NASCAR's 2nd superspeedway, the one mile paved "Raleigh (NC)Speedway" was the subject of a recent "Ghost Track" segment on RacersReunion Radio. At that time, it was my understanding (never having visited the site) that absolutely nothing remained of the old speedway. To my pleasant surprise, several listeners have recently informed me that approximately 1/4 mile of the former backstretch and 3rd turn STILL exist. Buried under pine-straw, but there nonetheless!That sure makes thisghost-track-tracker, wanna hit I-40 for a road trip........now that's a happy ending!
updated by @bobby-williamson: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
You are correct. Southland Speedway.The track opened in 1952 as Southland Speedway. Its first major event was a 200-mile (320 km) AAA sanctioned IndyCar race held on July 4, 1952. That race was won by Troy Ruttman in an Offy powered Kuzma. From 1953 the track was known as Raleigh Speedway. NASCAR races were held at the track from 1953 to 1958. On the 1/4-mile (0.4 km) infield track there were weekly Modified an Sportsman races on Fridays. Occasionally, the Sportsman and Modified's ran on the one-mile (1.6 km) track. The Grand National series ran 100, 250, and 300-mile (480 km) races yearly (twice in 1955). The final three Grand National races were held on July 4, 1956, 1957, and 1958. When the Daytona International Speedway opened, the July 4 Grand National event moved to that track. Shortly thereafter, the Raleigh Speedway closed due to noise complaints from residents of nearby neighborhoods. The track was demolished in 1967. Most of the track site is now The Seaboard Industrial Park with the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (CSX) siding occupying the former location of the front straight. About 90' of the backstretch remain in the woods near a Progress Energy substation
This is all I have, except many great memories. Not being a great typist I will try to put them on UTUBE. Someday.
