I’m putting detail with my pics, articles, etc. from “back in the day” on disc and I’m trying to identify the name of a race track.
For a few years before I began driving in 1968, I was crewing on my Brother-In-Law’s (Kenny Faircloth) Late Model. In 1967, we ventured out of town for the first time to race a 100-lap Championship down in Ft. Pierce, Florida.
What I’m having trouble with is identifying that race track. I have searched “Yesterday’s Tracks” here on this site as well as Google and other short track racing sites and for the life of me can’t find any trace of it. In fact, I even started to doubt my memory thinking maybe we were someplace else and I’m just having a senior moment but I confirmed the town with Kenny yesterday. It was definetly Ft. Pierce.
See below a few related pics from that day & time.
The first is an actual shot taken on the front straightaway that night at Ft. Pierce by a local photographer after Kenny won. Kenny is center, I’m on the left and Kenny’s Cousin Stevie is on the right. On the back of this photo is; "Gold Coast Racing Photos by Chet Overton, 2720 Parker Avenue, West Palm Beach, #832-7665. And no, I haven’t tried the phone number. I assumed it would be disconnected by now.
The second pic is a shot of Ole’ “Midnight” that we won the race with. This shot wasn’t taken at Ft. Pierce but it is the same car we took down there. This pic was from GGS the same year.
I will guess you are thinking of Treasure coast speedway. It was near the second FT. Pierce exit on 95 (the one before SR 70 and the turn pike) The track closed in 1974. hope this helps.
That’s got to be it! There couldn’t have been more than one stock car track in Ft. Pierce at that time. I remember it was not far off of the Interstate but can’t recall the exit. I do know that we took SR-70 back home because we had a horrible crash on that road early in the morning going back.
Were you familiar enough with the track to tell me the size? I think it was either a 1/4-mile or 3/8-mile like GGS but no bigger if memory serves.
Thanks a bunch for the info palmbayer, I appreciate it! :ernaehrung004:
The name of the speedway in Ft Pierce is correct. It was a quarter mile asphalt track. I raced there from 1967 until it closed. Guy Jr won the last modified feature and I finished second in a Mercury Comet, black and yellow no. 6. They did close the track, but unless something has been done with it in the last few years, it was still there, just grown up and falling down. It belonged to, first, Mr Hardy Sloan, then his son Buddy. I left FT. Pierce in 84 so don’t know much after that. Nicky
There were 2 speedways in Ft.Pierce. Gold Coast Speedway from 1957 to 1966.Treasure Coast Speedway from 1968 to 1973. I do remember that the fence for Gold Coast was primarily made of railroad ties planted upright and the pits were on the north side of the track. If you are unsure of which track you might want to contact Marty Little as he may know how to tell the 2 apart. I have pictures(slides) from the late 50s with Dick Crowe Royce Barton and others.
I am going to school for Business and was thinkiing about opening up my own racetrack. Are these two tracks still standing or have they been taken apart and now is a shopping plaza or something?
Sorry i didnt catch this thread sooner it is ft.pierce speedway take orange ave. exit east to angle rd.turn left to metzger rd the track approx. 1 mile on right behind mayflower storage yard. Mayflower took out the 4th turn the rest is still there all overgrown now. The ttack was 1/4 oval. I grew up at the place stii live a couple miles fron there. There was another track in town it was near 95 and orange ave but was closed before long ago
