Owosso Speedway

Owosso Speedway
Location Middlebury Township, Shiawassee County, at 7204 West M-21 Ovid, Michigan
Opened 1939
Major events Heritage 100, Fall Nationals
progressively banked oval
Surface asphalt
Length 3/8 (.375) mile adjoining mi
Turns 4

Owosso Speedway is a 3/8 (.375) mile, progressively banked oval short track located east of Ovid, Michigan, between Ovid and Owosso, further east.

Track History

In 1939 the Owosso Speedway opened as a 1/4 (.250) mile dirt oval. The track would operate until 1944 when it closed to serve as a POW Camp for captured German soldiers from World War II. These soldiers were housed on the Speedway facilities and were allowed out into the community to do small jobs for the locals.

- The track resumed racing in 1946 with a brand-new high banked 1/2 (.500) mile asphalt oval sharing a front stretch with the 1/4 mile. In 1953 the 1/4 mile was paved, while the 1/2 mile remained a dirt track. In 1960 the 1/2 mile would go dormant, as it was closed because the track was allegedly too fast to be insured.

- The 1/2 mile would be resurrected in 1963 and the facility would continue on that way until 1972 when the big track was paved to go along with the already paved little track.

- In 1983 the track was converted over to dirt, for the first time since 1952 the two tracks were both dirt. The Speedway would close in 1988-1989 when the Simko family converted the 1/2 and 1/4 mile tracks over to the current 3/8 mile oval.

Notable alumni

Current operations

The Owosso Speedway currently races Saturday night from early-May through September. The co-headlining classes at the facility are the Pro Late Models and Modifieds, which race on an alternating bi-weekly schedule. Pro Stocks, Pure Stocks and Sport Stocks also are regular divisions

The Speedway also features special events for the Outlaw Super Late Models.

References

Coordinates: 43°00′06″N 84°18′28″W / 43.00167°N 84.30778°W / 43.00167; -84.30778

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.