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Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,448 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Palmer adopted a home rule charter in 2004 with a council-manager form of government. Palmer is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalities that have city forms of government but retain "The town of" in their official names.
A race track is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals. A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also used in the study of animal locomotion.
Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit 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.
Chicagoland Speedway is a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) tri-oval speedway with a curved backstretch in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyCar Series, recording numerous close finishes including the closest finish in IndyCar history. The speedway is currently owned and operated by NASCAR.
Speedway Motorsports, LLC is an American company that owns and manages auto racing facilities that host races sanctioned by NASCAR, IndyCar Series, NHRA, World of Outlaws and other racing series. The company was founded by Bruton Smith and has its headquarters at Charlotte Motor Speedway, in Concord, North Carolina, just north of Charlotte. Speedway Motorsports owns nine racing facilities with a combined seating capacity of approximately 885,000. In addition to operating racetracks, Speedway Motorsports owns Performance Racing Network (PRN), U.S. Legend Cars International, and co-owns Motorsports Authentics.
Richard Ernest Evans, was an American racing driver who won nine NASCAR National Modified Championships, including eight in a row from 1978 to 1985. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame lists this achievement as "one of the supreme accomplishments in motorsports". Evans won virtually every major race for asphalt modifieds, most of them more than once, including winning the Race of Champions three times. Evans was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 14, 2011. As one of the Class of 2012, Evans is one of the Hall's first 15 inductees, and is the first Hall of Famer from outside the now NASCAR Cup Series.
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (TSMP), formerly Thompson Speedway and Thompson International Speedway, is a motorsports park in Thompson, Connecticut, featuring a 5⁄8 mi (1.0 km) high-banked paved short oval racetrack and a 1.7 mi (2.7 km) road racing course. Once known as the "Indianapolis of the East", it was the first asphalt-paved racing oval track in the United States and is now under the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Pro All Star Series (PASS) banners. These sanctioning bodies are the current operators of the oval, which was leased by them in 2021. Each year, Thompson hosts one of the great fall variety events "The World Series of Speedway Racing" highlighted by the New England Supermodified Series (NESS), and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. This event frequently draws over 350 race cars in 16 separate divisions over three days. Thompson currently hosts the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour two times a year, and has also hosted various SCCA sports car races between 1957 and 1972, NASCAR Grand National series races between 1951 and 1970, and two SCCA F5000 events in 1968 and 1969.
Riverside Motorsports Park was a proposed 1,200-acre (5 km2), motorsports-themed family entertainment park to be built in Merced County, California. The name "Riverside Motorsports Park" was not derived from its location. Instead, the name was derived from the configuration of the park's 3+1⁄2-mile Road Course, which would have replicated, as closely as possible, the road course at the Riverside International Raceway that closed in 1989. The RMP site was next to the former Castle Air Force Base, which is now operated as Castle Airport.
Altamont Raceway Park is a motorsports race track in the western United States, located northern California, west of Tracy. It opened on July 22, 1966, and operated under the names Altamont Speedway, Altamont Raceway, Altamont Motorsports Park, Altamont Raceway Park and Arena, and Bernal Memorial Raceway. After 42 years of operation, the speedway closed in October 2008; the site is just south of the junction of Interstates 205 and 580.
Two popular American sports were invented in New England. Basketball was invented by James Naismith, a Canadian, in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891. Volleyball was invented by William G. Morgan in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in 1895. Also, the first organized ice hockey game in the United States is widely believed to have been played in Concord, New Hampshire in 1883.
Willow Springs International Motorsports Park is located in Willow Springs near Rosamond, California, about 80 mi (130 km) north of Los Angeles. It is the oldest permanent road course in the United States. Construction began in 1952, with the inaugural race held on November 23, 1953. The main track is a 2.500 mi (4.023 km) long road course that is unchanged from its original 1953 configuration. The elevation changes and high average speeds make it a favorite of many road racing drivers.
There has been auto racing in Illinois for almost as long as there have been automobiles. Almost every type of motorsport found in the United States can be found in Illinois. Both modern and historic tracks exist in Illinois, including NASCAR's Chicagoland Speedway and Gateway International Speedway. Notable drivers from Illinois include Danica Patrick, Tony Bettenhausen, and Fred Lorenzen.
The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) is an independent regional stock car racing series based in the northeastern United States, and Eastern Canada. The American-Canadian Tour was founded in 1979, conducts professional races across New England and Quebec. After starting with a pair of non-point events at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina, the ACT Tour will open its 45th season in April 2023 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire.
Montana Raceway Park is a closed motorsports facility located near Kalispell, Montana, in the state's Flathead Valley region. It features a 1/4-mile-long high-banked oval track paved with asphalt. Seating at the facility accommodates 4,000 spectators and parking areas can stage more than 100 race teams. The track announced in March 2020 that it would close for the entire 2020 season. In May 2020, the track announced that it would close permanently due to "constant vandalism, declining fan bases and support."
Ventura Raceway is a 1/5 mile, high-banked clay oval racetrack located at the Ventura County Fairgrounds in Ventura, California, United States. It is owned and operated by Jim Naylor, who is also the track announcer. In 2010 Jim was inducted into the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame for being the oldest and only successful professional sports franchise in Ventura County history. Ventura Raceway is also home to Cory Kruseman's Sprint Car Driving School and the VRA sprint cars. Since 2016, it has served as the home of the Turkey Night Grand Prix.
The 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series was the 21st season of the IndyCar Series and the 105th season of American open wheel racing. It included the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. Scott Dixon entered as the reigning Drivers' Champion, while Chevrolet entered the season as the reigning Manufacturer's Champion. Upon season's end, Simon Pagenaud was crowned Drivers' Champion, while Chevrolet retained the Manufacturer's Championship.
Matt Frahm is an American professional stock car racing driver. The North Salem, New Hampshire, resident has competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and K&N Pro Series East.
Doug "Danger" Senecal, born March 31, 1962, in Palmer, Massachusetts, is known as Doug Danger. He is an American motorcycle jumping world record holder and stunt performer and Stage 4 cancer survivor who lives in Daytona, Florida.