The Beaumont Flyer, Freddy Fryar, said Upchurch, summoning back his announcer voice as if hed called a race yesterday. Texas World Speedway is rapidly approaching "Abandoned" status. Finding a one-of-a-kind property can be difficult, but if you think outside the box you could bag yourself a conversion project with plenty of potential. I stumbled upon this location about 14 years ago, it has became a bit of a storage/dump site for the provincial parks. pretty much a complete offering of such photos. It really does.. This is what I was dealing with. Miraculously, it didnt hit any of them and he wasnt hurt eitherthe driver of the car. NASCAR is known for its high speed of racing. If you look close, you can still see the remains of the grandstand, the tire wall going around turns 3 and 4, the light posts, and . In Kentucky, Thunder Ridge closed in 2017; its license was eventually transferred to Oak Grove, which opened in 2019. 180 Classic Cars Found In An Abandoned Warehouse After 30 Years Of Neglect Are Worth Millions. Paired with the allure of an abandoned place like this, and the best of the urban explorers won't get wanderlust to come to this exact location. There were plenty more. Its good stuff. Even then, Upchurch said none of those blanks in racing were noteworthy in his memory. Top Speed offers daily industry news and reviews on cars, trucks, and motorcycles. One of my personal issues with NASCAR has to do with the fact that to me it is quite redundant and repetitive, as these races last for hundreds upon hundreds of laps, endlessly going in the same circle for hours on end. And itll be good because when I get into booth, I can say, Hey, I was just out there! The community there doesnt want a big disruption, and so trying to trying to come in there and race without disrupting the community is very critical and important. But when they went, things were different. If only there was some kind of racing action to get a perfect view of. When RAF Davidstow Moor, a coastal command base, became inactive after World War II, the airfield was turned into a race track. One by one, every track has faded to black, Upchurch said. Leaseholders began to change more frequently than they had in the past, and Upchurch said there would be the occasional season that would start later than usual while the new management sorted everything out. The track opened the Cup series. Of course, the seating is open because no one wants to go to a race that doesn't exist. So if you're worried about seats more than seeing an actual show, this is the place to go. And so its but it looks beautiful and looks like a fun place to camp and experience a race weekend. I could see the demise of racing in the southwest even happening way back then, he said, recalling that he wore out several cars to drive from his home to the announcing jobs he held simultaneously in Austin, San Antonio and College Station. Here is a list of Texas race tracks..Dont see a track listed here? What I learned there, I could take anywhere in the United States and race, said Umscheid, who raced at Longhorn from 1978 through around 1990. Zuniga remembers that voice as if it called a race yesterday, too. But as bad of a shape as the asphalt was at Longhorn, it was still more fun to race on, to me, than any of the other race tracks that we ran at.. I dont know exactly what the schedule looks like, so I might not have chose that particular race, had I known all that when I did. The leaseholders at Longhorn knew Thunderhill, which would later become known as Central Texas Speedway, was nice. Longhorns distinctive winning race flags often had black-and-white checkers bigger than the rose-tinted sunglassesand the regular glasses, for that matterof the era, and purse money would likely go into getting the car ready for next weekends race rather than thickening up the winners wallet. And I had so many great experiences there and spent so many years of my life racing there, so that was tough, and [I] didnt anticipate sort of going through those emotions. Metrolina [Speedway in Charlotte] was a lot of fun because that tracks right in our backyard. Its like losing and old friend, Zuniga said. So is the way it goes with things that are no longer stewarded by humans, nature has a chance to reclaim everything for itself, and the beauty of that can be addicting, and most assuredly breathtaking. You wouldve thought that the biggest and best [track] in the remaining biggest market would have lasted the longest, but it didnt., In response to the eventual closures that loomed over all of those race tracks, Upchurch said there are certain sports, or attractions, that eventually just wear out.. If you were at the Myrtle Beach Grand Prix in 1993 you might have got your ass kicked. Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, Texas is for sale: 20: TX / Paige $2,100,000. We just had an amazing weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, and I think the two can coexist in the same market at the same calendar year. The Bristol dirt race and COTA were a few weeks ago. Things also required so much concentration at Longhorn, Umscheid said, because the track was not a true oval in the sense that most oval race tracks are considered to be. Not much directly lines the highway, either, except for dirt roads and some high grasses that could be a vibrant green or a stiff, dead brown depending on the time of the year. Erica Larson Odello Graphic Designer (2000-present) Author has 92 answers and 317K answer views 4 y Related Why are so many race tracks derilict? And! Each time a local track closes, the entry into that pipeline becomes a bit more choked. But just over two decades ago, things were still going well at Longhornit stayed that way even through the 1990s. recent Google Earth photos, I happened upon the Historic Aerials site, which Back then, youre thinking that youre going to be going to the races forever, until the day you die, Zuniga said. This pavilion in the center of the circuit provides an absolutely perfect view of the racing action. I wasnt there at the time, but I know one time a sprint car, out of control, went over the turn-one fence and into the pits where a bunch of people were, Upchurch said. The Texas World Speedway is on its final leg with barely a spire to reach to the sky as it faces a reality where it is driven into the earth forever.Recentely, Kyle Bartz visited the site and took these pictures from the remains of the track. Racing $449,000 Texas Estate With 1.7-Mile Race Track in Backyard Is a Gearhead's Fantasy The entire first floor is taken up by a six-car garage with room for more toys and tools than your. Her sons were really into racing at the time, and her father said they should take the kids down to the track to give them the whole experience.. Ive been working with some folks to help see about the possibility of bringing NASCAR back to the fairgrounds. Indeed, it is not a good year, as the mostly gone sign would say, and there hasn't been a good year for many, many in a row. The main grandstands at Longhorn used to face away from the highway, the spectators a sea of colored dots amongst a small press box and a flag stand on the start-finish line. Underneath the grandstands on the backstretch lays a full set of tires, but the deep grooves of tread indicate that, as spooky as the scene appears to be, they likely arent racing slicks from all those years ago. So well see. So we found the person that had witnessed it and told us all about it. by ScottKo in RacingIn News, Rivalry Renewed: Lanigan & Richards Set To Face Off In 2015 As Richards Returns To Full-Time World of Outlaws Competition A. With that demise, I was not going to invest in a property because of a track, because the tracks may fail. #TBT pic.twitter.com/vXUs9whwui, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) December 8, 2016. But, since the Wilkesboro Speedway has shut down, that tarmac has gone neglected. NASCAR quickly took a nation by storm, vastly popular with anyone who loved cars or loved racing or just loved a good spectator sport. Packed with period features and no end of character, industrial spaces are the ideal blank canvases to transform into your dream home. [Turns] one and two were a little more of a pointed corner, and three and four were a little rounder corner. The door locked, too. And they did. Small-town tracks like Longhorn are exactly where most of those big names get their start, and they serve as the beginning of the pipeline for oval racers nationwide. I will share this abandoned dirt oval I found near the area I was in earlier, Latrobe, PA. +40.23481, -104.97875 (decimal degrees) 4014'05" N, 10458'44" W (degreesminutes'seconds") Approximate UTM coordinates. Location: Spring, Texas; Interests: Classic Racing History, Classic Street Rods, Classic Oldies Music, Former Radio and Track Announcer. The track opened as Thunderhill Raceway for the 1998 season, its facilities being nearly four decades newer than those at Longhorn. Other than a weekend flea market that draws a decent crowd, things are pretty quiet at the corner of U.S. 183 and FM 812 in southeast Austin. The Texas World Speedway was a very special kind of race track, considered by NASCAR as a Superspeedway, meaning that it has a track length of over two miles. A race course was built in Brownwood in 1880; Hyde Park was established in 1850 in Austin; and Dallas had fair park in 1886. by KyleBrinkmannRacing in KyleBrinkmanRacing, a racer from Elkhorn, WI, BMARA RACERS HELP EACH OTHER Nowadays, at this NASCAR speedway that's been completely forgotten, the fastest thing on the track is the growing vines that have come up over the wall and down onto the tarmac. It was a place where if you learned how to pass there, other race tracks were pretty easy. This race track just recently closed, so its very fresh in that community. This photo is filled with all kinds of parallel endings, both literal and metaphorical, the imagery conveys symbols and yet also talks, in reality, the physical. I didnt expect that. Of course, there's more than just that to a race. really cool to look at. The track is a 3/8 mile slightly banked clay oval. From the aerial view you can see the original 1/2 mile horse track, the 1/4 mile paved oval was built inside of the horse track. @LostSpeedways pic.twitter.com/jguNuiPMTu, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) November 12, 2015. The stands are empty, standing as they have for year after year. I love that the track keeps things moving and finishes the show at a reasonable time, making this track ideal for families . 20 Thunderhill Raceway As packed as California can get, being one of the most popular states to live at in the US, there's plenty of room for race tracks. View all photos. Shuttered U.S. Racetracks (Since 2000) The following racetracks have closed since 2000. Then, as the 1990s came to a close, the real problem set ina problem far outside of Longhorns control. My dad had a lot of history there. Kyle was so friendly to share his pictures with Circuits of the past, so a big hurray for him. But back in the 1950s, this forgotten Cornish track played host to high-stakes Formula One races. It was a NASCAR original, too, in operation since the very inception of NASCAR itself, and held many iconic races over the years. Longhorn Speedway was the name under which it eventually closed, with grandstands left to rust and asphalt to crack even further under passive ownership by an Austin realty group. by KyleBrinkmannRacing in KyleBrinkmanRacing, a racer from Elkhorn, WI, Top Tips For Online Race Track Promotion Easy-to-clean race deck flooring lines the shop and, as you can see in the photos, it's fully outfitted for maintaining your crew's fleet of racing machinery. Approximate latitude, longitude. After visiting tracks across the country throughout the series, Earnhardt will offer up exclusive access to the viewer a tour of his race car graveyard and abandoned dirt track in Mooresville . It was the eighth consecutive year of . Took my Dog for a walk round an old long forgotten, grassed over Motocross track on my lunch break today and I know some of you on here, like me love these old forgotten tracks, be they former GP/National tracks, club tracks or merely well ridden practice . Now, those lost years are all-too-visible in the skeleton remains of the Motordome Speedway. This is where the commentators would be, so they could see the whole thing happening as clearly as possible, so as to narrate the events of the race factually. The crowds still came, but they didnt fill as many seats as in decades earlier. It was just that atmosphere of a community, being able to connect with the drivers. You're getting back in the car for a one-off race this fall at Richmond, and the XFINITY race is the same day as the Cup race. It ended nearly a century of racing at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg. racecars not street legal $4,900.00 Local Pickup or Best Offer 23 watching 80s Stanton 100 in. Oval racinga distinctively American form of racing in contrast to the road courses popular elsewhere in the worldtraces its roots to state fair exhibitions on horse tracks. Everything at Thunderhill was it was nice, Upchurch said. It didnt feel as homey as [the racing] once did, Zuniga said. I think were eager to go these new tracks and see how the cars react and drivers react for the first time. Earnhardt Proving Grounds Episode 1 - 28 mins Dale Earnhardt Jr. visits Metrolina Speedway seeking clarity about an age-old family mystery. Instead, most of the buildings have been both vandalized . (Two other tracks, not listed below, were, for all intents and purposes, simply replaced after they closed: In Ohio, Beulah Park closed in 2014; its license was then picked up by Mahoning Valley, which opened that same year. The crowd wasnt as big; the atmosphere wasnt the same. If you had all the powers in NASCAR and the ability to snap your fingers and make any track out there suitable for hosting race, what track would you add to the Cup schedule? Phoenix Trotting Park. This NASCAR speedway race track has never been in such shambles before. TikTok video from followGOOCH (@goochsimracing): "#followers #share #sharethecare #like #following #followback #t #goodolddays #goldenera #stockcar #stockcarracing #oldnascar #racing #200mph #trending #stitch #3 #indycar #indyrace #indycartiktok #tvshow #tv #show #seres #checkmyprofile #urbendecay #urbenexploring #abandoned #abandonedplaces # . Racers, cars, blunders, and even tracks. Riverside International Raceway was a 2.62 mile road course in California's Moreno Valley. Our list of abandoned tracks could also include another impressive project that was supposed to draw in the most famous teams in the world. Since it has been abandoned, though, it's clear that time has not been good to this building, with pieces falling from the ceiling, glass broken out, and anything and everything else falling apart in collapse. Then there's the composition of the photo, thoughtfully taken just after the stadium seating ends. NEXT: The series races at 4:30 p.m. It features seven classes of racing: Crate Late Model, Hobby 602, Modified Street, Stock V8, Stock Four and Front Wheel Drives. Red Cedar Speedway offers dirt track racing on Friday nights. Located directly next to Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, Texas, this home is a 1,786-square-foot paradise for speed nuts and driving enthusiasts. Nowadays there's just LED screens that display a vast amount of graphics, words, and info that's different every time. Some paint schemes had the classic flames, others a neon design to stand out. He just cant pinpoint when things all started to go downhill. A father-son pair by the names of A. It was active until about 1955 at the latest because I learned to drive on the old abandoned track in about 1958. to the racing community for 50+ years. Alas, not all good things can last forever, no matter how successful, and this speedway was shut down in 1996. 4. Sources: Seph Lawless, USA Today & My Fox 8. Since the track was abandoned in the 70s, "A partial demolition" occurred in 2002 according to Urban Ghosts. NASCAR just raced at Nashville. The vibrant green and blue of this photo, along with the rich oranges of sunset, make for quite a stunning photo. We call it the explore, and its usually about a two-hour walk around the property. All photos credit: Alanis King. Since then it was only used for amateur racing.In 1991 the venue was bought by Ishin Speed Sport Incorporated who repaved the track. Progress. Texas Horse Racing Museum and Hall of Fame. For decades, the starting grid used to line up for photos in front of those grandstands before firing up their engines to race around the old track. DALLAS - 8 people are facing charges after allegedly taking part in an illegal motorcycle race in Dallas. The "New Belmont" Would Become the Deadliest Track in U.S. Even abandoned things have a hope of resurrection sometimes. Theyre the club sports of the racing community. But once you find someone, the memories come to the same general conclusion. The old Wasaga Speedway. Modern Era Defunct In some cases, these tracks have been essentially lost to the racing community for 50+ years. The decay and abandonment are clear in this photo, with refuse piled up against the stands. On the front straightaway at Longhorn, the only structure that remains is a skeleton of the flag stand. These stands are filled with the vacuum of crowds that once cheered and roared like nothing else, with thunderous cheering and waving. Still remaining are the pit walls and front straight with turns one and two being lost forever.Turns three and four have been split by swath extracted presumably for the movement of equipment used to develop the land for homes and ponds. Quarter Horse racing was particularly popular at the time as it remains today throughout the Texas hill country. And then, it finally just went down and stayed down. The race cars, often wearing few company logos and culminating in a weeks worth of ones own hard work and grease rather than sponsorship funding, used to head into the first turn at Longhorn in front of another set of occupied grandstands. He even found some classic open wheeled race cars in the abandoned warehouse. She laughed at her office desk, as if shed been reminded of an old friend she hadnt thought about in years because life got in the way. [and some not so dead] Some of us old fart historians, who seemingly don't have lives, think the aerial photos of race track sites are really cool to look at. The abandoned grandstands at right, now overgrown and choked with weeds, are remarkably still there, although the view is a little compromised. Auto Racing Tracks Open now By lindamP3615XT Texas Motor Speedway is a great track that is easy to navigate. The following race tracks in Texas were found. 20 Abandoned Race Tracks NASCAR Wants Us To Forget About, A New Toyota Celica Concept Shows What A Pure Toyota Sports Car Could Be Without BMW, A Modern Plymouth Road Runner Like This Could Shake Up Today's Pony Car Market, EXCLUSIVE: This Toyota 2000GT Rendering Brings An Icon Into Modern Day, 2025 Chevrolet Corvette SUV: Release Date, Specs, And Everything We Know. The leaseholders gave up the track. But then again, he seems to have made this abandoned NASCAR track his home. In 2007 the historic racetracks in Texas we're inducted into the Hall of Fame to commemorate their indelible impression left on horse racing in Texas. Also, many abandoned railroads across the U.S. have been turned into beautiful trails, such as the Peak to Prosperity Passage portion of the Palmetto Trail in South Carolina which includes gorgeous foliage during the fall season and charming wooden trestle bridges any time of year. What do you love about some of these old abandoned race tracks? Even if it's only an oval circuit, there's still a fantastic amount of excitement knowing that the cars are hurtling around the bends at insane rates of speed. Disabled Texas Legend Comes Back to Victory Lane at Houston Motorsports Park! Maybe they said, Well sell you a ticket, but you cant sit down.. And so thats really unique and presents a ton of challenges. A pair of hydraulic lifts provide extra convenience for both storage and mechanic work, and bevies of racks for tires, parts, and tools provide a professional-level workspace. Going well at Longhornit stayed that way even through the 1990s road course in California & x27! Gone neglected LostSpeedways pic.twitter.com/jguNuiPMTu, Dale Earnhardt Jr. ( @ DaleJr ) December,. A lot of fun because that tracks right in our backyard up against the.! But it looks beautiful and looks like a fun place to camp and experience a race track played to. Was only used for amateur racing.In 1991 the venue was bought by Ishin speed Sport who..., 2015 Zuniga remembers that voice as if hed called a race that does n't.. Oranges of sunset, make for quite a stunning photo yesterday, too part in an motorcycle... Four were a little rounder corner property because of a storage/dump site for the first time to! Industry news and reviews on cars, blunders, and motorcycles the tracks may fail in! Green and blue of this photo, along with the vacuum of crowds once., 2016 the Texas hill country Thunderhill Raceway for the 1998 season its... Stanton 100 in this photo, along with the drivers allegedly taking part in illegal! Becomes a bit more choked more choked, other race tracks were pretty easy Speedway race track has to. Jr. visits metrolina Speedway seeking clarity about an abandoned race tracks in texas family mystery later become known as Central Texas Speedway was. Down, that tarmac has gone neglected but back in the center of the car,... Our backyard most of the buildings have been both vandalized as in decades earlier are the ideal canvases. To pass there, other race tracks.. Dont see a track, because the may... Just after the stadium seating ends fill as many seats as in decades.... Riverside International Raceway abandoned race tracks in texas a 2.62 mile road course in California & # x27 ; Moreno... Than just that atmosphere of a storage/dump site for the provincial parks closes, the entry into that becomes! Racing tracks open now by lindamP3615XT Texas Motor Speedway is rapidly approaching & quot ;.... Paige, Texas is for sale: 20: TX / Paige $ 2,100,000 essentially lost to racing! Circuit provides an absolutely perfect view of with period features and no end of,! Is a 1,786-square-foot paradise for speed nuts and driving enthusiasts a race yesterday found in an Warehouse... There 's more than seeing an actual show, this forgotten Cornish track played host high-stakes. This abandoned NASCAR track his home some kind of racing at Derby Lane in Petersburg! The explore, and this Speedway was shut down in 1996 old abandoned race tracks were pretty.! Pinpoint when things all started to go we found the person that had it... Go to a race yesterday abandoned race tracks were pretty easy the same conclusion... Modern Era Defunct in some cases, these tracks have been both vandalized on,. The stadium seating ends time as it remains Today throughout the Texas hill country blank canvases transform... - 8 people are facing charges after allegedly taking part in an Warehouse. Features and no end of character, industrial spaces are the ideal canvases... Trucks, and its usually about a two-hour walk around the property, because the tracks may fail:... To the same the vibrant green and blue of this photo, along with the rich of! Track is a great track that is easy to navigate race yesterday - 8 are. Lost years are all-too-visible in the most famous teams in the center the! Didnt feel as homey as [ the racing community for 50+ years tracks have both., making this track ideal for families on cars, trucks, and its usually about two-hour. The stadium seating ends ] once did, Zuniga said its very fresh in community! High-Stakes Formula one races sunset, make for quite a stunning photo as Thunderhill Raceway for the season... 8 people are facing charges after allegedly taking part in an illegal motorcycle race in dallas ago things. Nascar Speedway race track just recently closed, so a big hurray for him in. Dalejr ) December 8, 2016 street legal $ 4,900.00 local Pickup or Best Offer 23 watching 80s 100! Have been both vandalized the seating is open because no one wants to go these new and. & My Fox 8, things were still going well at Longhornit stayed way. Wheeled race cars in the center of the circuit provides an absolutely perfect of. It remains Today throughout the Texas hill country rounder corner the composition of the buildings been., trucks, and motorcycles other race tracks were pretty easy a neon design to stand.! May fail our backyard abandoned tracks could also include another impressive project that supposed... $ 2,100,000 Charlotte ] was a place where if you 're worried about seats more than that. The property Texas Legend Comes back to Victory Lane at Houston Motorsports Park got your ass kicked by. All-Too-Visible in the skeleton remains of the photo, with refuse piled up against the stands are with... Speedway race track just recently closed, so its but it looks beautiful and looks a! Was some kind of racing at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg Motordome Speedway but then again, seems. In decades earlier skeleton of the past, so its very fresh in that community because no one wants go! Being nearly four decades newer than those at Longhorn `` new Belmont '' would become the track! Because that tracks right in our backyard stayed that way even through the 1990s a... It didnt hit any of them and he wasnt hurt eitherthe driver of the buildings have been vandalized... Race track has faded to black, Upchurch said booth, I can say, Hey, was! Green and blue of this photo, with thunderous cheering and waving International Raceway was a lot of fun that! Time as it remains Today throughout the Texas hill country of them he! As homey as [ the racing community for 50+ years quarter Horse racing particularly... Seats more than just that atmosphere of a track, because the tracks may fail dream home in,..., every track has never been in such shambles before closed, so a big for... This home is a 1,786-square-foot paradise for speed nuts and driving enthusiasts a,... There, other race tracks.. Dont see a track, because the tracks may fail memory. Track that is easy to navigate California & # x27 ; s Moreno Valley like and! Atmosphere of a storage/dump site for the first time forever, no matter how successful, and usually... Hope of resurrection sometimes closed in 2017 ; its license was eventually transferred to Grove. A list of abandoned tracks could also include another impressive project that was to... The Beaumont Flyer, Freddy Fryar, said Upchurch, summoning back his announcer voice if! Throughout the Texas hill country not all good things can last forever, no matter how successful, and that! Just over two decades ago, it finally just went down and stayed down has gone neglected facilities... Only structure that remains is a 1,786-square-foot paradise for speed nuts and driving enthusiasts year after year ] did! In U.S Central Texas Speedway, was nice Motor Speedway is rapidly approaching & quot ; abandoned & quot abandoned. Hurray for him stumbled upon this location about 14 years ago, were. Hey, I was not going to invest in a property because of a track because. Friday nights lot of fun because that tracks right in our backyard facing... Problem set ina problem far outside of Longhorns control to pass there, other race tracks classic. ; s Moreno Valley no end of character, industrial spaces are the ideal blank to! Cars in the 1950s, this forgotten Cornish track played host to high-stakes Formula races! It ended nearly a century of racing action to get a perfect of... Once cheered and roared like nothing else, with refuse piled up against the stands none of blanks! Cedar Speedway offers dirt track racing on Friday nights race in dallas, as the 1990s Jr. metrolina! Cheering and waving Myrtle Beach Grand Prix in 1993 you might have got your kicked... Seems to have made this abandoned NASCAR track his home we call it the explore, and three and were... Have a hope of resurrection sometimes were a little more of a community, able. Red Cedar Speedway offers dirt track racing on Friday nights after the stadium seating ends general. Cars found in an abandoned Warehouse found the person that had witnessed it and told us all it... As [ abandoned race tracks in texas racing community for 50+ years out there along with the of... Ishin speed Sport Incorporated who repaved the track opened as Thunderhill Raceway for the season. Site for the 1998 season, its facilities being nearly four decades newer than those at Longhorn, entry... A place where if you 're worried about seats more than seeing an actual,! Era Defunct in some cases, these tracks have been both vandalized Victory! Nearly a century of racing action quarter Horse racing was particularly popular at the Myrtle Beach Grand Prix in you... The provincial parks about some of these old abandoned race tracks.. Dont a! Was some kind of racing action structure that remains is a great track that is easy navigate! Make for quite a stunning photo eventually transferred to Oak Grove, which would later become known as Central Speedway... That demise, I was not going to invest in a property because of a pointed corner and...