Evergreen Speedway facts for kids
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| Location | Monroe, Washington |
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| Coordinates | 47°52′7″N 121°59′14″W / 47.86861°N 121.98722°W |
| Owner | Snohomish County |
| Operator | High Road Promotions |
| Opened | 1954 |
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Evergreen Speedway is a famous car racetrack in Monroe, Washington. It's part of the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. This stadium can hold up to 7,500 people in its covered seats. Another 7,500 people can sit in the uncovered seats.
The track is special because it has many different layouts. It has a large 5/8-mile paved oval track. There are also smaller 3/8-mile and 1/5-mile oval tracks. Plus, it has a 1/8-mile track for drag racing. It even has one of the best figure-eight tracks in the United States!
Evergreen Speedway is the only official NASCAR track in Washington State. It hosts the Formula D drifting event every July. Many types of races happen here, including NASCAR, SCCA, USAC, ASA, and NSRA events. Since 2011, new owners have made it one of the top ten NASCAR short tracks in North America. This was true from 2012 to 2016.
History of Evergreen Speedway
The track started as a dirt path for horse racing. In 1954, a man named Jimmie Collier asked Snohomish County if he could use it for car racing. He wanted to race his Ford Model T roadster.
The track was paved with asphalt in the early 1960s. Then, in 1967, the old seating areas were taken down. New, bigger grandstands were built for fans to watch the races.
Over the years, many different kinds of races took place at Evergreen Speedway. These included Sprint Cars, Roadsters, and Midgets. There were also Figure Eights, Stock Cars, and Demolition Derbies. The track even hosted a very important race called the "500." This was one of the biggest and richest races in the western United States.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series raced at Evergreen Speedway once a year. This happened from 1995 to 2000.
In 2011, a company called High Road Promotions LLC took over the track. Its owner, Douglas Hobbs, won a bid from Snohomish County. This means his company will run Evergreen Speedway until 2036. This long contract helps make sure NASCAR races stay in Washington state. Evergreen Speedway was the first track on the West Coast to have a 500-lap NASCAR race. Douglas Hobbs has a lot of experience with car events. He even helped bring the Craftsman Truck Series to Evergreen Speedway.
Races at Evergreen Speedway Today
Today, Evergreen Speedway hosts many local and regional racing events. The NASCAR Whelen All American Series races here every week.
Some of the exciting types of races you can see include:
- Speedway Chevrolet Super Late Models
- Les Schwab Street Stocks
- Foster Press Mini Stocks
- Super Figure-Eights and Outlaw Figure-8s
- Stinger-8s
- Northwest Legends
- Hornets and Jr. Hornets (for kids aged 12-14)
- School Bus Races
- Crash Cars
- Demolition Derbies
- Drifting
- Autocross
- drag racing
In 2012, the Richard Petty Driving Experience was added. This lets people drive real race cars!
Evergreen Speedway also has a new Motocross Track. There's even a special track for beginner motocross riders. This track is for bikes 65cc and under. An ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle) race facility is also new to the speedway.
Evergreen Speedway is known as a top "Short Track" on the West Coast. It's also ranked as the #2 Figure 8 track in America. It's one of only 11 NASCAR tracks in the USA that hosts the Whelen All American and K&N Pro Series West races. This makes it one of America's best short oval tracks.
The track is a stop for the Formula Drift professional drift series. Evergreen Speedway also hosts the Evergreen Drift ProAm series. This series helps drivers move up to the professional ranks of Formula Drift. Through Evergreen Drift, the speedway also has many open drift and drift school events.
Evergreen Speedway hosted a Global RallyCross Championship race in 2016. It was also confirmed to have a race in 2017.
Fun Facts About Evergreen Speedway
- Evergreen Speedway was a playable track in a video game. It was featured in the 1999 game NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Racing.
- NASCAR racing legend David Pearson called it "The Superspeedway of the West."
- Many famous drivers have raced at Evergreen. Some of them include:
- Bill Elliott
- Geoff Bodine
- Template:Wayne Anderson
- Sterling Marlin
- Harry Gant
- Ken Schrader
- Derrike Cope
- Davey Allison
- Greg Biffle
- Ron Hornaday Jr.
- Kevin Harvick
- Michael Waltrip
- Mike Skinner
- Tobey Butler
- Hershel McGriff
- Art Pollard
- Harry Jefferson
- Jack Jeffery
- Don Dowdy
