Hickory Motor Speedway
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2018) ) |
America’s Most Famous Short Track Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars | |
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Location | Whelen Southern Modified Tour, Pro All Stars Series South Super Late Model Tour, Easter Bunny 150, CARS Tour |
Website | https://hickorymotorspeedway.com/ |
Oval | |
Surface | Asphalt |
Length | 0.363 (3/8 mile) miles (0.584 km) |
Turns | 4 |
Banking | 14° (turns 1 & 2) 12° (turns 3 & 4) 8° (straights) |
Hickory Motor Speedway is a
The track first opened in 1951 as a 1⁄2-mile (0.80 km) dirt track. Gwyn Staley won the first race at the speedway and later became the first track champion. Drivers such as Junior Johnson, Ned Jarrett, and Ralph Earnhardt also became track champions in the 1950s, with Earnhardt winning five of them.
In 1953, NASCAR's Grand National Series (later the
The track has been re-configured three times in its history. The track became a 0.4-mile (644 meters) dirt track in 1955, which was paved for the first time during the 1967 season. In 1970, the Hickory track was shortened to a length of 0.363 miles (584 meters).
Hickory was dropped from the Grand National schedule after the 1971 season when
As more tracks began hosting Busch Series races, Hickory's involvement was progressively reduced to two races a year by 1987, and then just the Easter weekend by 1995. By 1998, the Busch Grand National Series began adding more races at Winston Cup Series tracks, and Hickory was dropped from the schedule after 17 years.
Hickory is still used as a venue for NASCAR's club racing division, the Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, Carolina Pro Late Model Series, Carolina Crate Modified Series,
External links
- Official Site of Hickory Motor Speedway
- Hickory Motor Speedway race results at Racing-Reference