Dayton Speedway


Dayton Speedway was a race track in Dayton, Ohio, United States.
It has been called the "Fastest 1/2 mile in the world".
The track held events for NASCAR, AAA, MARC, ARCA, ASA, and USAC.

History

The track was opened in June 1934 as a flat "D shaped" 5/8 mile dirt track. The original track was a "copy" of the Legion Ascot Speedway.
Timeline - The following is a timeline of events from 1933 to the present:
  • 1933 - A "Kids Race" was held in September 1933.
  • 1934 - The Official opening of the track was Sunday, June 3, 1934.
  • 1934-1935 - The Speedway Manager was Paul Ackerman.
  • 1936 - On June 4, 1936, the entire track was repaved with asphalt and promised to be the fastest track of its design in the world.
  • 1937 - Track was purchased by Frank Funk.
  • 1939 - The track was converted to a high-banked 1/2 mile.
  • late 1930s - 1970 - Covered grandstands were added.
  • 1940s - Billboards on the backstretch began to be displayed.
  • 1941-1945 - Closed during WWII.
  • 1946 - Reopened after World War II on Friday, June 29, 1946, with the first "Big Car" race ever held
  • 1947-1954 - The track infield was 1/4 mile.
  • 1949 - Sold in 1949.
  • 1949-1958 - It had a single white guardrail.
  • 1949?-1954? - The track had a wooden scoring / announcers stand.
  • 1950 - It had a single "Strap" Guardrail.
  • 1951/52 - Track was converted to rounded guardrails.
  • 1952 - Sprint car driver Gordon Ried was killed in a gruesome crash on the frontstretch that also killed three spectators and injured many others.
  • Later that year, Jim Rigsby was killed when his car made contact with another car and was launched off the turn 3 banking over 20 feet in the air, landing in a cabbage field 200 feet from the track.
  • 1953 - First Dayton 500 was won by Iggy Katona.
  • 1954 - Track site was used for a concert by "The Drifters" on August 7, 1954.
  • 1955 - The infield track was 3/8 mile.
  • 1955 - Jim Romine Olds photo shows bridge
  • 1960s - Harlan Fengler era
  • 1969 - Black and white stripes were used on the guardrails.
  • 1970 - Covered grandstands in photos.
  • 1971-1974 - Closed but the track was used for testing.
  • 1975 - A new grandstand was built with new owner
  • 1976-1978 - Closed but the track was used for testing.
  • 1979 - Don Thompson era.
  • 1982 - Front of the Concession Stand near turn one nearly collapsed between races one Sunday.
  • 1982 - Closed at the end of season due to no liability insurance.
  • 1984 - Still for sale.
  • 1986 - Still for sale.
  • 1986-1994 - The track began use as a landfill, eventually refuse filled the infield to the pavement on the straights. The site was then filled with clay and the track no longer exists.