 Retail park on the site of the former Crewe Stadium (2010) | |
 | |
| Location | Crewe, Cheshire, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53°05′45″N2°26′04″W / 53.09583°N 2.43444°W |
| Opened | 1898 |
| Closed | 1993 |
Crewe Stadium, also known by several other names including, Earle Street, LMR Sports Ground and BR Sports Ground, was a stadium in Crewe, Cheshire, England. Located north of Crewe railway station, it was used for speedway and stock car racing. [1] The track was redeveloped in 1993 and is now the site of a retail park.
A motorcycle speedway track operated for a short time in the late 1920s / early 1930s, at the London Midland Region (L.M.R) Sports Ground, as it was known at the time. Previously also used as a cycling and athletics track, it encircled a cricket pitch that was used by Crewe Alexandra cricket club from 1898 (following its relocation from the Alexandra Recreation Ground on Nantwich Road), [2] and by its successor, Crewe LMR Cricket Club until 1975. [3]
In 1969, Maurice Littlechild of Allied Presentations formed a speedway team to compete at the Sports Ground. The set up costs exceeded £10,000 and the team were given the nickname the Crewe Kings. [4] The team ran from 1969 until 1975, when it closed down due to financial difficulties. [5]
The track was a 434-metre-long (475 yd) banked shale surfaced oval and was built on what was previously an athletics ground. [6]
During the closed season of 1970–71 the track was shortened to 397 metres (434 yards).
From 1981, BriSCA Formula 2 Stock Cars raced at the stadium and the following year from 1982, BriSCA F1 Stock Cars promoted by a local businessman called Jim Barrie started to race at the stadium. [7] The F2 World Final was held in 1993, the biggest Oval Track the F2's raced on. It also hosted V8 Hotstox, and various other forms of oval motor sport including National Hot Rods, Banger racing, Ministox and Rebels. The very last meeting held was on 11 December 1993. [8]
On 17 September 2010, the speedway team and stadium was commemorated, with a plaque unveiling at the Kings Arms on Earle Street. [6]
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses. It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It originated in the southern United States and later spread to Japan; its largest governing body is NASCAR. Its NASCAR Cup Series is the premier top-level series of professional stock car racing. Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile also have forms of stock car racing in the Americas. Other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, have forms of stock car racing worldwide as well. Top-level races typically range between 200 and 600 miles in length.
Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is a multi-purpose stadium currently the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team and Yorstox Stock Cars who host regular monthly meetings of BriSCA F1 Stock Cars and BriSCA F2 Stock Cars. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes speedway team, hosting the 1997 Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain. The football team Bradford City used Odsal as a temporary groundshare following the Valley Parade fire while their ground was rebuilt. Odsal Stadium has also historically hosted baseball, women's football, American football, basketball, kabbadi, show jumping, tennis, live music concerts, and international Rugby League matches over the years.
BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars is a class of single-seater stock-car-racing in the UK with custom-built cars, with races conducted on walled oval tracks of either shale or tarmac of approximately a quarter-mile in length. The cars follow open wheel design principles, and there are no horsepower restrictions for the engines. Drivers may use any engine they choose, with Chevrolet based small or big block V8 engines being the most popular. The season runs from March through to November, with occasional meetings over the Christmas period.
The Athletic Grounds was a stadium in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It was the home of Rochdale Hornets Rugby League Football Club for over 90 years until 1988. It has also been used for speedway, BriSCA F1 Stock Cars and greyhound racing.
Loomer Road Stadium was a sports stadium situated in Chesterton, Staffordshire from c.1970 to 2019. The building had considerable parking facilities, covered terracing and a bar with a view of the track. The stadium opened in 1973 and hosted greyhound racing until 2003, and speedway and stock cars until its closure at the end of the 2019 season.
West Ham Stadium existed between 1928 and 1972 in Custom House, east London, England, on Prince Regent Lane, near the present-day Prince Regent DLR station.
The Crewe Kings was a British Speedway team which operated in Crewe, Cheshire from 1969 until its closure in 1975.
Stock car racing in the United Kingdom covers a number of different oval racing formulas. Contact is allowed in UK stock car racing, that is, if you are unable to pass an opponent using speed alone, you are allowed to push or hit your opponent in order to pass. The degree of contact allowed varies between categories.
Aycliffe Stadium was a sports facility located in County Durham, England, on the southern edge of the Aycliffe Industrial Estate, which has Newton Aycliffe to the North and Aycliffe Village to the South. The stadium was originally used for greyhound racing and then speedway before stock car racing.
V8 Hotstox is a British stock car racing formula that races on British short oval racing circuits. Drivers are members of the British Stock Car Drivers Association (BSCDA) and are affiliated to the British Stock Car Racing Association (BriSCA). V8 Hotstox have also previously been known as V8 Stock Cars.
Skegness Stadium is a short tarmac oval racing circuit used for stock car, banger racing and former greyhound racing and speedway stadium on Marsh Lane in Orby, Skegness, Lincolnshire. located just outside Skegness.
Rob Speak is a racing driver from Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, he’s one of the most successful drivers in BriSCA Formula 2 Stock Cars history. He has won the National Points Championship eleven times in succession and the World Championship eight times. In addition, he has won the BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars World Championship, National Points Championship plus the European Championship twice each. In September 2016 he became the new owner and promoter of the Skegness Stadium in Lincolnshire.
Brandon Stadium, also known as Coventry Stadium, is located 6 miles east of Coventry in Brandon, Warwickshire, England. It was the home of the Coventry Bees motorcycle speedway team. It also hosted BriSCA F1 Stock Car Racing on the 1st Saturday of the month from April through to November. From 1978 until early 2016 it intermittently hosted greyhound racing. As of 2023, it is closed and has become dilapidated after several fires, including an arson attack in 2022.
Leicester Stadium also known as the Blackbird Road Stadium, was a sports stadium on Parker Drive in Leicester. The stadium was initially used for greyhound racing with motorcycle speedway starting there five years later. It was also a venue for BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars.
Paul Hines is a BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars racing driver from Hinckley, Leicestershire who races under number 259.
BriSCA Formula 2 Stock Cars is a class of single seater auto racing in the UK. Cars are custom-built and race on oval tracks of either shale or tarmac of up to a quarter-mile in length. The tracks they race on are surrounded by either steel plate or post and wire fences to keep the cars on the track. Racing involves contact, drivers are allowed to push, punt or spin fellow competitors out of the way. The cars are very strong and are of an open wheel design, but are designed with the contact element in mind, with front and rear bumpers and a sturdy chassis and roll cage.
Roy Goodman is a former BriSCA Formula 2 Stock Cars racing driver. Goodman is one of the most successful drivers ever in the formula, having won the first ever World Championship in 1963 and National Points Championship on nine occasions. He also competed in BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars for two decades.
Northampton Shaleway also known as Brafield, is used for BriSCA F1 Stock Cars, BriSCA Formula 2 Stock Cars, V8 Hotstox, and various other forms of oval motor sport including National Hot Rods, Banger racing, Saloon Stock Cars, Ministox and Rebels. It also briefly hosted speedway and greyhound racing.
King's Lynn Stadium, also known as the Adrian Flux Arena and previously as the Norfolk Arena, is a short oval stadium situated to the south of King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. It currently hosts BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Car Racing, Banger racing, motorcycle speedway and is also a former greyhound racing track.
White City Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England.