Michigan State Fairgrounds Speedway
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
| Drome | |
|---|---|
| Location | Michigan State Fair Detroit, Michigan |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Opened | 1899 |
| Major events | AAA/USAC Indy Car Detroit 100 (1949–1953, 1957) NASCAR Grand National Motor City 250 (1951–1952) |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Length | 1.6 km (1 mi) |
The Michigan State Fairgrounds Speedway was a dirt oval racing track located in Detroit, Michigan. The track was built in 1899,[1] as part of the ground purchased to provide a permanent venue for the Michigan State Fair. Joseph Lowthian Hudson donated the ground, at 8 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue to the Michigan State Agricultural Society.[2] By 1908, the racetrack, at the east end of the fairground, had a 5,000 seat capacity grandstand. In addition to auto racing, the track also hosted harness racing.[3] The grandstand was declared unsafe in 1971 and demolished in 2001.[3]
Contents
Race winners
AAA/USAC Champ Car race winners
| Season | Date | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | September 11 | Tony Bettenhausen | Kurtis | Offenhauser |
| 1950 | September 10 | Henry Banks | Moore | Offenhauser |
| 1951 | September 9 | Paul Russo | Paul Russo/Nichels | Offenhauser |
| 1952 | August 30 | Bill Vukovich | Kuzma | Offenhauser |
| 1953 | July 4 | Rodger Ward | Kurtis | Offenhauser |
| 1957 | September 11 | Jimmy Bryan | Kuzma | Offenhauser |
NASCAR Grand National race winners
| Season | Date | Winning Driver | Chassis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | August 12 | Tommy Thompson | 1951 Chrysler |
| 1952 | August 12 | Tim Flock | 1951 Hudson |
