What other tracks might have been running in or near Orlando in the mid to late 60’s and up to Speedworld opening. I think there used to be one near Old Winter Garden road and one south of town but I don’t know when they operated or their names. Thanks for any info.
Eau Gallie (Melbourne) I think was running; (I think) Sunbrock was the name of the one on Old Winter Garden Road west of Orlando. (Old) Orlando Raceway (Taft) closed in…'71 (maybe? Dave’ll correct me 
).
I believe Sunbrock also had a different name at one time (can’t remember right now), and from what I’ve heard it was on Ferguson Rd just north of Old Winter Garden Rd and south of Hwy. 50. A large Hughes Supply yard is there now.
Orlando Raceway I believe was in between Landstreet Rd. and Taft-Vineland Rd. A Manheim Auto Auctions sits there now.
Even earlier, there was Seminole Speedway in Casselberry. It turned into the Seminole Dog Track for a few decades, then plowed under for road development and an apartment building complex. This track hosted a couple of NASCAR Grand National races, in the days of Lee Petty, Buck Baker, Curtis Turner and Fireball Roberts.
Some of this might not be entirely accurate, but I should be pretty close.
It was Rocket Speedway.
BINGO… that’s the name I wasn’t coming up with.
Two of my suppliers have old school pictures on the wall of their business. Amazon Hose has a shot of a car they sponsored at “Sunbrock” Speedway. Thermo-tane has a shot from “Rocket” Speedway. I believe it was AncrDave who clued me in that it was the SAME track, not 2 different ones.
Thanks for the correct call on that.
It ran as Rocket Speedway for a couple of years and thereafter as Sunbrock Speedway, named after its owner Larry Sunbrock… He was a local promoter/shyster who more often than not didn’t come through with correct purses etc. My dad and I decided to check the place out one night in '63 but when we got there, there were cops everywhere and plenty of commotion… Seems a group of disgruntled owners and drivers found Larry in his office and wrapped a chain around the building and trapped him inside… They were demanding their full pay from the week before. I think the last race held there was around 1965…
Orlando Raceway (Originally built as Orlando Midget Speedway in the late-1940s) operated through Dick Joslin’s death in 1972 and ran a few races in 1973 before closing for good… It was my “home away from home” for many years.
[QUOTE=ancrdave;111122]It ran as Rocket Speedway for a couple of years and thereafter as Sunbrock Speedway, named after its owner Larry Sunbrock… He was a local promoter/shyster who more often than not didn’t come through with correct purses etc. My dad and I decided to check the place out one night in '63 but when we got there, there were cops everywhere and plenty of commotion… Seems a group of disgruntled owners and drivers found Larry in his office and wrapped a chain around the building and trapped him inside… They were demanding their full pay from the week before. I think the last race held there was around 1965…
Orlando Raceway (Originally built as Orlando Midget Speedway in the late-1940s) operated through Dick Joslin’s death in 1972 and ran a few races in 1973 before closing for good… It was my “home away from home” for many years.[/QUOTE]
Sunbrock was a work of art in a league of his own. He was so good the old mens magazine, Argosy, did a feature article on him. He promoted one event at Eau Gallie speedway advertising singing great Jimmy Rodgers as an added event. An old broke down cowboy with a guitar walked out and the teeagers went bonkers. I remember Buster Burt telling of going to his office to complain about the payoff and being escorted out by 2 armed goons. One fo the more bizarre accidents happened at his track. The railroad tie fence was reinforced with a large braided cable, The man hit the fence and somehow the cable entered the car and impaled him all the way through both hips. He was fortunate to survivie but I never heard the final outcome.
Orlando Raceway
The driver you refer to being implaed was Rawhide Nace. It was not a piece of cable that got him but a piece of channel iron as I recall. The story goes that they had to use a cutting torch to get Nace out of the car with some steel still in him. There was a published photo of this mess in one of the rotogravuer covers of the old Illustrated Speedway News.
also-----
Also-----in the Orlando area> was Ben White Raceway, on the N/E corner of Hwy 441 and Lee Road.
It was, up until recently, a winter training ground for horses, trotter horses.
Built in 1948, it hosted trotter training until about 1996, where it was, or portions of it, were plowed under to make way for numorous SoftBall Diamonds. Half of the front stretches remain, all of the first two turns, and half of the back stretches remain(there were a couple of tracks, actually, henceforthe the plural, not singular). You can still see them today, with all of the white rails still intact.
Stock car racing occured on it on May 2nd, 1948, to around 1950(pl/mn)–only, and after that, back to horse training.
Across the street on Lee Road, was a Midget Raceway, on the S/E corner, next to Lake Fairview, which has now been converted, mostly into…more SoftBall Diamonds. The years of operation are unclear, but AncrDave might know better than I.
The Tangerine Bowl, now the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, ran Midget Races in 1948.
That was the Lake Fairview Quarter Midget track that ran back in the 1960s… Went there a lot when I was a kid… They ran the original Tangerine Invitational for several years at the Tangerine Bowl football stadium, hence the name “Tangerine” Invitational… That was back in the late-1950s, then the event, ran every year between the Christmas and New Years holidays, moved to Lake Fairview… I remember John Zink’s (of Indy Car owner fame) daughter Jenny ran the Tangerine for several years and she whupped the boys big time… Had she been involved nowadays, she would probably be on par, and probably much better than, the Danicas of the world. Also saw the likes of the Nuckles brothers and Danny Smith as kids who all went on to run Sprint Cars & Midgets…
Also Dick Joyce and some partners built a high-banked quarter-mile track near what is now the intersection of I-4 and SR 434 in Longwood… Saw the track just before it was to be paved but the guys lost their funding and it never came to fruition… Sat there for a year or so before a 7-11 and a strip shopping center were built on the property… An office complex is there now…
This is all great stuff guys!! Thanks!!
Longwood, Fla—
For you, and AnncrDave—
About that Longwood Track. Built by Dickie Joyce, a local well driller, of whom i had done business in the past, was a 1/4 mile dirt oval some 4 miles east of I-4, not at I-4, on the south side of Hwy 434, at the location of now; 556 Florida Central Parkway, Longwood, Fla…google earth the location, you’ll see what I mean.
You can see the Plaza on the east, the big field in back, the retention pond, and the City sewage/water treatment plant…that sit on very TOP of where this track once stood.
It was never intended to be accessed by anyone other then him, and a few buds, only to shake down their racecars being build midweek, only to go the Eau-Galle, Deland, Rocket/Sunbrock, or old Orlando Raceways on the weekends.
It wasn"t high-banked…only semi-banked in the S/W corner, and flat on the N/E corners, as it was laid out at a 45 degree angle.
It had no name, no grandstand, no announcer, and no guardrail, and is only classified as a practice track. Dickie Joice told me so. I have now witnessed the location myself.
There are TWO more tracks I have found in Oviedo, Florida, from way back—wanna’ hear about them?
From what I gather from the location, I think the business that local racer, Brandon Johnson, sits on, or very close to this property. East of Rangeline Rd. and 434. A car wash place was/is on the front of that property.
Dave… speaking of the Tangerine Classic, it was later moved to the Clarcona Horsemans Park. Only went once, but saw some history that one night. Matt Martin was there with Dad, Mark Martin… Tyler Labonte was there with Bobby, and latest kid skyrocketing through the ranks, Ryan Blaney was there with father Dave. Plus another (total guess here) of another 4-500 other kids from ALL over the country.
Complete freak of timing that I even wound up there, but never been a bit sorry, and actually very impressed by these kids, their families, and the spirit of sportsmanship shown by several hundred young kids, and their parents who refrained from being “Little League” parents.
Bad attitudes, and disrespect would have parked any of these kids for the weekend… I didn’t see a single incident where this could have happened.
Outstanding event for young kids and their families. More than 1 kid will remember a weekend like that for a lifetime.
I actually announced that event the next to last year before they shut the Clarcona track down… There were 306 cars there but many were actually driven by two (or three) family members in various classes (by experience). Some of the kids running there that week included Kory Abbott, Mark Hooven and Alli Owens (among others) who have all gone on to run the local tracks and more…
This may be the most informative post in Karnac.com history! Thanks to all who took the time to share the history!
These kind of events are why I try to learn as much as I can, and follow up later if I can… everybody that BECAME somebody, came from SOMEWHERE. I get a personal kick when somebody ‘makes it’ and I can say, “I saw them at so-and-so, when they were nobody”.
I’ve seen Jeff Gordon in his 2nd ever start. Saw Kenny Schrader run a Sprint before he went for Cup ROtY. Matt Kenseth at Volusia when the guy sitting next to me said 'Watch this kid. He’s going places. Carl Edwards and David Ragan hopped in a couple of Hobby Stocks at VSP one night
You NEVER know when that one kid you’re watching could be, or IS Jeff Gordon.
No, Bud—
this is not the best\
Somwhere, down the line, way down there, way super down low there. is a thread; it is rich with history.
Happy Birthday—Long Lost Speedways----
pull that thread up, by AB195. tons of historians have entered their comments, and their various locations of long lost raceways.
I have even found the old Raceway—Sara-Mana—it was located and sent to our friend Osmo/HTC. He still has it to this day.
We"ve been thru this stuff again, years ago…check it out.
It may have been long lost, that thread.I hope not.