Hickory Motor Speedway is a short track located in Hickory, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most storied venues, and is often referred to as the "World's Most Famous Short Track" and the "Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars".
The track first opened in 1951 as a 0.500mi (0.805km) dirt track. Gwyn Staley won the first race at the speedway and later became the first track champion. Drivers such as Junior Johnson, Ned Jarrett, and Ralph Earnhardt also became track champions in the 1950s, with Earnhardt winning five of them.
In 1953, NASCAR's Grand National Series (later the NASCAR Cup Series) visited the track for the first time. Tim Flock won the first race at the speedway, which became a regular part of the Grand National schedule. After winning his track championship in 1952, Junior Johnson became the most successful Grand National driver at Hickory, winning there seven times.
The track has been re-configured three times in its history. The track became a 0.400mi (0.644km) dirt track in 1955, which was paved for the first time during the 1967 season. In 1970, the Hickory track was shortened to a length of 0.363mi (0.584km).
Hickory was dropped from the NASCAR Grand National schedule after the 1971 season when R. J. Reynolds began sponsoring the newly christened NASCAR Winston Cup Series and dropped all races under 250mi (400km) from the schedule. It remained in use as a popular NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Series venue. When the series was reformed as the NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Series (later the Busch Grand National Series and currently the NASCAR Xfinity Series) in 1982, Hickory played a prominent part of its first season, hosting six of the series' 28 races. Drivers Jack Ingram and Tommy Houston, two former track champions, each won eight times at the track in the Busch Series.
As more tracks began hosting NASCAR Busch Series races, Hickory's involvement was progressively reduced to two races a year by 1987, and then just the Easter weekend by 1995. By 1998, the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series began adding more races at Winston Cup Series tracks, and Hickory was dropped from the schedule after 17 years.
Hickory is still used as a venue for NASCAR's club racing division, the Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, Carolina Pro Late Model Series, Carolina Crate Modified Series, Pro All Stars Series South Super Late Models and the CARS Tour featuring Late Model Stocks and Pro Late Model touring series cars.
Kerry Dale Earnhardt is an American former NASCAR driver and the eldest son of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt. He is the half-brother of former NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller. He was employed by Dale Earnhardt, Inc. as a consultant specializing in driver development until 2011. His younger son, Jeffrey Earnhardt, began racing for DEI in 2007 and currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Kerry Earnhardt is known for his physical similarity to his father.
Ralph Lee Earnhardt was an American stock car racer and patriarch of the Earnhardt racing family. He was the father of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt, grandfather of Kerry Earnhardt, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, and Dale Earnhardt Jr..
David Gene Pearson was an American stock car driver, who raced from 1960 to 1986 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series, most notably driving the No. 21 Mercury for Wood Brothers Racing. Pearson won the 1960 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award and three Cup Series championships. He never missed a race in the years he was active. NASCAR described his 1974 season as an indication of his "consistent greatness", finishing third in the season points having competed in only 19 of 30 races. Pearson's career paralleled Richard Petty's, the driver who has won the most races in NASCAR history. They accounted for 63 first/second-place finishes, with the edge going to Pearson. Petty had 200 wins in 1,184 starts, while Pearson had 105 wins in 574 starts. Pearson was nicknamed the "Fox" for his calculated approach to racing.
South Boston Speedway, or "SoBo", is a short track located just outside South Boston, Virginia. SoBo is located approximately 60-mile (97 km) east of another area familiar to most NASCAR fans, Martinsville. It is owned by Mattco, Inc., the Mattioli family trust that owns Pocono Raceway, with general manager Brandon Brown operating the track, replacing Cathy Rice who retired in 2021 after serving in that role for 21 years and Chase Brashears who was in the role for two years. NASCAR's three national series have raced at the track, though the Cup Series has not done so since 1971, while the Busch Series last raced there in 2000. After the Busch Series left the schedule, the Craftsman Truck Series competed at SoBo for a few years between 2001 and 2003. The SRX Series visited the track in 2022.
Ned Jarrett is an American retired race car driver and broadcaster. He is a two-time NASCAR Grand National Series champion. Because of his calm demeanor, he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett". He is the father of former drivers Glenn Jarrett and Dale Jarrett.
Myrtle Beach Speedway, was a short track located on U.S. Route 501 near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The track was built in 1958.
James Edward Hensley is a former NASCAR driver. With a career spanning 27 seasons in all three of NASCAR's elite divisions, Hensley may be best remembered for his Rookie of the Year award won in 1992, his 15th season in the series, and for his nine career Busch Series wins. He spent most of his career working as an oil truck driver in addition to racing. He was best known as being a substitute driver for many teams.
Orange County Speedway is a 0.375 mi (0.604 km) asphalt oval in Orange County, North Carolina, near Rougemont. It first opened in 1966 as a 0.250 mi (0.402 km) and a 0.625 mi (1.006 km) dirt oval, which operated until 1967 and 1973, respectively. The facility was reopened and paved in 1983. With a slogan of "the fastest 3/8-mile race track in America," the oval features 19-degree banking through the turns and 16 degrees on the straightaways, creating three distinct grooves making for very fast turns. The aluminum grandstands stretch from Turn 4 all the way down the front straightaway to Turn 1. The speedway closed in 2003 but reopened on March 11, 2006.
Tommy Houston is a retired NASCAR Busch Series driver. Over his career, Houston and Jack Ingram became known as the pair of journeymen drivers that helped that series grow throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway is a 0.596 mi (0.959 km) motorsport racetrack located at the Nashville Fairgrounds near downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The track is the second-oldest continually operating track in the United States. The track held NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup races from 1958 to 1984.
Mike Alexander is a retired American racing driver. He won the NASCAR Weekly Series national championship in 1983. He also raced in Winston Cup and in the Busch Series.
Mike Cope is a retired American stock car racing driver. A two-time champion of the NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series, he also competed in the NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He is no relation to Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope.
Delaware Speedway is a 0.500 mi (0.805 km) paved race track that is one of the oldest continuously operating tracks in Canada. It is located a few minutes west of London, Ontario northeast of Delaware, Ontario. It hosts stock car racing every Friday night during the summer. The track opened in 1952 as a 0.250 mi (0.402 km) dirt track that was paved in 1960. In August 1969, the track was expanded to a 0.500 mi (0.805 km) paved oval and continues today.
The 1968 Hickory 250 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on April 7, 1968, at Hickory Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina.
The 1961 Buddy Shuman 250 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 8, 1961, at Hickory Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina.
The 1956 Buddy Shuman 250 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on November 11, 1956, at Hickory Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina.
The 1966 Buddy Shuman 250 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 9, 1966, at Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina.
The 1959 Hickory 250 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on May 2, 1959, at Hickory Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina.
The Galaxy Food Centers 300 was a NASCAR Busch Series stock car race held at Hickory Motor Speedway, a .363-mile (0.584 km) paved oval track located in Hickory, North Carolina. One of the inaugural events of the Busch Series from its 1982 season, it was one of five races the series ran at the track in 1982, four from 1983 to 1985, three in 1986 and, from 1987 to 1994, was the series' first of two annual visits to the track; from 1995 to 1998 it was the only visit to the track by the series annually. until Hickory Motor Speedway departed the series schedule after the 1998 season. The race distance was 300 laps in 1982 and from 1992 to 1998, 200 laps from 1983 to 1990, and 276 laps in 1992.
Nathan Buttke is a former stock car racing driver. The Randleman, North Carolina native competed in 55 NASCAR Busch Series races and 22 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races between 1992 and 2001.
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