75 things for NASCAR’s 75th anniversary: Weirdest racetracks
-
Ryan McGee, ESPN Senior Writer
We are closing in on the final handful of weeks of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, the stock car series’ 75th anniversary campaign. To celebrate, each week through the end of the season, Ryan McGee is presenting his top five favorite things about the sport.
Top five best-looking cars? Check. Top five toughest drivers? We’ve got it. Top five mustaches? There can be only one, so maybe not.
Without further ado, our 75 favorite things about NASCAR, celebrating 75 years of stock car racing.
Previous installments: Toughest drivers | Greatest races | Best title fights | Best-looking cars | Worst-looking cars | Biggest cheaters | Biggest what-ifs
Five weirdest racetracks
We’ve taken the crossed flags, made an old-school NASCAR Craftsman SuperTruck Series halftime break — hey, why not? — and now enter the second half of our NASCAR 75 top-five greatest lists. Speaking of those Trucks races back in the day, which used to race at some rather interesting venues (shoutout to the Louisville Motor Speedway that in scorching July was just one giant 3/8ths-mile wok), this week we are looking back on the wackiest, most unconventional circuits ever visited by stock car racing’s premier series.
So, grab a boarding pass and a pair of goggles and get ready to try to conduct pit stops in parking lots and dugouts as we present our top five weirdest racetracks in NASAR history.
Honorable Mention: Daytona Beach and Road Course, 10 Cup Series races, 1949-58
The place where NASCAR was born is too sacred and too important to officially list among the goofiness of these rankings, but it was also so odd that it does deserve to be remembered.
The original version of the track opened in 1936, more than a decade before NASCAR was founded in the nearby Streamline Hotel and then became the crown jewel of the original Daytona Speedweeks and hosted Grand National event until the Daytona International Speedway opened in 1958. The paperclip layout ran two miles south on the gritty, bouncy blacktop of Highway A1A, then slung left out onto the sands of Daytona Beach to race two miles north on that sand, dodging the incoming tide at 100-plus mph.
“The biggest challenge I had racing on the beach was the guts,” Tim Flock explained to me in 1998. He won back-to-back races on the Beach and Road Course in 1955 and 1956 before NASCAR moved to the brand-new Daytona International Speedway in ’59. “I don’t mean my guts as a race car driver. I mean actual guts. If you were leading the start of the race and were the first car to race out onto the beach, you’d end up driving through a bunch of seagulls and there’d end up being guts and feathers everywhere.”
5. McCormick Field, Asheville, North Carolina, 1 race, 1958
Okay, this one is personal, but it’s also super weird.
The home of the Asheville Tourists, a longtime legendary minor league baseball team, has hosted the likes of Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, Willie Stargell and Todd Helton. In 1956, though, the then-32-year-old ballpark found itself without a baseball tenant, so a quarter-mile asphalt oval was carefully paved around the infield diamond. McCormick Field hosted two summers of local racing that were dominated by the likes of Banjo Matthews, Ned Jarrett and Ralph Earnhardt, who often had his young son Dale in tow.
Navigating McCormick was not easy. Whenever someone would lose control and jump the tire barrier to accidentally drive across the infield, the stadium groundskeeper would angrily chase after them. In the lone Cup Series event, won by Jim Paschal, Lee Petty lost control of his Oldsmobile and crashed into a dugout.
Baseball returned in 1959 and the racetrack was removed, but in the woods lining the ballpark you can still find chunks of discarded asphalt and the concrete racetrack retaining wall is now the foundation of the leftfield fence. How awesome is McCormick Field? I just wrote a book about the summer I spent there as an intern, during which I climbed into the trees down the leftfield line and found some of that leftover racetrack blacktop!
Speaking of wacky #NASCAR75 venues, how about Asheville’s McCormick Field, home of @GoTourists? Two summers it had an asphalt oval in the infield and held a Cup race in 1958. Lee Petty crashed into a dugout! There’s still chunks of asphalt in the woods. It’s all in my book! pic.twitter.com/DeVNO7uf6k
— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) September 12, 2023
4. Portland Drive-In Speedway, Oregon, 7 races, 1956-57
Whenever I reference those old Truck Series halftime breaks, I always think of this place. I covered a race there before it closed in the late 1990s and was totally mesmerized by the ivy-covered billboards along the backstretch, the stunning view of Mount Hood from atop the double wide trailer-ish press box, and yes, a giant movie screen located just off the backstretch for the speedway that moonlighted as a drive-in movie theater.
The most memorable quirk, though, was the manhole cover that sat squarely in the middle of the racing groove at the exit of Turn Four. The day I was there Rich Bickle said his goal was to touch it with one corner of his truck every lap. Same for Herb Thomas, Lloyd Dane and Eddie Pagan when they were winning Grand National races there back in the day.
3. Soldier Field, Chicago, 1 race, 1956
If you thought this year’s street Chicago street race was the first Cup Series event — or at least the weirdest — held in the Windy City, you would be wrong.
The stadium made famous by Da Bears didn’t welcome the NFL into the building until 1971, and it opened in 1924. In between it hosted every event you can imagine, including auto racing on a half-mile cinder-then-asphalt oval with turns banked so high they reached out over the first few rows of end zone seats. It hosted weekend racing forever, promoted by STP guru and “Mr. 500” Andy Granatelli. On July 21, 1956, NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts held off a star-studded 25-car field as well as a persistent rain shower to earn the second of his five wins on the season.
The racetrack was removed in 1970 to make room for the Bears as they moved across town from Wrigley Field, but in perhaps my favorite line ever penned about motorsports, legendary stock car historian Greg Fielden once wrote of the end of Soldier Field’s oval: “Track torn out in 1970 following protests by hippies who objected to city financing of auto racing.”
2. Linden Airport, New Jersey, 1 race, 1954
Races on airport runways were fairly common during NASCAR’s formative years, from the Titusville-Cocoa Airport in Florida to the triangular runway jigsaw puzzle of New York’s Montgomery Air Base. NASCAR’s first true road course event was actually a tarmac.
On June 13, 1954, 43 cars zig-zagged their way around runways within earshot of Staten Island. NASCAR founder Bill France parked his “domestic sedans only” mantra and allowed sportscars to enter the 100-mile event. That had Oldsmobiles and Hudson Hornets trading paint with MGs, Porsches and the Jaguar of race winner Al Keller. It was the first-ever NASCAR win for a foreign car maker.
Keller’s Jag stood alone until Kyle Busch earned Toyota’s first Cup Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 9, 2008.
1. Langhorne Speedway, Pennsylvania, 17 races, 1949-57
Constructed outside Philadelphia in 1926, Langhorne was a perfectly round one-mile dirt track. That’s right. It was a circle. Racers never stopped turning left. Ever. They’d spend entire races never looking out the front windshield, but peering through the side window because they were in a perpetual broad slide.
Making matters worse, the track was built on swampy marshland, so natural springs would randomly start bubbling up in the middle of the track and the track itself would shift and sink and change elevations. A steep downhill dive developed between the start-finish line and the first turn, producing fight jet-like g-forces. Racers called it “Puke Alley.”
Unfortunately, the place became so deadly for NASCAR and open-wheel races alike that it became known as “The Track That Ate The Heroes.” It was closed in 1970, but in 2009 for ESPN The Magazine I went into the Philly suburbs and found the site. It’s next to a Sam’s Club and across the street from Mike Piazza’s Honda dealership. You can read that story here.
Seven of eight first-round series in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs have begun, and No. 8 gets rolling on Tuesday.
The Battle of Florida between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers begins anew (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), with both clubs looking like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender if they can survive the intrastate showdown.
Cats-Bolts is the third game of four Tuesday on the ESPN family of networks, following New Jersey–Carolina (6 p.m. ET, ESPN) and Ottawa–Toronto (7:30 p.m., ESPN2), and preceding the nightcap, Minnesota–Vegas (11 p.m. ET, ESPN).
What are the key storylines heading into Tuesday’s games? Who are the key players to watch?
Read on for game previews with statistical insights from ESPN Research, recaps of what went down Monday night, and the Three Stars of Monday Night from Arda Öcal.
Matchup notes
New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes
Game 2 (CAR leads 1-0) | 6 p.m. ET | ESPN
Game 1 sure did not go as planned for the Devils. A win at the legendarily loud Lenovo Center would’ve been stretching it, but losing Brenden Dillon, Cody Glass and Luke Hughes to injury was not an ideal outcome either.
They’ll hope to rebound Tuesday before the series shifts to Newark. Closing the shot attempt differential might help, as the famously possession-savvy Hurricanes held a 45-24 edge on shots on goal in Game 1.
For years, the knock on Carolina was that it lacked that one goal scorer who could get the Canes over the hump in the playoffs. Many observers thought the Canes had acquired such a player in Mikko Rantanen in January. Ironically, it was the player Carolina acquired in its subsequent trade of Rantanen to Dallas — Logan Stankoven — who scored two goals in Game 1. Will he add to that total in Game 2?
Of note heading into Tuesday’s game, the Devils have come back to win a playoff series after losing the first game 11 out of 26 times (42%); that figure drops to 20% if they fall behind 0-2. The Hurricanes have won six of their past seven series after winning Game 1.
Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs
Game 2 (TOR leads 1-0) | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2
The atmosphere was intense for Game 1, and the Maple Leafs’ “Core Four” led the way: Mitch Marner (one goal, two assists), William Nylander (one goal, one assist), John Tavares (one goal, one assist) and Auston Matthews (two assists) each filled up the scoresheet. A continuation of that output will obviously help Toronto overwhelm its provincial neighbor.
Slowing down the Maple Leafs could depend on discipline, according to Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk. “We took too many penalties, they scored on [them] and that’s the game,” Tkachuk told reporters after Game 1. “So that’s on us. We’ve got to be more disciplined.”
The Sens will also need to capitalize on their chances. According to Stathletes, Ottawa had five high-danger scoring chances in this game, and produced only two goals.
Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Game 1 | 8:30 p.m ET | ESPN
This is the fourth time that the two Sunshine State franchises have met in the postseason, and all four of the meetings have occurred since 2021.
In each instance, the winner of the series has gone on to reach the Stanley Cup Final — Lightning in 2021 and 2022; Panthers in 2024 — while the 2021 Lightning and 2024 Panthers won it all.
Unsurprisingly, Nikita Kucherov is Tampa Bay’s leading scorer against Florida, with 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) in 15 games. Aleksander Barkov is the Panthers’ leading scorer against the Lightning, with 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 15 games.
The two teams split their meetings in the regular season, with the Lightning winning the most recent, 5-1 on April 15.
Minnesota Wild at Vegas Golden Knights
Game 2 (VGK leads 1-0) | 11 p.m. ET | ESPN
The underdog Wild set a physical tone to the series in Game 1, outhitting the Golden Knights 54-29, but the hosts emerged with a 4-2 victory. Tomas Hertl, Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden (two) were the goal scorers for Vegas, and Matt Boldy was responsible for both Minnesota goals.
Howden, who had never scored double-digit goals until his 23 this season, earned praise from coach Bruce Cassidy after Game 1. “He didn’t change his game,” Cassidy told reporters. “He played physical. He’s part of our penalty kill. He’s always out when the goalie’s out, typically one of the six guys we use a lot because of his versatility. He can play wing. He can take draws as a center. He’s been real good for us all year and good again tonight.”
Sunday’s game was the NHL debut for 2024 first-round pick Zeev Buium, who just finished his season with the University of Denver. He played 13 minutes, 37 seconds and finished with one shot on goal.
Arda’s Three Stars of Monday
The greatest goal scorer in NHL history just keeps finding the back of the net. He had two goals, including the overtime winner, as the Caps take Game 1 3-2 despite a valiant third period effort from Montreal to send it to the extra frame.
Connor had the game-winning goal in the third period for the second straight game, as Winnipeg takes both games at home for the 2-0 series lead on the Blues.
Further proof that the Oilers are never out of the game, McDavid helped erase a 4-0 deficit with a goal and three assists, despite the Oilers falling 6-5 late in a thrilling Game 1.
Monday’s scores
Capitals 3, Canadiens 2 (OT)
Washington leads 1-0
Much of the regular season was spent focused on Alex Ovechkin‘s “Gr8 Chase” of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record, and he scored historic goal No. 895 on Sunday, April 6. It turns out, Ovi likes the spotlight. The Capitals superstar opened the scoring in the game, and bookended it with the overtime winner — his first ever, believe it or not — as the Caps survived a thriller in Game 1, following Nick Suzuki‘s tying goal with 4:15 remaining. Full recap.
1:51
Alex Ovechkin’s OT goal wins Game 1 for Capitals
Alex Ovechkin’s second goal of the game is an overtime winner that gives the Capitals a 1-0 series lead vs. the Canadiens.
Jets 2, Blues 1
Winnipeg leads 2-0
Game 1 between the two clubs was tightly contested until the Jets took over in the third period. That trend took hold again on Monday — the score remained tied into 1-1 the third period, when Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor scored at the 1:43 mark, and the Jets were able to hold the Blues off the scoreboard for the duration. Connor’s linemate Mark Scheifele assisted on the game-winner and opened the scoring, giving him a league-leading five points this postseason. Full recap.
0:40
Kyle Connor scores clutch goal to put Jets ahead in 3rd period
Kyle Connor extends Winnipeg’s lead after a clutch goal early in the 3rd period vs. St. Louis.
Stars 4, Avalanche 3 (OT)
Series tied 1-1
The series that every observer thought would be the closest in the first round didn’t look that way in Game 1, as the Avs ran over the Stars en route to a 5-1 win. Game 2 was much more in line with expectations, as the two Western powerhouses needed OT to settle things. Colin Blackwell was the hero for Dallas, scoring with 2:14 remaining in the first OT period. Full recap.
0:50
Colin Blackwell comes up with big OT winner for Stars
Colin Blackwell sends the Stars faithful into jubilation with a great overtime winner to tie the series at 1-1 vs. the Avalanche.
Kings 6, Oilers 5
Los Angeles leads 1-0
Monday’s nightcap was a delight to those who like offensive hockey and were willing to stay up late. The Kings roared out to a four-goal lead late in the second period before Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl scored to pull within three with six seconds remaining. The two teams traded goals to start the third, before the Oilers notched three in a row to tie up the festivities with 1:28 remaining on Connor McDavid‘s first of the 2025 playoffs. L.A.’s Phillip Danault sent his club’s fans home happy, scoring the pivotal goal with 42 seconds left. Full recap.
0:46
Kings retake lead on Phillip Danault’s goal in final minute
Phillip Danault restores the lead for the Kings with a goal vs. the Oilers in the closing moments.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway