Orange County Speedway Explained

Orange County Speedway should not be confused with Orange Show Speedway.

Orange County Speedway
Nicknames:The Fastest 3/8-mile Race Track in America
Time:GMT-5
Location:Little River Township, Orange County, at 9740 NC Highway 57, Rougemont, North Carolina 27572
Coordinates:36.2278°N -78.9614°W
Capacity:12,400
Owner:Orange County Speedway Racing, LLC
Operator:Orange County Speedway Racing, LLC
Opened:1966 (reopened 2006)
Closed:2003
Former Names:Trico Motor Speedway
Miles First:True
Surface:Asphalt
Length Km:0.604
Length Mi:0.375
Turns:4
Banking:19° turns
16° straightaways

Orange County Speedway is a NaNmiles asphalt oval in Orange County, North Carolina, near Rougemont. It first opened in 1966 as a NaNmiles and a NaNmiles 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.

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 200Jack IngramPontiac73.552NaN275miles
July 2, 1983Mason Day Paving 200Tommy HoustonChevrolet69.322NaN2
July 9, 1983Mello Yello 200Tommy HoustonChevrolet79.832NaN2
October 1, 1983Solomon Enterprises 200Sam ArdOldsmobile77.082NaN2
April 21, 1984Mason Day Paving 200Jack IngramPontiac79.692NaN2
June 6, 1984L.D. Swain & Son 200Jack IngramPontiac74.182NaN2
July 7, 1984Miller 200Jack IngramPontiac69.232NaN2
June 15, 1985Puryear Truck 150Larry PearsonPontiac71.662NaN256miles
September 28, 1985Goody's 150Jack IngramPontiac70.732NaN2
June 14, 1986Poole Equipment 150Tommy HoustonBuick84.42NaN2
August 16, 1986L.D. Swain 150Dale JarrettPontiac52.562NaN2
September 28, 1986Roses Stores 150Larry PearsonPontiac65.982NaN2
June 27, 1987Poole Equipment 150Mark MartinFord64.882NaN2
August 15, 1987Carpenter Chevy 150Larry PearsonChevrolet62.482NaN2
June 11, 1988Roses Stores 150Tommy HoustonBuick84.832NaN2
August 13, 1988Poole Equipment 150Rick MastBuick48.842NaN2
June 10, 1989Roses Stores 200Jimmy SpencerBuick72.062NaN275miles
August 12, 1989Texas Pete 200Robert PressleyOldsmobile67.552NaN2
June 9, 1990Roses Stores 200Chuck BownPontiac65.982NaN2
August 11, 1990Texas Pete 200Chuck BownPontiac82.722NaN2
June 8, 1991Roses Stores 300Robert PressleyOldsmobile72.532NaN2113miles
August 10, 1991Texas Pete 300Jimmy HensleyOldsmobile77.042NaN2
June 6, 1992Roses Stores 300Robert PressleyOldsmobile66.942NaN2
August 8, 1992Texas Pete 300Jimmy SpencerOldsmobile78.722NaN2
May 1, 1993Roses Stores 300Ward BurtonBuick68.032NaN2
October 2, 1993Polaroid 300Hermie SadlerOldsmobile60.592NaN2
April 30, 1994Pantry Stores 300Hermie SadlerChevrolet70.292NaN2

Multiple winners (drivers)

Wins Driver
5
4
3 Larry Pearson
3
2
2
2

Multiple winners (makes)

Wins Make
10
7
5
4

Notable races

Track champions

YearLate Model Stock championLimited Sportsman/Charger championPure Stock champion Street Stock championSuper Mini-Truck champion
1983Roy Hendrickxxxx
1984xxxPhillip Walkerx
1985David Blankenshipxxxx
1986Wayne Pattersonxxxx
1987Wayne Pattersonxxxx
1988Jay Foglemanxxxx
1989Gilbert Hillxxxx
1990Maurice Hillxxxx
1991Barry Beggarlyxxxx
1992Wayne Pattersonxxxx
1993Barry Beggarlyxxxx
1994Barry Beggarlyxxxx
1995xxxxx
1996xxxxx
1997xxxxx
1998xxxxx
1999xDonald Bracexxx
2000Barry BeggarlyKenny Remington Sr.xxx
2001Frank Deiny Jr.xxxx
2002Timothy Petersxxxx
2003Timothy Petersxxxx
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

References

External links