You guys need to write me a story about all these tracks.Come on you can do it.
Joyce, I think that most of the stories are already here, in this thread. All you have to do, among other things, is assemble them into thier proper categories/tracks. Right now it’s somewhat random. I doubt if you can start 40 seperate threads for 40 old Raceways, though.
Jimmy Mckinnley–
this final post is for you, as you have participated–and you inquired upon the other board. Alot of info here, if it is for your good at all.
Listen up, I have found that if you Google Earth a Raceway up and focused down upon it, a small “clock” is on the toolboard above it. Click that time clock, and it will present a timeline, and upon that timeline, you can click down almost 15-20 years of previous downsights from time back then, and maybe even see the layouts, and even actual tracks that were once remaining at that time. I had done this with numorous Raceways now;dig…
Deland Speedway on Mcgregor Road in Deland,
Beaches Speedway in Panama city on Allison Road,
St. augustin Speedway on Oak Raod,
Eau Galle Speedway in Melbourne on Whicham Road,
Hialeah Speedway off Okachobee Hwy,
Jax Raceway in Jacksonville of of Pecan Park Road,
Golden Gate, in Tampa, off of Flowers Road,
Old Lakeland 1/4 and 5/8 on Hwy 33,
Gainesville Speedway on Williston Road,
Old Punta Gorda Raceway on Radio Road
Sara-Mana Raceway on hwy 41, Bradenton, Sarasota
Tampa Fairgrounds Speedway off of ? I-4?
West Palm Beach Speedway at the Fairgrounds,
Vero Beach Speedway, but you’ll only see a gravel pit,
Boss-Hog Speedway in Bay County in Panama City,
We-Wa Speedway north of Panama City of of Hwy 79?
You sort-of have to know where they had been at one time, and If you cannot find the old layouts, I’ll try to dial you in with addresses and markings.
I hope this helps, somewhat.
Roger!
Congratulations! This is one of the most interesting informative threads ever started on Karnac… Great job of research done by many! so much more fun than listening to people bitch and complain all the time! I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the posts and learned alot! Thank you so much!!!
carolwicks aka OZ :ernaehrung004:
Sunbrock Speedway
To the person that posted the message about the Sunbrock Speedway of old. I recall that old racetrack that was on Old Winter Garden Rd. somewhere about where Hughes Supply is or was. I recall the greats Harry Pullen, Don’l Burchalter, Wild Bill Holman, and Ernie Alderman race in many races there and later at the racetrack over east of S. Semoran. I guess it’s the Landstreet property you speak of. However, you mention that the last race at Sunbrock’s was in 1957. We moved here in September 1959 and my pop started taking me out to the Sunbrock Speedway soon after. I don’t recall when it closed and the Orange Co. Speedway opened out on Landstreet, but obviously it was well after 1957…Bobby Brown
Jeezus Krist–talk about pulling an old thread long, long down the pike.
Yes, Sunbrock Raceway/Rocket Raceway was on the N/W corner of OldWinter Garden Road and Feguson Street, behind the now current B/P Gas Store/gas-up.
If more questions should happen, I will gladly point you in the right direction of any and all, old Florida Raceways from way back when.
A couple more missed tracks
There were the races at Lake Okeechobee Motorsports Park not mentioned too. I had been told some races were run with cars at Ben White Raceway off Lee Rd in Orlando and the Zephyr Hills Fairgrounds also on limited occasions. Putnam County Speedway still races some. Seems to still be another 1 or 2 not mentioned yet too. Really scares you to think how many are gone though doesn’t it ? Future sure does not look promising for race tracks at this rate. Most of the youngsters just do not have much interest in it now if it does not jump things, destroy things or burn the tires off while setting still or slowly moving. Makes you wonder what they are going to do with their future too !
I know this is late in coming, but I believe the old Saint Augustine Raceway ran from '68 or '69 to '71. Originally dirt, it was paved at the end. Years after it closed as a 16 year old I used to take my old Dodge pickup down there and my brother and I would time each others laps. The gate was always open, and no one ever bothered us. The good ole days! I went there several times as a kid with a guy and his family that worked for my dad. Great memories, it stoked my already burning passion for racing. I hold it very special. It sat approximately where Staples on US1 is. The new St. Augustine Speedway (originally called St. Johns County Motorsports Complex-I hated this name!) Ran from 1993 to 2002. I remember having my car all ready to go on opening night in March, and a weird storm blew thru just a few days before and destroyed some of the grandstands and did other damage, and postponed the opening. I was so disappointed!
a few more from florida–(from Allen Brown Book)
Bradley Field Raceway (jan. 1953 to 1955) was a 1/4 mile paved oval near the Fort Lauderdale area.
Camp-Foster Raceway/Jacksonville area–was a 1 mile brick/dirt oval on an old army/navy base…the races were run on two parellel roads, and a brick-lined curves at each end.
City-Park Raceway/Daytona Beach, Fl—A 1/5 mile dirt track for midgets Racing, all the way around the current Baseball Diamond for the Cubs single A Baseball team…they call it Jackie Robinson Stadium now.
Florida Speedway Park–(1939 to 1942) Ralph DePalma was the promoter in 1940. was a 1/4 mile pave oval in the Miami area, located near Flagler Street and 72nd Avenue. Was also called Princess Park Raceway at one time.
10 month old thread that has been dead—
back to life again, as new sightings have been found and/or dead;
Some other types of raceways to consider;(not entirely stock car)
-Ocala-Micro Raceway
-Lake Whipporwill Raceway, Narcoosee, fl
-Sharpes/Hurricane Raceway, near Cocoa
-Claircona-Horsemans Parc-Lochart
The Sarpes, Fl, go-cart raceway is still currently located next to the once historical, big 5/8 miler dirt horse track known as Cocoa Raceway, which raced stock cars in 1947-48, have an old b/w photo of the dust, not the cars. The scoring tower of this raceway was still intact up to a few years ago, when a major renovation was made to the property, making it into a big park and soft-ball fields-------some may remember that in the mid-eightys, numorous dirt tracks for cross-country and off-road type races were run ontop of that very same area, underneath what is now huge power lines.
Lake Whipporwill: “The Whip”. Home of some of the best R/C races I’ve ever witnessed. A concrete, high-banked 1/10th scale version of Daytona (although in reality, the “trioval” was on the backside of the track from the drivers’ stand, and the track was more of a “D” shape). Had a concrete infield as well, where a road course would come down off the banking. Pit Road was also set up there for the oval-only races. This place even had a real flag man and flagstand, and a VIP suite outside of turn four for race sponsors. Four- and five-day events were the norm here; teams would pull in with enclosed trailers - and this was FOR R/C (radio-controlled) RACE CARS!
Here’s a TV commercial that aired on Orlando-area local stations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRLkKghYxe0
Clarcona-Ocoee Horseman’s Park was a 1/4 midget place; a tight little 1/10th mile high banked joint. I always thought that place woulda been good for R/C racing
palmbayer: Did you ever get one of the cool “silk” jackets from Bob for winning (I believe) 6 A-mains? I always wondered whatever happened to (I think) Chuck Massey, who designed and built the PR-7 pan car chassis out of Titusville. I owned a PR-7 and got my first-ever A-main win with one in like 1989 at Space Coast Raceway in Cocoa.
Glad to see someone remembers Lake Whipporwill Raceway, and has proof to show. Right now, as it sits, the cement structure is gone, all the way around, but the dirt bankings that the cement held, are still there, pricisely as it was, yessirree. And it was big.
The high-banked, dirt banking inclines that used to hold it, now makes for a DOT-ordered retention pond, to catch rain water from the new parking lot that encompasses it now.
Claircona-Horsemans Parc Raceway, from what I have seen, is now just an empy area used to store firewood and hey, for the horses. Nothing of it remaines anymore.
and yet another–
Long lost Raceway has come—Dickie Joyce, a local well driller(and i have done some business with his company)–
Longwood Raceway—
Longwood, Hwy 434, on the south side, 2 miles west of I-4, near 427(Ronald Reagan Blvd), underneath big power lines–Dickie himself, made a big ol’ 1/4 mile dirt oval for training puposes only, never spectated. He actually built it to test his race cars on, before he ever went to a local raceway to race.
I have seen it, and now a small part of it remaines as a retention pond, surrounded by a busy industrial park.
This is what AncrDave was referring to, long ago.
As I spoke to Dickie Joyce on the phone, he told me where to look, and I did–but all i saw was a retention pond, as usual.
I went back onto Historicalphotos.com, and blasted into the past, pulled it up, and there that little somebitch was, in full detail.
Dick Joyce raced at Rocket, Sunbrock, Old Orlando, Eau Galle, Seminole, and old Gainsville Raceway, probably more.
He told me about old Gainesvile Raceway, that it was located in an old peanut patch, owned by a (n-word)—(his words, not mine)–
Thats how I found the old long lost Gainsville Raceway, a 3/8 mile dirt oval which ran in 1965, or so.
Dick Joyce, a local racing hero/legend—and lot’s of history to go with it.
And a good well-drilling Co. to boot.
Loved watching Dick Joyce back in the 1960s at Old Orlando and other tracks… The first photo is Dick with his Flying Phone Booth Model T Sportsman at Orlando… #2 is the same car racing with Bob Luscomb’s No. 1 '32 Ford five window coupe at Deland… Last pic is Dick in a 1960 Dodge LM racing Robbie Ashton at Deland… Dick tore that old Dodge up pretty good in the first race held on asphalt at New Smyrna in 1967…
Dick Joyce Photos
Loved watching Dick Joyce back in the 1960s at Old Orlando and other tracks… The first photo is Dick with his Flying Phone Booth Model T Sportsman at Orlando… #2 is the same car racing with Bob Luscomb’s No. 1 '32 Ford five window coupe at Deland… Last pic is Dick in a 1960 Dodge LM racing Robbie Ashton at Deland… Dick tore that old Dodge up pretty good in the first race held on asphalt at New Smyrna in 1967…
Check out these Deland Raceway photos… If you ever had a chance to be there, this was as fun a place as you could go to… Just pull your car up to the fence, pull out the picnic dinner and watch the races! My mom always insisted we park next to a tree just in case one of the guys got a little outta control…
Another neat place in Orlando from the 1950s-1960s was the Lake Fairview Quarter Midget track located in the softball/boat ramp etc. complex near the corner of Hwy 441 (South Orange Blossom Trail) and Lee Road… All that remains today is the little building they used as a concession stand… Saw a lot of races there when I was a kid and a lot of young drivers who went on to bigger things… The best deal there was the Tangerine Invitational at Christmas… That actually got started in the mid 50s when they ran the program at the Tangerine Bowl in Downtown Orlando (now the Citrus Bowl), hence the name “Tangerine” Invitational… There would be kids from everywhere and I can remember Danny Smith of WOO Sprint Cars and the Knuckles Brothers, Jeff and Jerry I think, running there before their days in USAC Midgets… One kid that blew everyone away was Jenny Zink, daughter of Indy Car owner John Zink… She was so good, nobody could do a thing with her… Had she come up today, she would be in the same class as Danica Patrick or Jo Long, and probably even better. Once the track closed up, everything moved out to Clarcona Horseman’s Park for many years and the Tangerine was a huge deal there attracting over 300 cars each year until that place was shut down a few years ago… I’m not sure if they still run the Tangerine or even if the Mid-Florida Quarter Midget Club still exists…
I have no idea how to load You Tube stuff on here, but there is an 8MM out there on You Tube of the track when it was new in the late '50s…
Loved watching Dick Joyce back in the 1960s at Old Orlando and other tracks… The first photo is Dick with his Flying Phone Booth Model T Sportsman at Orlando… #2 is the same car racing with Bob Luscomb’s No. 1 '32 Ford five window coupe at Deland… Last pic is Dick in a 1960 Dodge LM racing Robbie Ashton at Deland… Dick tore that old Dodge up pretty good in the first race held on asphalt at New Smyrna in 1967…
I loved the old cars. No look alikes. billy