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Here is where you will find information
on the tracks that are currently running
in New Mexico. If you don't see your
track here, email me a link and a
description of the track. If the
track doesn't have its own website, then
send just the name and description
of the facility, and a couple of pics of
the place if you please.
I'll be getting some stuff up here very
shortly. I could really use some pics of
Speedway Park and 7 Flags/Duke City
Raceway (i.e. pics of the stands,
crowds, track, pits, etc). Also, I need
histories of each track, such as dates
and owners and any relevant information.
Let me know!
My introduction to racing was at the old track
that was at I-40 and Rio Grande Blvd. The track was owned by Toby Garcia,
Toby had a junk yard there for years after the track closed. The old wooden
grandstands were still there in the early 60s. I saw midget races there in
the late 40s. The Mattingly Bros raced at the track. They had Chevron
Stations at 2nd and 4th and Menaul. Racing had stopped here long before the
freeway came through. Garcia Honda is what has carried on over the years.
The next track in line was the Comet Speedway it
was just east of where the Wyoming gate to KAFB is; lots of midget racing
there and a couple of fatalities. The Corbin family had the track, and I
think Eddie Corbin may still live in ABQ. Then came Speedway Park.
Other tracks in the area were Tingley Coliseum in
the mid 50s had a small dirt track that the motorcycles ran on. I think the
track was about a tenth of a mile. Bobby Johnson of Bobby J's Yamaha is the
only person that I can recall that is still around who raced there.
There was a track located about two blocks South
of Central at 75th St., which are all houses now, The bikes ran there in the
early 60's; the oval was about a 3/8th mile track. I was told that Unsers
tested cars on it now and then. I do not know if it ever had a name.
Coronado Raceway was a 1/4 mile track in the area
of Tramway and I-25, south of Tramway and West of 25. It was built by Bob
Harris who at the time was the Ducati/ Norton/ Matchless dealer. The track
lasted about three years for the bikes, and I heard they had a couple of car
races also. Bob passed away a few years ago.
There have been several other locations where the
bikes ran from time to time.
Several times over the years Frank Crosby, who
managed Speedway Park got the National Midget tour to have a go at the
track. The big names where all there, and big time racing was seen in
Albuquerque.
Of course the Fair Grounds mile track has ben used
three or four times for bike races, cars have never been on it to my
knowledge. The bike racers did not care much for the track.
Speedway Park had bike races in the mid 50s with
the likes of the Johnson brothers, Bobby Rathman, Billy Canfield, Phil
Durbin, Benny Sims,Paul Mims, Joe Turney and others. When the races started
again in the late 60's it was Billy Canfield, Stan and Vern Johnson, Mike
Van Bibber, Frank Neal, Frank Westerman, Bill Morris, Mike Ryan, Clyde
Buckalew, and a couple of fellows from the Honda shop that Larry McKinney
owned that went like stink, and myself.
I hope this gives you some info that you did not
have about ABQ tracks. For me those races I saw as a kid in the late 40s
got me started. It was a serious hobby for me, but it took me around many
of the major tracks in the country, provide a great deal of fun and
adventure, and a few broken parts.
Regards,
John Kynor
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Albuquerque Raceway/Valley Raceway/7
Flags/Duke City Raceway
301 Murray Rd SW
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Phone:
n/a |
This track opened in the 1968 as
Albuquerque Raceway, having been built
by A.L. Smith. In 1980, Ken Schultz
leased it and renamed the track Valley
Raceway, which it remained for a year or
so. In 1982, Dick Shoudt and partners
purchased the track. For a time during
the 90s, the track was run by Bobby
Seals. A few years later,
the Smith family retook the reins and
renamed the track Duke City Raceway,
which it remained until Chuck Jackson
leased the track around 2001. In 2004,
the track was shut down and the land
sold for development.
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Area 51 Dragway is a 1/4 mile drag strip
located at Roswell Industrial Air
Center, south of Roswell.
This track opened in the 1996, having
previously operated as Roswell Dragway.
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Arroyo Seco Raceway is a complex
consisting of a road course and
a 1/4 mile dragstrip, located
near Deming, New Mexico. Race
types include drags,
motorcycles, and sports cars.
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Artesia Speedway, most recently known as
Lobo Speedway, is located in Artesia New
Mexico. The track is a 1/3 mile
semi-banked clay oval. I've not found anything in the
way of a history for the track. As of Febriary 21, 2008, I had emailed the
President of the track listed on the
website. He indicated that "they" (I
assume he and his family) are moving to
California and that there would no races
there in 2008. If you have any
historical information about this track,
please
email me.
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Aztec Speedway is located in Aztec, New
Mexico. The track is a 1/3 mile
high-banked clay oval.
Regular
race nights are: Saturday,with two-day
shows featuring Friday-Saturday &
Saturday-Sunday night combinations.
Weekly Racing Divisions:
IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA
Southern Sportmods, Hobby Stocks, Mini
Stocks
Special Shows Feature:
NMMRA Non Winged Sprint Cars, ASCS
Winged Sprint Cars, Late Models, Mini
Sprints, Enduros, Wild West Modfied
Tour, Floyd Reynolds Memorial
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Cardinal Motor Speedway is a 1/4
mile semi-banked black clay oval
located north of Eunice, New
Mexico.
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Gallup Speedway Park
Speedway Rd.
Gallup, New Mexico 87301
Phone:
n/a |
Gallup Speedway Park was a 3/8
mile semi-banked clay oval
track.
Information on this track is
practically non-existent. I
found that it opened sometime
around 1986 and last operated in
2006. It is a 3/8 banked oval
track. If you have any
historical information about
this track, please
email me.
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Harvey Caplin
Memorial
Speedway is what
karting calls
Oval track
racing, whether
it's on dirt or
asphalt.
Sideways racing
action on
specially built
oval karts is
what it's all
about here.
Caplin Speedway
is a short oval
with a clay
surface 1/5 mile
in length, high
banking, looks
simple, but
offers quite a
challenge.
As in other
karting
divisions, there
are Speedway
Karting classes
for both 2 and
4-cycle engines.
Divided by
engine type as
well as the
drivers age and
experience.
There's a place
for just about
anyone who wants
to race.
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High Plains Speedway, formerly known as the Ned Houk Memorial
Motorsports Complex, is a 3/8 mile
semi-banked oval located in Clovis, New
Mexico. I have very little historical
information about this track. If you
have any more information that help
flesh out the description of the track,
please
email me.
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Hollywood Hills Speedway
25 Hagan Rd.
San Felipe, NM 87001
Toll Free Phone: 1-877-529-2946
Local Phone: 867-6700
Official Site
Map/Directions |
Hollywood Hills Speedway is located on
the San Felipe Pueblo, between
Albuquerque and Sante Fe on I25 at exit
252. The track is a beautiful 3/8 clay
oval, hosting local and regional
competitors, who race weekly from May to
September. The facility seats 10,000, as
well as 16 VIP suites. Hollywood Hills
Speedway hosts events such as concerts,
motocross, and monster truck events.
There is also an 8 acre asphalt pit
area, which is ideal for local and
regional S.C.C.A. autocross events. The
Speedway's parking lot is equipped with
one hundred RV spaces that are within
walking distance of the San Felipe
Travel Center and the beautiful (newly
remodeled) Casino Hollywood, where you
can dine and play before and after the
races.
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Route 66 Karting
10355 Central Ave
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87121
Phone:
505-352-5878
Fax: 505-352-0223
Official Site
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This historic track is a one-third mile
asphalt karting track located on Old
Route 66 in Albuquerque NM. This track
has it all. Straights, bends, chicanes,
elevation changes - a challenge for all
levels of drivers. Find the perfect line
to be fast! An electronic timing and
scoring system keeps track of your lap
times.
Their fleet of
european-style concession karts
http://www.stratoskarts.com
is available for individual rental or
corporate events. They also offer
individual kart owners use of the track
for testing and tuning and they are the
regional dealer for the German
sprint-kart brand
www.mach1kartusa.com
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Sandia Motor Speedway is located
about 14 miles to the west of
downtown Albuquerque.
The 86-acre
park includes two paved ovals (1/2
mile and ¼ mile), a 1.7-mile road
course that can also be used in a
1.1-mile configuration, a Motocross
track, a paved ¼ midget track and a
paved remote control track. Sandia
Motorsports Park hosts racing events
weekly, with courses that appeal to
oval and road course racers alike.
Events run from April through
September. Training schools like
DriveTech High Performance Driving
School and Faast Performance Driving
School are just a few of the
nationally known instructional
programs offered on a limited basis
at the Park. The facility is also
privately booked for testing,
practice, race meets, race
instruction, special events,
manufacturer “arrive and drives” and
even antiterrorism and law
enforcement training.
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Known as Sertoma Speedway, this
track become White Sands
Speedway in 2008. It is a 3/8 mile dirt
track located near Tularosa, New
Mexico. They offer many different
kinds of dirt racing, including
stock cars, modifieds, legends,
supertrucks and sprint
cars.
The White Sands Speedway is centrally
located near the Las Cruces,
Albuquerque and Roswell raceways.
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Southern New Mexico Speedway
12125 Robert
Larson Blvd
Las Cruces, NM 88005
Phone:
505-649-4131
Fax: 505-541-4251
Official Site
Map/Directions
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Southern New Mexico Speedway
operates a 5/16 mile semi-banked
clay oval and a smaller 1/6 mile
flat clay karting oval located on
the Dona Ana County Fairgrounds near
Las Cruces, New Mexico (across I-10
from the Las Cruces Airport).
The larger oval opened in 1967. The
track has previously operated as The
Speedway of Southern New Mexico,
Mesilla Valley Speedway, Las Cruces
Speedway, Sertoma Raceway, The
Speedway and Chaparral Raceway. The
kart track may previously have
operated independently under the
name "Supertrack Southwest".
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Speedway Park
South Eubank
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Phone:
n/a |
Speedway Park was opened in 1950 by
the Heiser family in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, near
Kirtland AFB. For over 30 years, the track was host to
some of the most exciting oval
racing that New Mexico has seen or may
ever see.
Facing the encroachment of
residential housing, as well as
various other factors, the track was
forced to shut down in the early
80s.
FlatTrack
Motorcycle racing never really got
going as good as it should have here
in Albq. There were a lot of really
top notch racers who competed every
Friday night at Speedway Park for
several years, but for whatever
reason the sport died out. Flat
tracking in the 50's, 60's and early
70's was a lot different than it is
today.
(below
is a great submission by Bob Ingram
where he recalls some of the
motorcycle racing that took place at
Speedway Park many years ago)
Today the
sport is dominated by Harley and a
few Honda's but back in the day
there were lots of different brands
to choose from, such as, BSA, AJS,
Maico, Bultaco, Triumph, and Ossa as
well as the Harleys, Hondas and
Yamahas. These bikes started from a
standing start on 2 or 3 rows and
did some of the coolest wheelies
coming off the line and heading into
turn one handlebar to
handlebar. These bikes ran without
brakes and relied on downshifting
and driver skills to slow them
down. One of the best sights in
racing was to see the sparks flying
from the Steel Shoe the riders wore
on their left foot. There were
usually 3 divisions of bikes, the
100cc's 250cc's and the Open class
that allowed bikes of any
displacement. Although the Open
Class was the most popular with the
fans, the 250 class usually had the
largest field of bikes and put on
some of the most exciting side by
side racing anyone could ever hope
to see. Though the 250's had less
horsepower they also weighed less
and often ran speeds very close to
the Open class. There was nothing
like the sound of the big four
stroke bikes in the open class
though, they had a very deep
sound that made your chest pound.
There were
so many good riders at that time
that it would take a full length
book to talk about all of them, but
here are a few of the memories I
have from those days. Frank
Westerman riding the #7 Harley
KR750. It took a few weeks to get
this bike figured out but once Frank
and the Harley shop got it together
Frank was nearly unbeatable. Frank
was a pretty interesting guy, he
dropped out of high school and
served a hitch in the Air Force then
returned to Albq. and the racing
scene. Unfortunately Frank suffered
a badly fractured pelvis in an
accident that ended his riding
days. Frank eventually got a degree
and wound up being a College
Professor in Mesa, Arizona. David
Spain was another rider with a
pretty interesting background. David
started working at Bob Harris's
Cushman dealership on Central in the
late 50's or early 60's, then worked
for Bobby J's Yamaha for quite
awhile before eventually running the
Harley Dealership for a while then
moving to Florida and another Harley
job. David had many great battles
with some other Bobby J employees,
namely Stan & Vernie Johnson and
Frank Neel. A couple of other guys
who always put on a great show were
Norm Addy and Wayne Pinkard. These
two guys had one of the most unusual
riding styles in the country. They
made the oval look like a square as
they would run deeper into the
corners than anyone and throw their
bikes nearly sideways at a 90 degree
angle to make the turns. It didn't
always work to perfection but it
sure was fun to watch.
Two riders
who probably had the most hotly
contested battles at Speedway Park
were cousins Stanley and Vernie
Johnson. These two guys were
probably as good as anyone in the
country at the time and got the most
bang for the buck out of their Bobby
J Yamaha's. Another rider who was
nearly unbeatable for a few years
was Dan Blacklock. Dan ran the 250
class and won several
championships. Today Dan is a very
successful businessman here in Albq.
Dan owns Basic/Danlin, a company
that makes Dental Implants. Dan not
only makes these implants but also
travels the country and the world
training Dentists to install them.
Joe Turney
was one of the most interesting
racers of all. Joe and his wife Mary
owned the BSA dealership on Lomas
for many years. Joe was possibly one
of the oldest flat trackers in the
country as he was still racing and
pretty competitive well into his
50's. I also have to say Thanks to
Joe and Mary as the few times I was
able to race flat track at Speedway
was on a BSA from Joe & Mary's
shop.
Here are a
few more of the great riders who
also were very fast at Speedway Park
and other tracks. Don Overholser
(Triumph), Charlie Kellen (Honda
??), John Pacheco, James Ballog,
Mike Collins, Ken Boddy, Jack Rich,
Pancho Klaurens and Coy Moss. There
were lots of others but I have slept
since then and can't remember all of
their names. Ain't old age a great
thing ???? Thanks to John Kynor for
his earlier post that brought back
these great memories.
If anyone has more in-depth
information about Speedway Park,
please
email me!
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Bill and Marie Hatten, among a few
others, re-established the track at
its current location in 1975. Bill
had begun racing in Mississippi as a
teenager and wanted to create a
track "for the people by the
people,"
if you will. The track was created
as a non-profit organization. It is
a volunteer organization run by a
president, vice-president,
secretary, treasurer and board of
directors, which are elected each
year by the general membership of
the track. Anyone can be a member by
paying the membership fee. I think
the track is 3/8 a mile. It is a
banked, clay oval that has commonly
been described a "horse power"
track.
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