I’m relatively new to Florida and just wondered if anybody knows anything about the track in St.Augustine.Such as the condition of it andif there is even a snowballs chance in hell it could ever be reopened
lots—
Ton’s of stories about this ol’ gal—I’ll let others place their stories about this.
I have a bunch.
The only way it would reopen, if it was moved out of St. Johns County.
A couple of years ago the track was still there…Never attracted much of a crowd as I recall…Usina’s had the money and paid well, just couldn’t make it work.
From a competitors standpoint, it was a nicely shaped fast dirt track but one big problem. It would severely eat tires. In a sprint car feature you would completely wear out all four tires. Many would be blowing RR’s before the end of the race. That alone made it too expensive for most competitors.
A look at Google Earth not to long ago shows that the asphalt track is still there…From what I heard,zoning issues closed it down,not lack of funding 
I raced there on asphalt during speedweeks in 2000. I believe 2001 was the last year it was open.
Looking through the results Rick posted, I’m surprised at how few of those guys went on to race somewhere else. A few moved on to race elsewhere, but it appears that most of them just parked their stuff and got out of racing completely.
Thanks Rick for posting the results page.It is just so sad that almost every one of the blacktop tracks here in Florida that I read about in the trade papers as a young guy up in Ohio had ceased operating by the time I first came down to Florida four years ago.When I was young auto racing carried a stigma with it that it was a pasttime carried on by greasemonkeys and low lifes.It seems that over 40 years later,at least as far as it goes with the local short tracks it still carries that kind of stigma in the eyes of a lot of the powers that be.
St. Augustine speedway
Case in point,Punta Gorda Speedway,nee Charlotte county speedway.Also,what about USA speedway in Lakeland? Did the Guy’s w/Auburndale being so close,or thev Hart family at New Smyrna have a hand in getting it closed?or,was it meddling politicians help close it?
Hell,I remember that some of their races from about 8 years ago were shown on Speed Channel.I always liked the look of USA Speedway…
Did the Guy’s w/Auburndale being so close,or thev Hart family at New Smyrna have a hand in getting it closed?or,was it meddling politicians help close it?
You have got to be kidding, right?
It did not operate at a profit, and was sold by its owner for a real estate project that never happened. Not yet, anyway.
[QUOTE=steadysteve;123514]Also,what about USA speedway in Lakeland? Did the Guy’s w/Auburndale being so close,or thev Hart family at New Smyrna have a hand in getting it closed?or,was it meddling politicians help close it?
Hell,I remember that some of their races from about 8 years ago were shown on Speed Channel.I always liked the look of USA Speedway…[/QUOTE]Lakeland - the 3/4 mile “super-spee…”…sorry…“short track”…was HARD on equipment, especially the “local” classes. And not just by tearin’ stuff up. Mini stocks, street stocks, and sportsman cars - the “low-buck” classes…just couldn’t hardly afford to be turning 10,000 RPM at a big track like Lakeland. The races you saw on TV were probably the old Hooter’s Cup series, because they had the TV deal at the time. In my opinion, even the Late Models didn’t really belong at a track that big; Nashville, which is just under a 5/8ths officially measured at .597 mile), is plenty big.
Wish they woulda left Lakeland alone and left it a 1/4 mile. We ran a Florida Pro race there, and it wasn’t too bad 
Just needed to fill in the ditch inside of turn three…
Cool shots of both Randy Fox and Kenny Vaughnn. I’m at a loss at who is in the 04 car though. Don’t remember seeing that car before.
Is Cope in the 61?
I’ve said it 100 times…
USA was the GREATEST to drive. Spectating was not bad especially on the backstretch when the dragstrip was running. MHO!
Is that Cope in the 61?
Yep that is jimmy driving pinky. That was one of Leroy’s cars. Some good times from the best driver during my time.
[QUOTE=sport603;123588]Yep that is jimmy driving pinky. That was one of Leroy’s cars. Some good times from the best driver during my time.[/QUOTE]Well, I don’t think LeRoy owned it, but, LeRoy also did drive for Randy Allen.
John Gertsner is in our car (#121); Randy Fox in the #4; Vaughn in the #127; and Cope in the #61. Couldn’t tell ya who the #04 is.
Who knows why Randy Fox was allegedly “banned” from racing “for life” back in the early to mid-'90s? LOL
OldLakeland 1/4-mile
Rather than take up the “St. Augustine” thread, thought I’d post the rest of what I have of the Florida Pro race at Lakeland’s old 1/4-mile.
#5 - Daniel Keene
black #4 - Bobby Spaeth
#121 - John Gertsner
orange #4 - Randy Fox
Lakeland was an entire complex: the 1/4 mile oval was inside of a bigger, high-banked 5/8th-mile tri-oval, with the “D” on the backside. There’s also a 1/4 mile dragstrip - which, I believe, is still running. I also wanna say that there was a road course at one time.
The 5/8th’s mile only ran one time that I know of; for a USAC Sprint car show in 1971. I think the drivers complained that the place was just “too damn fast” for the Sprinters - even faster than the 1/2 miles at Dayton, Winchester, and Salem. If you know anything about the late '60s and early '70s at the “triple high banks”, you’d seen some guys with some serious…well…kahonies.
Just remembered the 04… I believe it is Gayle Haines.
[QUOTE=Jimmy McKinley;123623]
Who knows why Randy Fox was allegedly “banned” from racing “for life” back in the early to mid-'90s? LOL[/QUOTE]
Did it have something to do with mercury in the frame rails, a crash, a crack, and a mega-money haz-mat clean-up? 