Portland Speedway
| Location | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Opened | 1924 |
| Closed | 2001 |
| Major events | NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR Winston West Series World of Outlaws |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Clay (1924-1946; 2000-2001) Asphalt (1946-2000) |
| Length | 5/8 miles (1 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
Portland Speedway was a half-mile race track for auto racing in Portland, Oregon, U.S. It was in existence from 1924 until 2001.
History
The track began as a five-eighths-mile (one km) clay oval in 1924 on the site of a field in north Portland. The track hosted big cars, midget cars, and stock cars before the suspension of racing during World War II.[1]
The track was paved in 1946 as a half-mile oval. NASCAR sanctioning came to Portland after Western Speedways, Inc. leased the track in 1984. Four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races from 1995 to 1998.[2] Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday, Jr. won at Portland during their championship seasons, 1995 and 1996 respectively.[2] Rich Bickle and Stacy Compton won the final two events there.[2]
The NASCAR Winston West Series ran 36 Portland races between 1971 and 2000 with Hershel McGriff winning a series high five times.[2] Other notable winners included future NASCAR Winston Cup champion Bobby Allison, 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope, and NASCAR drivers Chad Little and Ken Schrader.[2] 1994 Portland winner Rick Carelli competed in all four Portland Craftsman Truck Series races, with three top tens and a best finish of third in 1998.[3]
The last race on the pavement surface was on July 30, 2000.[1] The track was converted to a clay surface and hosted the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars in 2000 and 2001.[4][5]
References
- ^ a b White, Will. "Portland Speedway". Retrieved 16 November 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Boodman, Alan. "Race Results at Portland Speedway — Racing-Reference.info". Retrieved 16 November 2010.
- ^ Boodman, Alan. "Rick Carelli's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results at Portland Speedway — Racing-Reference.info". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
- ^ Harms, Phil. "2000 Pennzoil World Of Outlaws Sprint Car Series" (PDF). Motorsport.com. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
- ^ Harms, Phil. "2001 Pennzoil World Of Outlaws Sprint Car Series" (PDF). Motorsport.com. Retrieved 16 November 2010.