Location Joliet, Illinois Major events NHRA Length 0.25 mi (0.40 km) Opened 1998 | Time zone GMT-6 Surface Asphalt Surface Dirt | |
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Major event National Hot Rod Association Profiles | ||
Route 66 raceway test tune april 11th 2015
Route 66 Raceway is a drag race facility located in Joliet, Illinois. The facility consists of a 0.25-mile (0.40 km) dragstrip. The complex also includes a 0.5-mile (0.80 km) dirt oval. The drag strip hosts several drag racing events including the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). The facility is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation and is located adjacent to Chicagoland Speedway.
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Route 66 raceway crash
Background
The 250-acre (100 ha) facility was built in 1998, funded by nine local entrepreneurs headed by Dale Coyne. The inaugural season saw 90 days of racing activity between the two tracks. In 1999, ISC partnered with the founders of the facility when it purchased 930 acres (380 ha) of land adjacent to the facility to build Chicagoland Speedway.
The quarter-mile, $20 million drag strip features a four-story, 38-suite complex. The 30,000-seat grandstand surrounds the start line and features 40 rows of fully backed seats. In 2010, the dragstrip was repaved.
Past events on the half-mile dirt track have included World of Outlaws sprint cars, late models, and monster truck shows. In recent years the oval has been used exclusively for Team Demolition Derbies, as well as TORC: The Off Road Championship.
Also on the facility is a now-defunct two-mile (3.2 km), 15-turn road course, temporary one-mile (1.6 km) off-road track inside the dirt oval, and a 35-acre (14 ha) paved driving pad.