Wilson Speedway

Wilson Speedway was a half-mile dirt oval located in Wilson, North Carolina that held 12 NASCAR Cup Series between 1951 and 1960 and 5 races in the NASCAR Convertible Series from 1956 to 1958.[1] and continued to hold local races until 1989 when the track was closed. The track was located at the Wilson County American Legion Fair Grounds.[2]

Wilson Speedway
LocationWilson, North Carolina
Coordinates35.699°N 77.930°W / 35.699; -77.930
Opened1934
Closed1989
Major eventsNASCAR Cup Series
NASCAR Convertible Series
oval
Surfacedirt
Length0.5 miles (0.8 km)

History

The track opened in 1934 and originally held horse racing before switching to becoming an auto racing track in 1935 the track was accredited three years later by AAA and held races until the United States' entry into World War II in 1941. Racing continued following the war until 1989.

Hours before the 1959 NASCAR race, the grandstands burned to the ground and 8000 fans in attendance watched the race from the ground.[3] In the 1960 NASCAR race, Emanuel Zervakis was disqualified for his fuel tank being too large after winning the race.[4]

During the 60's the track was one of the venues Dale Earnhardt raced at very early in his career.

As of 2022 the track is abandoned but still partially intact, with all of the track surface in turns 3 and 4 turning into grass and turns 1 and 2 being slightly off from the original track.[2]

NASCAR results

Cup Series Results
Race Number Winner Manufacturer Average Speed (mph)
1951-30 Fonty Flock Oldsmobile Unknown
1952-29 Herb Thomas Hudson 35.398
1953-18 Fonty Flock Hudson 53.803
1953-34 Herb Thomas Hudson 56.022
1954-11 Buck Baker Oldsmobile 52.279
1956-08 Herb Thomas Chevrolet 46.287
1956-56 Buck Baker Chrysler 50.597
1957-06 Ralph Moody Ford 55.079
1958-05 Lee Petty Oldsmobile 48.459
1959-07 Junior Johnson Ford 50.300
1959-22 Junior Johnson Ford 58.065
1960-12 Joe Weatherly Ford 55.113

Reference[5]

Convertible Results
Race Number Winner Manufacturer Average Speed (mph)
1956-21 Curtis Turner Ford 54.987
1957-09 Joe Weatherly Ford 55.325
1957-35 Billy Myers Ford 54.987
1958-08 Curtis Turner Ford 47.362
1958-18 Bob Welborn Chevrolet 45.196

Reference[6]

References
  1. "WILSON SPEEDWAY". speedwayandroadracehistory. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  2. Wood, Perry Allen (October 16, 2012). Silent Speedways of the Carolinas: The Grand National Histories of 29 Former Tracks. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-0261-5.
  3. Boland, Marc. "NASCAR History: The Good Old Days, Pennsylvania Style". Bleacher Report. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  4. Meredith, Luke (June 19, 2019). "NASCAR denies Ross Chastain's appeal over Sunday's post-race disqualification at Iowa Speedway". Des Moines Register. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  5. "Tracks". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  6. "Tracks". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
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