Home | Register | Quick Links | FAQ | Donate | Contact |
Indiana Open Wheel
> Indiana Open Wheel Forum
>
Hoosier Halves
|
Thread Tools |
2/12/23, 11:24 AM |
#1
Hoosier Halves
|
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 8,509 |
I was thinking about the great Terre Haute Action Track yesterday. I got to wondering if there are any other half mile dirt tracks in the state? Or were there some that no longer operate? I couldn’t think of any, but maybe some of you fine folks have some history for me
|
|
|
2/12/23, 11:31 AM |
#2
Re: Hoosier Halves
|
||
Senior Member
Race Count This Year: 6 Race Count Last Year: 14 Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 21,633 |
Both Lawrenceburg and Bloomington at one time were halfs or bigger. You can still see the cuttout of four in bloomingtons hillside. IRP was dirt it's first year.
__________________
Charles Nungester
|
||
|
2/12/23, 12:48 PM | #3 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 8,509 |
Thanks Charles. I don’t remember ever hearing about Bloomington being a half. Kinda remember maybe something about the Burg but don’t remember any details. I know Illiana was a dirt half at one time, but don’t know what time frame
|
|
|
2/12/23, 1:53 PM |
#4
Re: Hoosier Halves
|
||
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 4,873 |
I think Illiana was dirt through 1961. Paved before '62 season.
|
||
|
2/12/23, 2:00 PM | #5 | ||
Member
Join Date: Feb 2020 Posts: 210 |
Bloomington was once 5/8. The fairgrounds track at Boonville was a half and hosted AAA sprint cars in 50s, Brownstown was a half through 1962, Old Columbus Fairgrounds was a half, Converse In was a half, Crown Point, Ft Wayne Speedway a part of the time, Franklin In Fairgrounds, Hammond 5/8, Huttons Park in Scottsburg, one of the Mitchell Speedways and Winchester and Salem started as dirt and Jungle Park oiled dirt. There are actually many others than ran even further back including mile tracks
|
||
|
2/12/23, 4:14 PM |
#6
Re: Hoosier Halves
|
||
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2017 Posts: 615 |
Hoosier Motor Speedway at 38th and Pendleton Pike in Indianapolis, 1922-1924,
Rensselaer Raceway at the fairgrounds, early 1950's. http://triplettracehistory.blogspot....-speedway.html http://www.speedwayandroadracehistor...-speedway.html
_________________________________________________
Last edited by Vookie; 2/12/23 at 4:59 PM. |
||
|
2/12/23, 4:16 PM |
#7
Re: Hoosier Halves
|
||
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 6,388 |
Quote:
__________________
"Being old, isn't half as much fun, as getting there"! Ole Robert I!
|
||
|
2/12/23, 4:41 PM | #8 | ||
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2022 Posts: 391 |
Very neat post and educational to me. I didn’t realize there was so many at one time. Thanks for sharing.
|
||
|
2/12/23, 5:35 PM | #9 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 6,388 |
I have to admit attending several of them as a young lad,then returning years later to get the feel of their dirt for myself, but by then they were smaller.
__________________
"Being old, isn't half as much fun, as getting there"! Ole Robert I!
|
|
|
2/12/23, 6:00 PM |
#10
Re: Hoosier Halves
|
||
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 290 |
According to Allan Brown's great book The History of America's Speedways Past & Present, there have been many as mentioned above. This listing is from the 1994 edition of the book. There may be some tracks left out, and discrepancies with his information.
Bedford (Fairgrounds) 1/2 c.1928-1938 Bloomington (aka: Mitchell's Motor Speedway) 5/8 1923-1941 Boonville (Fairgrounds) 1/2 c.1951-1954 1985 Brownstown (Jackson Fairgrounds) 1/2 1952-c1962 Burlington (Fairgrounds) 1/2 1916 Carey Ranch Indianapolis 1/2 1939-1941 Cayuga (Vermilion Fairgrounds) 1/2 1946 Centlivre Speedway Fort Wayne 1/2 1914-1926 1928 1941 1948 Clark Speedway Vincennes (aka: George Rogers Clark Speedway) 1/2 c.1927-1932 Clintonville 1/2 c.1930s Columbus Speedway 1/2 c.1937-1941 1946-1973 Converse (Fairgrounds) 1/2 c.1922-1941 1946-1950 Covington (Fairgrounds) 1/2 c.1920s Crawfordsville (Montgomery Fairgrounds) 1/2 c.1928-1930s Crown Point Fair Raceway (Lake County Fairgrounds) 1/2 1919-1930 1934-1941 1946-1953 Dixie Speedway Sullivan (aka: Hal Richarts Speedway) 1/2 1928 Evansville (Vanderburgh Fairgrounds) 1917-1919 Fairmount Park ½ 1910 c.1934-1936 Fort Wayne Speedway 5/8 1930-1936 (Paved 1937) 1/2 inside paved oval 1946-1964 Frankfort Speedway (Clinton Fairgrounds) 1/2 c.1932-1937 Franklin Speedway (Johnson Fairgrounds) 1/2 c.1938-1941 1946-1950s Greenfield (Fairgrounds) 1/2 1922 1940-1941 Greenfield Superbowl 1/2 1947-1949 Hammond Raceway 5/8 1937-1942 1946-1947 Hobart 3/4 1921-1922 Hoosier Motor Speedway Indianapolis 1/2 1922-1924 Huntington (Fairgrounds) 1/2 1915-1918 Huntington Motor Speedway 5/8 1928-1938 Illana Motor Speedway 1/2 Schereville 1945-1961 Indianapolis State Fairgrounds 1 1903-1916 1928-1941 1946-?? Indianapolis Raceway Park 5/8 1961 Jungle Park Rockville 1/2 1926-1942 1945-1957 1960 Kokomo Driving Park 1/2 1903 Kokomo Speedway 1/2 1925 Lafayette (Tippecano Fairgrounds) 1/2 1916-1922 Lafayette Speedway 1/2 1945-1948 Mount Lawn Speedway 1/2 1935-1942 1946-1949 New Harmon (Posey Fairgrounds) 1/2 1931 1939 North Manchester (Wabash Fairgrounds) 1/2 c.1919-1926 Parkersburg 1/2 c.1970s Playland Park Mishawaka 1/2 1919-1942 1945-1956 Porter Speedway 1 1920-1937 Portland (Jay Fairgrounds) 1/2 c.1924-1927 1930 c.1950s Pride Speedway Evansville 1/2 c1920s-1932 Princeton (Gibson Fairgrounds) 1/2 1941 1946-1977 Rensselaer Raceway (Jasper Fairgrounds) 1/2 1952-1956 Richmond (Wayne Fairgrounds) 1 c.1905 Richmond Centerville 1/2 1928-1932 Roby Speedway Indianapolis (aka: New Roby Speedway) 1 1920-1936 Rochester (Fulton Fairgrounds) 1/2 1922 Rochester Speedway 1/2 1927-1934 Rockford 1/2 1926 Rushville Motor Speedway 1/2 c.1927-1933 Saint Joe Race Track 1/2 1939-1941 1946-1953 Salem (American Legion) 1/2 1921-1931 Salem Super Speedway 1/2 1947 Scottsburg (Scott Fairgrounds) (aka: Hutton’s Park) 1/2 c.1930s 1947-1948 1951 Seely Speedway (aka: Sunflower Speedway) 1/2 c1924-1931 Skyview Track Chesterfield 1/2 1948 South Bend (Fairgrounds) 1/2 1921 Spencer Park (Logansport Fairgrounds) 1/2 c.1916-1929 Sullivan Speedway 1/2 1927-1928 Terra Haute Action Track (Vigo Fairgrounds) 1/2 1952-1987 1990-present Terra Haute (Fairgrounds) 1 1911 c.1914-1828 Thunder Valley Raceway (Washington Fairgrounds) 1/2 1915-1920 c.1940-1941 c.1946 Tipton (Fairgrounds) 1/2 1934-1937 Vincennes (Knox Fairgrounds) 1/2 1914-1918 Vincennes Speedway 1/2 1928 Wabash (Fairgrounds) 1/2 c.1927-1929 Walnut Garden Speedway Indianapolis 1/2 1929-1934 Warren (Fairgrounds) 1/2 1914-1930 Winamac (Pulaski Fairgrounds) 1/2 c. 1946-1950s Winchester Speedway (aka: Funk’s Lake & Funk’s Motor Speedway) 1/2 1914-1921 1922-1942 1945-1950 Bart |
||
|
Indiana Open Wheel
> Indiana Open Wheel Forum
>
Hoosier Halves
|