once there was a racetrack in Roanoke. Well Starkey actually, near the intersection of Merriman & Starkey Roads, Starkey Speedway Inc., or as it was popularly known, the "Starkey Speedway".
<hr>
There was also a drag strip nearby, just off Buck Mountain Road, the Roanoke Dragstrip. Imports raced here as well. MGs, Volvos, Renault Dauphines, and Triumphs. Judging from the large crowds and advertising, this was a very popular place to be.
<hr>
Chevy and Ford always seem to have an ongoing rivalry, then as now.
<hr>
Since these cars have their license plates on and their hubcaps off, they must've been racing in a "run what you brung" category for street cars.
<hr>
The drag strip ended in an uphill grade, which if you continued over today, would take you into the Hunting Hills subdivision.
For more great images of the Roanoke Dragstrip, visit this link.
<hr>

[SIZE=+1]next[/SIZE]​

<center> [SIZE=-1]home[/SIZE]
</center>

 

As far as I know the last season at Log Cabin was 1985.....that's when I was there......

 

I just found this thread from a link from another message board.

Don't mean to put a stick in your spoke, but this is a photo of the Nashville, TN, Fairgrounds Speedway. It's taken between 1966 and 1969, because the covered grandstand is gone (burned in Sept. 1965) and after the 1969 season the track was reconfigured to a 35-degree banked 5/8 mile track that lasted for three seasons.

Speed recently did a nice feature on the track.

http://www.speedtv.com/video/nascar/nascar-race-hub-fairgrounds-speedway-1672856831001

 

My bad...yup, that's not Raleigh.

Anybody have a pic? Ought to see Dorton Arena in the pic.

 

Try this:

 

These shots of the Raleigh track were researched by Bobby Williamson of Shallotte, NC and posted on the web site Local Race Chat out of Wilson, NC:

 

Dave, Thanks for the info. I'll check out that location. I'm over in Roanoke all the time but never have been able to figure out where the circle track or drag strip would have been located!

 

Dave, yes, that's more like it. thanks.

 

I've seen several entries regarding Log Cabin Raceway. Earlier this week I started a thread on that subject on the site Stock Car RacersReunion.

Here is a link to that thread on Log Cabin:

http://stockcar.racersreunion.com/forum/topics/the-long-reach-of-bopper-jeff-rr