Southside Speedway
Southside Speedway was a short track used for stock car auto racing located South of Richmond, Virginia in Chesterfield County. On December 11, 2020, the track announced it would be closing permanently after the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a asphalt oval owned and operated by Sue Clements and Patsy Stargardt. The track originally canceled the 2011 racing season after announcing that owner Sue Clements was battling health problems. However, a shortened 11-week 2011 season later took place, which saw the return of the Legends and Pro Six divisions.
Lin O’Neal, the former #1 race car driver at the track in Grand stock division who had been banned by the previous private owners, has now purchased the raceway from the County of Chesterfield and plans to re-open it to its former beauty. As of March 2025, plans are in place to rebuild.
History
Southside Speedway, known as Royall Speedway in the early 1950s, first opened in 1949 and hosted midget races. The track was built by Nelson Royall, who leased the land from the Wilkerson family. It reopened on April 15, 1959 with Modifieds as the feature division. For a few years, it was used as a part of NASCAR's early circuit. The first NASCAR Cup Series race on Southside Speedway happened on August 18, 1961. At that time, the track was a 1/4 mile dirt oval. At, Junior Johnson took the pole for the 150-lap race in his 1960 Pontiac. He led every lap of the race that took about 45 minutes to race. By the next year, Southside Speedway had become a 1/3 mile asphalt oval. At, Rex White took the pole, but would duck out on lap 134 with engine trouble, which would lead Jimmy Pardue to win the 200-lap feature in his 1962 Pontiac. Richard Petty would finish third in that race. Later that season, Rex White's bad luck would continue. After leading 276 laps of a 300 lap feature, he would lose his lead to Cliff Stewart, who would win the event in his 1962 Pontiac. The last main circuit race recorded at Southside Speedway was on May 19, 1963, in which Ned Jarrett would lead the most laps and win the 300-lap feature in his 1963 Ford. Since this time, Southside Speedway has been used to house several NASCAR syndicated feature series, in which the track has seen great names such as Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison turn left at the 1/3 mile track.Throughout the track's history, there has often been one or two single divisions that brought the fans to the track, and several other novelty divisions that have been used by drivers as a stepping stone to the more prominent divisions. Usually, the more prominent division has been any variety of late model cars or modifieds, and its immediate predecessor division has been the Grand Stock class, or something similar, such as Pure Stocks.
During the 1970s, three names emerged that would plant the seed for future generations of competition at Southside Speedway. Ray Hendrick, Cal Johnson and Ted Hairfield were older drivers whose sons and grandsons have become competitive forces throughout the decades.
The Hendricks
raced his burgundy Modified car during the 1960s and 1970s, and quickly planted the seed for the Hendrick dynasty. In 1974 and 1975, he placed 8th and 9th respectively in the National Late Model Sportsman Points, which would later become known as the Busch Grand National Series. At Martinsville Speedway, Ray Hendrick is 1st in all-time wins after he won 20 collective races between 1963 and 1975. He sits atop this list of great drivers including Richard Petty and Geoff Bodine. Ray Hendrick is best known for his philosophy of racing anywhere and everywhere. He participated in 17 NASCAR Winston Cup races, of which he captured six career top fives. Cancer claimed Ray Hendrick's life on September 28, 1990.Later down the road, his son Roy Hendrick would enter the Late Model Stock Car division in a Pontiac whose paint scheme would become identical to his father's modified car. These cars were burgundy, whose white number 11 was encased in a white circle with a wing coming from the side. Roy Hendrick also made a name for himself and neighboring short tracks that feature Late Model-type racing including Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia and South Boston Speedway. Roy Hendrick dominated Southside Speedway for years, because of which he is commonly referred to as "Rapid" Roy Hendrick. Because of his and his father's reign at these tracks, the "Flying Eleven" logo has become as common among the Virginia short track circuit as Dale Earnhardt's number three has become an iconic symbol among the NASCAR circuit. Over the past few years, Roy's son, Brandon Hendrick has peeked his head into the Late Model Sportsman and Modified divisions. Brandon currently races the number 55 car in Southside Speedway's Late Model Sportsman division. Roy Hendrick currently races the number 39 car in the Late Model Sportsman division at Southside Speedway. Also Roy Hendrick has of late mentored a driver named Mark Simpson #36 driving a car in the Grand Stock division maintained by Roy and won in only his 6th race and has finished 2nd in points in 2009 and 3rd in 2010 and has numerous heat and feature wins and also won the 2008 Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Speedway, in keeping with the Hendrick tradition.
The 1980s
During the mid to late 1980s, the three prominent divisions at Southside Speedway were the Late Model Stock Cars, Grand Stocks and Mini Stocks. The elite of Southside Speedway's limelight through the 1980s was shared by the rivalry between Wayne Patterson and Roy Hendrick, but Bugs Hairfield, Roger Sawyer, David Blankenship and Eddie Johnson was always in competition, and passed the track championship around throughout the decade. On Saturdays in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the track would often feature an enduro race that would include upwards of 80 cars racing in a 100-lap melee. These races were incredibly hard to keep up with, as the track was constantly completely congested with cars. The track would also feature a number of other divisions on certain occasions, including Modifieds, Pure Stocks, Factory Stocks, Go-Karts, and many others.In the early 1990s, Southside Speedway created an Enduro-type division that would race every week with the rest of the Friday night racing activity. Originally, these cars were called Street Stocks, but the name was changed the next year or two years later to "Southside Chargers."
Wayne Patterson lost his sponsorship with Pabst Blue Ribbon during the late 1980s, giving way for Roy Hendrick to dominate the Late Model Stock Cars throughout the early 1990s. The battle for second was almost always fought between Bugs Hairfield, Eddie Johnson and Shayne Lockhart. This continued until Wayne Patterson made his return during the mid-1990s and resurged the Hendrick/Patterson rivalry. During the mid-1990s, Shayne Lockhart was the dominant force, and Eddie Johnson fell into the limelight during the late 1990s.
Denny Hamlin
In the early 2000s, Denny Hamlin first started racing in the Mini Stock division at Southside Speedway in 1997. Within the next five years, he would see his share of wins and track records at Southside Speedway, as well as in neighboring tracks in Southampton, Langley and South Boston. After racing in the Craftsman Truck Series and the Busch Series, Hamlin was signed by Joe Gibbs Racing and ran his first full-time Nextel Cup season in 2006. That year, he swept both races at Pocono International Raceway, earned the Nextel Cup Rookie of the Year title, and qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Curtis Markham, former Southside Speedway track champion, is currently Hamlin's spotter.From 2008 to 2010, Hamlin has hosted the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown, which later moved to Richmond International Raceway.
The Present
During the mid-2000s, Southside Speedway vastly expanded its horizons by offering up to eight divisions of racing. The two main attractions, the Late Model Sportsman division and the Modified division, typically alternate between their respected Friday nights. Chris Dodson was the 2007 track champion in the Late Model Sportsman division and Thomas Stinson was the 2007 Modified track Champion. To keep the three family traditions going, Brandon Hendrick and Chris Hairfield, grandsons of Ray Hendrick and Ted Hairfield and sons of Roy Hendrick and Bug's Hairfield, have become contenders in the Late Model Sportsman division. Chris Johnson, grandson of Cal Johnson and son of Eddie Johnson, also races the #36 car in the Modified division and won his first feature event on opening night of 2008. During the 2007 season the two feature divisions were dominated by Chris Dodson in the Late Model Sportsman division and Thomas Stinson in the Modified Division. Rudy was the only driver other than Stinson to win in the Modified division in 2007.In 2008 that changed. The 7-car invert before each race has made winning a bigger challenge for Stinson, which has allowed other drivers such as Chris Johnson and Billy Morris to capture wins, but consistency still keeps Stinson in a generous points lead. Thomas Stinson has proven to be a class by himself. An unparalleled financial devotion to his car and race team has made him the obvious front-runner in the Modified division. In clean air, it is obvious to any spectator that Stinson's car is blatantly unmatched. Despite the 7-car invert and shortening modified races to 33 laps, current Modified events at Southside are often viewed as Stinson's struggle against the clock to gain the lead. It isn't a question of whether Stinson can gain the lead, rather a question of whether he has enough time. This is a contrast to the Late Model Sportsman division where, though many races may be decided upon qualifying, you never know who that driver will be walking into the gate. In the modified division, if Stinson's car is in the pit stall, chances are it'll be in victory lane. Since 2006, Stinson has won 48 out of 76 Modified events, including 9 out of 12 in 2007.