Abandoned Racetracks

[BKGlover]

Fuji was initially going to be a NASCAR-style oval until the money ran out. They had Turn 1 built already, so they built off of that. Almost all of Fuji that remains is post-broke, but the corner that killed the Toyota 7 can still be seen.

Then there is this tidbit...As you probably could guess, NASCAR has run at hundreds of tracks over the years. The series probably hit the first hundred within the first decade truth be told, but there is a story that, if true, could have spelt doom for what we know as Charlotte Motor Speedway. The pic below is of relatively current day Spartanburg Speedway in South Carolina. Legend has it that when Big Bill was looking to plant a superspeedway that would overshadow Daytona, he wanted to build it here, as at the time Spartanburg, not Charlotte, was the center of NASCAR's bigger race teams. The city of Spartanburg, however, denied every motion put in play for the new track. In response, Big Bill went to his list, and found a parcel of land with an airstrip and a town more than willing to do what NASCAR asked. The result, Talladega Superspeedway, and some in Spartanburg are still upset.

 

[ShiftingGears]

Just two;

Rouen-les-Essarts:

http://theracingline.net/racingcircuits/archives/Rouen/ae90s.html
http://theracingline.net/racingcircuits/archives/Rouen1996/index.html
http://theracingline.net/racingcircuits/archives/Rouen/mm04.html



Lobethal:

http://theracingline.net/racingcircuits/archives/Lobethal/index.html

 

[BKGlover]

What if I told you Nurburgring was originally much longer? https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...chleife-sudschleife-and-betonschleife.298401/

How about Monza's oval?

 

[SVT Cobra GT]

Google Earth is a great way to see old racetracks. You can look up the previous configurations of Donington, Fuji, Monza et al.

Fun fact;

If you look at the most recent images of Donington on Google Earth you can see the Top Gear crew filming their track car segment.

James is on the start line in the Caterham.
Jeremy and Richard are on the straight where the Dunlop bridge used to be.

 

[GTPorsche]

Something I found today while doing some research.

I present you with Autodromo Guatemala

This is the first time I've seen a track left like this one has been. Usually I've seen the demolished completely for new purposes or left to rot away back into nature.

Edit: It's not 100% abandoned, but you can see where most of the original layout was.

 

[20832]

Of course the Südschleife automatically comes to my mind

 

[JMoney]

Something I found today while doing some research.

I present you with Autodromo Guatemala

This is the first time I've seen a track left like this one has been. Usually I've seen the demolished completely for new purposes or left to rot away back into nature.

Edit: It's not 100% abandoned, but you can see where most of the original layout was.

Funny how it's right next to the Pan-American highway, but it was still a failure.

 

[Ganon83]

Fuji was initially going to be a NASCAR-style oval until the money ran out. They had Turn 1 built already, so they built off of that. Almost all of Fuji that remains is post-broke, but the corner that killed the Toyota 7 can still be seen.

Isn't that the track High Speed Ring was based off? And also the first ever track in a video game? (Pole Position).
That's pretty sad if that's the case.
North Wilkesboro probably doesn't look that bad now. Smith leased it out to some people a few years ago who cleaned it up and re-opened. It didn't last very long but it has only been closed since 2011.

 

[AMPMROCKETFANN]

Isn't that the track High Speed Ring was based off? And also the first ever track in a video game? (Pole Position).
That's pretty sad if that's the case.
North Wilkesboro probably doesn't look that bad now. Smith leased it out to some people a few years ago who cleaned it up and re-opened. It didn't last very long but it has only been closed since 2011.

I believe High Speed Ring was in fact sampled from Fuji if I recall. Anyone got pics of Rockingham as it currently sits?

 

[Ganon83]

I believe High Speed Ring was in fact sampled from Fuji if I recall. Anyone got pics of Rockingham as it currently sits?

No but I don't think the track is closed up yet, the owner just doesn't have any money. And even if it did they just held a Truck race last year

 

[GTPorsche]

Rockingham isn't abandoned, just temporarily closed until Andy Hillenburg can get the track the upgrades it desperately needs to be brought back to racing condition.

 

[AMPMROCKETFANN]

ok gotcha

 

[Ganon83]

There used to be an old dirt track in Atlanta called Lakewood Speedway, that used to hold races on Labor Day. It was, save for arguably Daytona, the biggest and most important stock car race from about 1938-1941.
It was notable for being amazingly dangerous- as per the name, there was a giant lake in the infield. Not only that, but the turns were misshapen, so imagine Darlington on dirt with a lake in the middle. It was also used as a filming site for Stroker Ace.
The track itself no longer exists- the 1st and 2nd turn I believe is now a parking lot, and the front stretch was paved and became a highway. The lake itself is also gone, filled up by man. The only thing still standing today is the creepy grandstands. It's an urban legend that the ghost of Lloyd Seay haunts them- Seay won the 1941 Labor Day race, but ended up dead within 24 hours of it in a moonshine argument with his cousin (The cousin pulled a gun).

After World War 2, the Labor Day race became less of a deal because Atlanta ruled that nobody with criminal records could run in it, which was about 75% of the big stars. That's why NASCAR didn't run there until 1951. After Atlanta Motor Speedway opened up 20 miles away, the track lost its Grand National (AKA Cup) series races and eventually closed down in 1979.

 

[GTPorsche]

The lake was only partially filled in.

 

[Blitz24]

Rockingham isn't abandoned, just temporarily closed until Andy Hillenburg can get the track the upgrades it desperately needs to be brought back to racing condition.

It's also used for filming.

An episode of Royal Pains last night featured the Rock.

 

[CAMikaze]

Here's a track in Australia that I actually didn't know closed until a few months ago, pretty well-known too.
Oran Park Raceway


Sadly I can't find a good aerial view but here is a bit of a description of Oran Park;
Oran Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit at Naarellan in south-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia which was operational from February 1962 until its closure in January 2010.
From my memory it held such events like the Australian Grand Prix, AUSCAR, V8 Supercars and the Superbike World Championship.

It was one of the iconic Australian race tracks, sadly it's now a housing estate. However it does live on in the world of iRacing which I wasn't aware of until a few minutes ago.

Edit: How a lap of the track looked. 👍

And don't forget rFactor. Link to a well-done track mod

What if I told you Nurburgring was originally much longer? https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...chleife-sudschleife-and-betonschleife.298401/

Longschliefe is loooooooooooooooooong.

As for my neck of the woods, there used to be 2 tracks in Grantville, PA called Penn National. One of them is a mile oval for horse racing that still exixts today. The other - Penn National Speedway - is but a stones throw away and was a 1/2 mile dirt oval that hosted 358 Modifieds, Street Stock and some USAC races until the end of the 1996 season.

Link to a story about the history of Penn National Speedway

Here's a YouTube video I found of some of the racing action that went on there. Enjoy.

 

[GTPorsche]

Doesn't look like it's too far gone.. at least in that Google Earth image.

 

[CAMikaze]

Doesn't look like it's too far gone.. at least in that Google Earth image.

That image was from around 2005. I just used Google Earth here to give you a bit of a before-after comparasion.

1993

2005

2013 - Most recent image available

What a difference a few years can make.

 

[GTPorsche]

I take it back then. That track is very much gone, even though the evidence of it still shows. Can still see where the dirt paths that crossed into the infield were at. I've noticed that with most of the tracks that have been gone for years, sometimes decades. The Earth might be returned to non-race track condition, but it's almost impossible to hide the evidence that a track was there unless the land is completely developed over it.

Then again, I've seen dirt tracks in Alabama on Google Earth that were inactive for a few months, maybe even a few weeks and they looked like they had been abandoned for years with how bad the dirt looked.

 

[NSX_LeMans]

Jacarepagua, 2013

 

[AMPMROCKETFANN]

Jacarepagua, 2013

Not sure if Construction site. Or world's most epic looking rallycross/Short Course/Monster truck track

 

[Sixflags48]

http://wtf1.co.uk/reims-gueux-google-street-view/

I have never even heard of this as a track, but it still hurts to look at.

 

[Panoz]

Not too long ago, Reims pit building and grandstand looked like this but now has been repainted and maintained.

 

[mustafur]

Amaroo Park and Warwick Farm Raceway were another two that got swallowed whole by development.

But at least the site of Oran Park remembers its heritage - the roads are all named after touring car legends, like Peter Brock and Mark Skaife.

Amaroo does that as well(about a 10 min drive from my house).

 

[Brutaka]

Meadowdale Speedway in Illinois.

 

[GTPorsche]

Meadowdale looks like this today...

 

[IforceV8]

http://kaneforest.com/ForestPreserveView.aspx?ID=39

 

[MatskiMonk]

This thread makes me sad

 

[SVT Cobra GT]

How can we forget Greenwood Roadway?

 

[Panoz]

Ontario Motor Speedway was another victim of urban development like Riverside. The "Indianapolis of the West" hosted nearly all the top racing series in the 1970s including...

Indycar:

NASCAR:

NHRA Drag Racing:

The one-off Questor Grand Prix in 1971 that pitted Formula 1 and Formula 5000 cars against each other:

The site of OMS looks like this today.