According to a story I read yesterday taken from the Feb.1st Columbus Dispatch this will be my old hometracks final season.Columbus Motor Speedway in Ohio is on the verge of selling the speedway to the village of Obetz (where the track actually stands)to make way for expansion of a village owned park where the annual zucchini festival is held and expansion of the Columbus Crew’s major league soccer team workout facility which are located directly to the south of the pit area behind the speedway.Village council meets Feb.11th to vote on the purchase.The track has operated continuously (when it first opened as a motorcycle track)for what will be its 70th and final season.Sad for me,it just puts a pit in my stomach I cant explain.I grew up at that track,later on raced there and after many years of being away from it have been going back to it.I have seen an awful lot of great racing and racers there many of who are long gone from this earth.Too many great races and racers to mention.
This is not American. Auto racing while it has a connection with Europe was a sport in the USA for over 100 years and continues to be a sport on an epic level. Now they want to replace a storied Ohio short track so they can build a facility for a soccer field a sport with no American roots other than the fact they like to call soccer football which it ain’t. Just another example of the things happening today to make me glad I am old and on the backside. Who will be the first city to have a running of the bulls? Washington can’t participate their bulls just run their mouths.
It is sad our sport is dying but seems to be happening all over the US. We raced there many times, just a big circle but a lot of fun to race at and well run. Just seems the younger generation is not into racing like us older guys always was. You young ones , ask around, there use to be a circle track car at almost every corner gas station no matter what state you was in. Really sad, guess I will have to try to learn how to fish or maybe play golf, sure going to miss my racing
Wow, that is really sad to hear. I was on a pit crew for an ASA race at that place in the 90’s. It was a great race track.
Yep, to this day I look over wistfully where the old Orlando Speedway in Taft used to be when I happen to pass that way…
Somehow fitting that they will be having zucchini festivals there.
Columbus–
so sad, but yes, it is true–the raceway and the property has an agreement to be sold. there will be racing throughout the 2016 season, though. built in 1957 as an indian motorcycle track, this strange, odd-shaped 1/3 miler was paved and has seen the best of shows for local short track racing shows. the family has said that to re-locate the the raceway to another piece of land would not be feasible.
In reality the handwriting was on the wall for cms. There is a half mile facility going to be built on Columbus’s west side where the former AAA baseball teams former home was. Ground still hasn’t broken on this facility yet but Major investor J. Schottenstein recently went on record stating the now 5 plus year project is on track to open for the 2017 season. That paired with the reopenlng of the former Mansfield speedway last year left cms in somewhat of a pinch. One of their premier event’s the bud st.amant memorial c.r.a.race had jumped ship for the upcoming season to be run this year at spitzer speedway in Mansfield. That paired with the upcoming facilities promise to try to schedule NASCAR caliber events probably would have resulted in cms losing their k&n date also.yes
Mansfield is a really nice track, sure hope it is run right like it was years ago when we ran there. The whole place was class act from the stands and concession stands to the paved pit area , great race track itself ( bad fast up top) and modern tech shed. Was told by a guy involved that it closed because it wasn’t quite big enough to bring Nascar type racing in but was to big for a weekly short track. I sure hope they do well and can bring some bigger named series in to race there and help pay some of the bills. If you are ever up in Ohio during the summer , stop in and check it out , you will be impressed
I made it to one main event late model show there this past summer and it’s a nice facility. What really concerns me up there in Ohio is that leaves only shady bowl speedway as the lone track in the state that races template bodied late models.
zorofor–
You aren’t he first to be going though a bad day/time. We’ve all been there, too. From what I’ve read on ballparkdigest.com, as I follow old baseball stadiums and teams, this concept of a new 1/2 mile oval isn’t all that new, as the Columbus Clippers of the triple AAA league moved into the new Huntington Park after the 2008 season. Their final game at the old Cooper Stadium, which they had been there since 1977, was won by the Toledo Mudhens, in front of 16,770 fans.
SCCA has already used the south side parking lot for events. On the proposal tables are to turn the Cooper Stadium into a multi-use, and research facility, for race cars—the 1/2 miler asphalt is somewhat included.
Current plans are for this, which now hold 11,000 seats on a single deck, with room for expansion, or being looked over and calculated. I wouldn’t hold my breath.
But it’s still a good plan for an old stadium, I think. Check out ballparkdigest.com for more info.