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The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 and formerly the home of the United States Grand Prix and Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix. It is located six miles (9.7 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis.
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about 50 mi (80 km) north of Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. The venue also hosts the 24 Hours of Daytona, the most prestigious IMSA race and one of the three events that make up the Triple Crown of endurance racing. In addition to NASCAR and IMSA, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, SCCA, and AMA Supercross. The track features multiple layouts including the primary 2.500 mi (4.023 km) high-speed tri-oval, a 3.560 mi (5.729 km) sports car course, a 2.950 mi (4.748 km) motorcycle course, and a 1,320 ft (400 m) karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing.
Auto Club Speedway was a 2.000 mi (3.219 km), D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It hosted NASCAR racing annually from 1997 until 2023. It was also previously used for open wheel racing events. The racetrack is located 47 mi (76 km) east of Los Angeles and is near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and Riverside International Raceway. The track is owned and operated by NASCAR. The speedway is served by the nearby Interstates 10 and 15 freeways as well as a Metrolink station located behind the backstretch.
Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed "Dega", and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located in Lincoln, Alabama, north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family. As of 2023, the track hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and ARCA Menards Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval, with a length of 2.660 mi (4.281 km), compared to the Daytona International Speedway, which is 2.500 mi (4.023 km) long. The total peak capacity of Talladega is around 175,000 spectators, with the main grandstand capacity being about 80,000. As of 2023, Talladega is one of NASCAR's three drafting tracks, alongside Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Dover Motor Speedway is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per year from 1971 to 2020. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the Indy Racing League. The track features one layout, a 1.000 mi (1.609 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports.
Pocono Raceway, also known as The Tricky Triangle, is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA Menards Series event in July: a NASCAR Cup Series race with support events by the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. From 1971 to 1989, and from 2013 to 2019, the track also hosted an Indy Car race, last sanctioned by the IndyCar Series. Additionally, from 1982 to 2021, it hosted two NASCAR Cup Series races, with the traditional first date being removed in 2022.
Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all-concrete surface, two pit roads, different turn radii, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.
Oval track racing is a form of motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic is almost universally counter-clockwise. Oval tracks are dedicated motorsport circuits, used predominantly in the United States. They often have banked turns and some, despite the name, are not precisely oval, and the shape of the track can vary.
Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a 2 mi (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Cambridge Township, Michigan, approximately four miles south of the village of Brooklyn. Situated on more than 1,400 acres (5.7 km2) in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan, the track is 70 miles west of the center of Detroit, 40 miles from Ann Arbor, and 60 miles (97 km) south and northwest of Lansing, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio, respectively. MIS is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is sometimes known as a sister track to Texas World Speedway, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by NASCAR. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking.
Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. Phoenix Raceway has also hosted the CART, IndyCar Series, USAC and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The raceway is currently owned and operated by NASCAR.
Texas Motor Speedway is a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad-oval intermediate speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The track has hosted both NASCAR and IndyCar events annually since its inaugural season of racing in 1997. The track is owned by the city of Fort Worth's sports authority and is leased out by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) for racing, with Mark Faber currently serving as the track's general manager. The speedway is served by the nearby Interstate 35W and Texas State Highway 114.
The Milwaukee Mile is a 1.015 mi (1.633 km) oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectators. Paved 70 years ago in 1954, it was originally a dirt track. In addition to the oval, there is a 0.8 mi (1.3 km) road circuit located on the infield.
Ascot Park, first named Los Angeles Speedway and later New Ascot Stadium, was a dirt racetrack located near Gardena, California. Ascot Park was open between 1957 and 1990. The track held numerous United States Auto Club (USAC) national tour races and three NASCAR Grand National races. The Turkey Night Grand Prix was held at the track for several decades.
Raleigh Speedway was a one-mile (1.6 km) oval race track which opened in 1952 one mile (1.6 km) north of Raleigh, North Carolina in Wake County. It was the second superspeedway ever built. It was also the first lighted superspeedway and the first track on which NASCAR sanctioned night-time races. The track had a long and narrow shape, like a paper clip, with the front and back straights about 500 feet (150 m) apart and the straightaways about 1,850 feet (560 m) long. The turns were banked at 16° and the straightaways were flat.
The 1998 Daytona 500, the 40th running of the event, was held on February 15 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup season. It was Dale Earnhardt's only Daytona 500 victory after 19 previous attempts. It was Earnhardt's 20th 500 start and CBS's 20th consecutive live broadcast of the Daytona 500. Also, his Daytona 500 win ended a 59-race winless streak dating back to Atlanta Motor Speedway in March 1996.
The 1997 Daytona 500, the 39th running of the event, was held on February 16 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Consisted of 200 laps and 500 miles, it was the first race of the 1997 Winston Cup season. Mike Skinner, driving the #31 car for Richard Childress Racing, won the pole and Jeff Gordon, driving the #24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race. The race was broadcast on television by CBS. This would be the last Daytona 500 attempt for Delma Cowart.
Selinsgrove Speedway is a 0.5 mi (0.80 km) high-banked clay dirt oval south of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
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The Oakland Speedway was a motor racing track in San Leandro, California, a suburb of Oakland, California. It was a one-mile, banked dirt oval track built in 1931, which operated throughout the Great Depression and postwar years. The track featured AAA National Championship races with Indy cars and drivers from 1931 until 1936, when the AAA pulled out of the West Coast. Thereafter the track still featured racing by members of the Bay Cities Racing Association, in roadsters and motorcycles, as well as Big Cars, stock cars, and midgets. It was known as the "fastest dirt track in the Nation".
The 2013 Daytona 500, the 55th running of the event, was held on February 24, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida over 200 laps and 500 miles (800 km) on the 2.5-mile (4 km) asphalt tri-oval. It was the first race of the 2013 Sprint Cup season. Danica Patrick won the pole for the race, becoming the first woman to earn a pole position in NASCAR's highest division. She also achieved the best-ever finish by a woman at the Daytona 500, finishing 8th. Jimmie Johnson, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race, making this his first win of the season and his second win in the "Great American Race" and his first since the 2006 race. His teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 2nd while Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Newman rounded out the Top 5.
The 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on August 28, 2021, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 165 laps -- extended from 160 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) superspeedway, it was the 26th race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, and the final race of the regular season before the playoffs.
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- Quotes from "The Hills, Going, Going...." article in the October 1986 edition of Stock Car Racing Magazine.
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