Orange County Speedway

Last updated
Orange County Speedway
The Fastest 3/8-mile Race Track in America
Orange County Speedway.svg
3/8 mile oval
LocationLittle River Township, Orange County, at 9740 NC Highway 57, Rougemont, North Carolina 27572
Time zoneGMT-5
Coordinates 36°13′40″N78°57′41″W / 36.22778°N 78.96139°W / 36.22778; -78.96139
Capacity12,400
OwnerOrange County Speedway Racing, LLC
OperatorOrange County Speedway Racing, LLC
Opened1966 (reopened 2006)
Closed2003
Former namesTrico Motor Speedway
Website http://www.ocstrack.com
SurfaceAsphalt
Length0.375 miles (0.604 km)
Turns4
Banking19° turns
16° straightaways

Orange County Speedway is a 38 mile (0.60 km) asphalt oval in Orange County, North Carolina, near Rougemont. It first opened in 1966 as a 14 mile (0.40 km) and a 58 mile (1.0 km) dirt oval (Trico Speedway), 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.

Contents

Some of the most famous names in stock car racing have raced at the Orange County Speedway, including Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Davey and Donnie Allison, Dale Jarrett, Jeff and Ward Burton, Elliott and Hermie Sadler, Scott Riggs, Michael Waltrip, Todd Bodine, Kyle Petty and Bobby Labonte. Some more recent notable drivers include Timothy Peters, Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr., Ryan Blaney, Jeb Burton, Timmy Hill, Ryan Reed, Jesse Little and Gray Gaulding. David Pearson and Glen Wood raced at the speedway when it was a dirt track. The track currently runs a regular weekly show on the second and fourth Saturday night of each month, April through October. The facility also hosts the PASS Super Late Model series, CARS Super Late Model Tour and CARS Late Model Stock Tour.

History

In 1966, the speedway underwent significant improvement, which is considered the actual launch date of the track. It opened as a 1/4-mile dirt oval, but soon was increased to 5/8 mile and remained until 1973.

In 1973, the track hosted one NASCAR Grand National East Series event.

In 1983, the speedway underwent more improvements. 19-degree banking was added in the turns and 16-degree banking in straightaways to assure more safety for drivers and exciting on-car movements for fans. At that time, the Orange County Speedway became known as “the fastest 3/8-mile race track in America".

In 1983, the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now Xfinity Series) began running events at the speedway. Orange County Speedway was one of the first tracks in the area to have live televised Busch races; the first was the 1990 Roses Stores 200 on June 9, 1990.

Between 1986 and 1988, the facility hosted 5 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races. Also, the track hosted 3 NASCAR Southeast Series events between 1993 and 1999.

ASA National Tour ran 2 events at the speedway, between 1998 and 1999. And CARS X-1R Pro Cup Series ran 5 races at Orange County Speedway between 1997 and 2014.

At the start of 21st century, the track was in bad shape and attendance had been falling. Eventually the track was shut down in 2003. Then in March 2006, under a new management team, the track reopened. Volunteers put in time to rehabilitation of the speedway for the opening day. The event was a big success, with a large crowd for the first time in years.

Major results

NASCAR Busch Grand National Series

The NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now Xfinity Series) had 27 races at the speedway from 1983 until 1994.

DateRace NameWinning driverMakeAverage speedRace length
June 18, 1983L.D. Swain & Son 200 Jack Ingram Pontiac 73.55 mph (118.37 km/h)75 miles (121 km)
July 2, 1983Mason Day Paving 200 Tommy Houston Chevrolet 69.32 mph (111.56 km/h)
July 9, 1983Mello Yello 200 Tommy Houston Chevrolet 79.83 mph (128.47 km/h)
October 1, 1983Solomon Enterprises 200 Sam Ard Oldsmobile 77.08 mph (124.05 km/h)
April 21, 1984Mason Day Paving 200 Jack Ingram Pontiac 79.69 mph (128.25 km/h)
June 6, 1984L.D. Swain & Son 200 Jack Ingram Pontiac 74.18 mph (119.38 km/h)
July 7, 1984Miller 200 Jack Ingram Pontiac 69.23 mph (111.41 km/h)
June 15, 1985Puryear Truck 150 Larry Pearson Pontiac 71.66 mph (115.33 km/h)56 miles (90 km)
September 28, 1985Goody's 150 Jack Ingram Pontiac 70.73 mph (113.83 km/h)
June 14, 1986Poole Equipment 150 Tommy Houston Buick 84.40 mph (135.83 km/h)
August 16, 1986L.D. Swain 150 Dale Jarrett Pontiac 52.56 mph (84.59 km/h)
September 28, 1986Roses Stores 150 Larry Pearson Pontiac 65.98 mph (106.18 km/h)
June 27, 1987Poole Equipment 150 Mark Martin Ford 64.88 mph (104.41 km/h)
August 15, 1987Carpenter Chevy 150 Larry Pearson Chevrolet62.48 mph (100.55 km/h)
June 11, 1988Roses Stores 150 Tommy Houston Buick84.83 mph (136.52 km/h)
August 13, 1988Poole Equipment 150 Rick Mast Buick48.84 mph (78.60 km/h)
June 10, 1989Roses Stores 200 Jimmy Spencer Buick72.06 mph (115.97 km/h)75 miles (121 km)
August 12, 1989Texas Pete 200 Robert Pressley Oldsmobile67.55 mph (108.71 km/h)
June 9, 1990Roses Stores 200 Chuck Bown Pontiac65.98 mph (106.18 km/h)
August 11, 1990Texas Pete 200 Chuck Bown Pontiac82.72 mph (133.12 km/h)
June 8, 1991Roses Stores 300 Robert Pressley Oldsmobile72.53 mph (116.73 km/h)113 miles (182 km)
August 10, 1991Texas Pete 300 Jimmy Hensley Oldsmobile77.04 mph (123.98 km/h)
June 6, 1992Roses Stores 300 Robert Pressley Oldsmobile66.94 mph (107.73 km/h)
August 8, 1992Texas Pete 300 Jimmy Spencer Oldsmobile78.72 mph (126.69 km/h)
May 1, 1993Roses Stores 300 Ward Burton Buick68.03 mph (109.48 km/h)
October 2, 1993Polaroid 300 Hermie Sadler Oldsmobile60.59 mph (97.51 km/h)
April 30, 1994Pantry Stores 300 Hermie Sadler Chevrolet70.29 mph (113.12 km/h)

Multiple winners (makes)

WinsMake
10 Pontiac
7 Oldsmobile
5 Buick
4 Chevrolet
  • Only other car make to win was on June 27, 1987, Mark Martin won driving a Ford.

Notable races

  • 1986 L.D. Swain 150– Dale Jarrett earned his first ever win in a NASCAR major series.
  • 1986 Roses Stores 150 - This was Larry Pearson's only win on his way to his first Busch Championship. Also future Busch series Champion, Rob Moroso, made his NASCAR debut on his 18th birthday.
  • 1987 Poole Equipment 150– Mark Martin won the event, giving Ford its first and only Busch Series win at the track.
  • 1989 Roses Stores 200– Jimmy Spencer was dominant in the event driving a white sponsor-less #34 Buick. Spencer lead 190 of the 200 laps and lapped the field on his way to the win.
  • 1990 Roses Stores 200 - This was the first live televised Busch race at Orange County Speedway. Jeff Burton got his first pole in the Busch Series, while Chuck Bown lead 106 laps on the way for the victory.
  • 1991 Roses Stores 300– Jeff Gordon earned his first career Busch series pole in this event. Shawna Robinson made her first career start as Robert Pressley took the win.
  • 1991 Texas Pete 300– Jimmy Hensley lapped the field on the way to victory. To date, this is the last time anyone lapped the field in a Busch Series race. Jack Ingram withdrew from this race after his son was killed the week before. Ingram never raced again in the Busch series.
  • 1994 Pantry Stores 300 - The last Busch series race at Orange County Speedway. Some confusion arose at the end of the race on who had won. With two laps to go George Crenshaw blew his engine and poured oil on the track. Two of the leaders, Hermie Sadler and 3rd place Ricky Craven, got into the oil and spun out. Sadler recovered, but was passed for the lead by Dennis Setzer, who had moved into 2nd place, and took the white flag as the caution was displayed. NASCAR determined that Sadler had already taken the caution flag, declaring Sadler as the winner.

Track champions

YearLate Model Stock championLimited Sportsman/Charger championPure Stock championStreet Stock championSuper Mini-Truck champion
1983Roy Hendrickxxxx
1984xxxPhillip Walkerx
1985David Blankenshipxxxx
1986Wayne Pattersonxxxx
1987Wayne Pattersonxxxx
1988Jay Foglemanxxxx
1989Gilbert Hillxxxx
1990Maurice Hillxxxx
1991 Barry Beggarly xxxx
1992Wayne Pattersonxxxx
1993 Barry Beggarly xxxx
1994 Barry Beggarly xxxx
1995xxxxx
1996xxxxx
1997xxxxx
1998xxxxx
1999xDonald Bracexxx
2000 Barry Beggarly xxxx
2001Frank Deiny Jr.xxxx
2002 Timothy Peters xxxx
2003 Timothy Peters xxxx
2004-2005Track Closedxxxx
2006Ronald HillMatt LoftonChuck Watkinsxx
2007Terry DeaseBrian ColeThomas Pennyxx
2008Stacy PuryearDonald Bracexxx
2009David Triplett Jr.Michael McGuireKeith Langstonxx
2010Terry DeaseJustin NewlinJarrett Milamxx
2013Craig MooreJerry HinesleyJarret Milamxx
2014Chris Dennyxxxx
2015xxDanny Winsteadxx
2016Terry DeaseBoo Boo DaltonDanny WinsteadJared GillisJohn Comstock

See also

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References