Rockford Speedway facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Rockford Speedway

Location	Illinois Route 173, Loves Park, Illinois
Time zone	UTC-6 (UTC-5 DST)
Owner	Deery family
Operator	Deery family
Opened	1948
1/4 mile oval
Surface	Asphalt
Length	0.250 mi (0.400 km)
Banking	22°

Rockford Speedway is a famous 1/4-mile short track located in Loves Park, Illinois. It's a high-banked asphalt oval, meaning the turns are tilted to help cars go faster. Along with Chicagoland Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, it's one of the few racetracks in Illinois that works with NASCAR.

During the summer, Rockford Speedway hosts exciting weekly races for local drivers. It also holds bigger regional and national events. Some popular special events include trailer races, endurance races, and the big National Short Track Championship.

History of Rockford Speedway

The Rockford Speedway was built in 1947 by a farmer and a group of investors. Hugh Deery later became the sole owner in 1966. As of 2013, his wife, Jody Deery, runs the speedway. It first opened in 1948 for midget car racing.

Rockford Speedway is known for two important things in racing history:

• It was one of the first tracks to create an affordable program for late model race cars.
• It was also an early supporter of "Saturday night racing" programs for short tracks.

Hugh Deery also started the "National Short Track Championship," a big race at the end of the season. He was honored in the Illinois Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2013. Jody Deery is one of the few track operators who helps choose people for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The speedway has also hosted concerts. On August 17, 1980, the famous band Black Sabbath performed there as part of their 'Heaven & Hell Tour'.

About the Track

The Rockford Speedway is an asphalt track that is about 1/4 mile long. Its exact measured length is about 0.29 miles (0.47 kilometers). The track has very high banks in the turns, which are tilted at 22 degrees. These corners are about 50 feet (15 meters) wide.

The front and back straightaways are flatter, with an eight-degree bank. These straight parts are about 40 feet (12 meters) wide. Inside the main oval track, there's also a special figure eight track.

Racing Programs and Events

Weekly Races at Rockford

Alex Papini, the 2013 track champion.

The speedway offers two weekly racing programs during most of the season.

• Saturday Nights: These races are part of the NASCAR-sanctioned Whelen All-American Series. They feature late model cars, along with All American Sportsmen, American Short Trackers, and Road Runners.
• Wednesday Nights: This program includes The Road Runner Super Summer Series, Bandits, Winged Women on Wheels, Figure 8's, Legends, Minicups, Bandoleros, and spectacular drag races.

Famous Racers and Crew Members

Many talented drivers have raced at Rockford Speedway.

• Bobby Wilberg and John Knaus are seven-time track champions.
• Joe Shear, Sr. won six titles from 1967 to 1972.
• Both John Knaus' son, Chad, and Joe Shear's son, Joe Jr., became championship-winning crew chiefs in NASCAR's national series.
• Travis Kvapil started racing at Rockford at age 16 and won the American Short Tracker division championship in 1994.
• Rich Bickle was the track's sportsman rookie of the year in 1980.

Several important people in NASCAR started their careers at Rockford:

• Chad Knaus, a NASCAR crew chief, worked on his father's championship race car at Rockford.
• John Darby, a NASCAR official, began at Rockford in 1971 as a street stock owner. He later became a crew chief and won a championship in 1977. He then became a track official and moved up to direct the NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series). By 1997, he was the director of competition for the Sprint Cup Series.

Special Racing Events

Rockford Speedway has hosted many special racing events over the years.

• It held two ARCA Racing Series events in 1987 and 1988.
• The track hosts races for the ARCA Midwest Tour Series, Must-See Xtreme Sprint Car Series, and Mid American Stock Car Series.
• Other events include the Big 8 Limited Late Model Touring Series, Midwest Dash 4-cylinder touring series, monster trucks, and endurance races.
• Past series that raced here include the NASCAR Midwest Series, the Wisconsin Challenge Series, ASA Late Model Series Northern Division, and USAC National Midgets.

In 2016, the speedway hosted the World of Outlaws sprint cars and late models for an event called the Outlaw Clay Classic. For this event, the asphalt track was covered in clay for the first time ever!

National Short Track Championship

The field of cars at the 2008 National Short Track Championship.

The Rockford Speedway holds its big annual National Short Track Championship (NSTC) around October 1st. This exciting three-day event usually features 12 different racing divisions.

Track promoters decided to host the first 200-lap event in late 1966. The goal was to have the best drivers from the Chicagoland area race against the best drivers from the Central Wisconsin Drivers Association. Most drivers in this event come from Illinois and Wisconsin, but drivers from other states also join in.

The event was part of the ARTGO series for several years. It joined the CRA Super Series tour in 2004 and the ASA Late Model Series in 2005. After a few years without a tour, the ASA Midwest Tour took over in 2011. As of 2012, the Super Late Models racing at the event did not have a specific sanctioning body.

Past Winners of the NSTC

Steve Carlson celebrating his eighth win in 2011.

Joe Shear was the first driver to win eight NSTC titles. Steve Carlson tied his record in 2011. Other drivers who have won multiple times include Jeremy Lepak, Dick Trickle, and Eddie Hoffman.

The very first NSTC race in 1966 was won by Wisconsin short track racer Dick Trickle. He finished a whole lap ahead of Chicagoland stock-car champion Roy Martinelli. Trickle is known as one of the winningest short track drivers ever, with estimates of his wins between 1,000 and 1,200 races!

Trickle once said about his 1966 win, "I really do treasure that one in 1966. It was the first time I ever raced outside my home area in central Wisconsin."

Images for kids

• 

  Ticket booth and grandstands

• 

  Turns 1 and 2

• 

  Infield featuring the Figure 8 crossing

• 

  Turns 3 and 4

• 

  2017 National Short Track Championship winner Alex Prunty (right) with owner Jody Deery