Time zone GMT-5 Surface Asphalt Phone +1 336-364-1222 | Former names Trico Motor Speedway Capacity 12,400 Opened 1966 (reopened 2006) | |
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Location Little River Township, Orange County, at 9740 NC Highway 57, Rougemont, North Carolina 27572 Owner Orange County Speedway Racing, LLC Operator Orange County Speedway Racing, LLC Hours Closed today SaturdayClosedSundayClosedMonday8AM–5PMTuesday8AM–5PMWednesday8AM–5PMThursday8AM–5PMFriday8AM–5PMSuggest an edit Similar Roxboro Motor Sports Inc, South Boston Motor Sp, Ace Speedway, Occonee Golf Club, Orange High School Profiles | ||
Orange county speedway highlights 10 22 16
Orange County Speedway is a 3/8 mile (0.6 km) asphalt oval in Orange County, North Carolina, near Rougemont. It first opened in 1966 as 1/4 mile (0.4 km) and 5/8 mile (1.6 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 as an American Speed Association member track.
Contents
- Orange county speedway highlights 10 22 16
- Orange county speedway 9 24 2016
- Track History
- NASCAR Busch Grand National Series
- Notable races
- References
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 thru October. The facility also hosts the PASS and CARS touring series..
Orange county speedway 9 24 2016
Track History
Orange County Speedway was built as a horse racing track initially, it stayed as a horse track from 1857 until 1919, when the first auto race took place. Automoblie races were going to be a regular event at the track befor being stopped because of World War II. 3 years after the war was over stock car racing started again. The first stock car driver to win on the ½-mile track was Frankie Schneider.
in 1966, The speedway underwent significant improvement, which is considered the actual launch date of the track. Tt open as a 1/4 mile dirt oval, but soon was increased to 5/8 mile and remained until 1973.
in 1983, the speedway underwent more improvements. 19 degree banking was added in the turns and 16 degrees banking in straightaways to assured 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.
At the start of 21st century, the track was in bad shape and attendance had been falling. Eventually the track was shutdown 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.
NASCAR Busch Grand National Series
The NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now Xfinity Series) had 27 races at the speedway from 1983 until 1994.