Salem Speedway facts for kids
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| Location | 2729 Hwy 56 West Salem, Indiana |
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| Coordinates | 38°36′00″N 86°08′25″W / 38.60000°N 86.14028°W |
| Capacity | 6000 |
| Owner | Owen & Beverly Thompson |
| Opened | June 22, 1947 |
| Former names | Salem Super Speedway |
| Major events | USAC, ARCA |
| Length | .555 mi |
| Banking | 33° |
Salem Speedway is a famous paved oval racetrack. It is located near Salem, Indiana. The track is about .555 miles (0.893 km) long. Its corners are very steep, with a 33-degree bank. This makes racing exciting! Big racing series like ARCA and USAC often race here.
Contents
The Story of Salem Speedway
Salem Speedway first opened in 1947. Sadly, two drivers had accidents on the very first lap of the first race.
Rebuilding After a Storm
In 1981, a big thunderstorm hit the track. It caused a lot of damage. The roof of the grandstands was ripped off. Fences around the track were also broken. Because of this damage, the track could not be used for several years.
Don Gettelfinger Sr. bought the track in 1987. He worked hard to fix it up. He replaced the damaged fences with strong concrete walls. The track was able to open again.
New Owners and Upgrades
In May 1995, the track closed again for a short time. But then, Owen and Beverly Thompson bought it. They reopened Salem Speedway in 1996. They made many improvements. They built a new building and updated the grandstand seating. The track could now hold up to 6,000 people! They also fixed up the pit areas.
Starting in 2020, Bill Kniesly began leasing the track from the Thompsons.
Famous Races and Drivers
Many different racing series have competed at Salem Speedway. These events bring exciting races to the track.
Past Racing Series
- The NASCAR Grand National East Series held one race here in 1973. Bruce Gould was the winner.
- The ASA National Tour raced at Salem six times. This was between 1998 and 2003. Winners included Scott Hansen, David Stremme, Tim Sauter, Gary St. Amant, and Robbie Pyle.
- USAR had seven races at the track. These took place from 2002 to 2008. Drivers like Brian Ross, Joel Kauffman, Mikey Kile, Jeff Agnew, and Gary St. Amant won these races.
- The NASCAR Southeast Series ran two races here in 1996 and 1997. Steven Christian and Ron Young were the winners.
Racing Legends at Salem
Salem Speedway has hosted many famous racers. You might know some of these names! Drivers like Parnelli Jones, A. J. Foyt, Al Unser, Mario Andretti, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Ken Schrader, and Joey Logano have all raced here.
In 2018, Kody Swanson set a new record. He won his 24th USAC Silvercrown series race at Salem. This was an all-time record for the series!
ARCA Racing History
As of 2019, Salem Speedway has hosted more ARCA races than any other track. ARCA has been racing here since 1955. They have visited the track over 106 times!
The fastest ARCA qualifying lap was set by Gary Bradberry in 1994. He completed a lap in just 16.785 seconds. This means he was going about 119.035 miles per hour!
Remembering Rich Vogler
On July 21, 1990, a sprint car race was held at Salem Speedway. It was called the Joe James / Pat O'Connor Memorial. This race was even shown on TV as part of ESPN Thunder.
A Memorable Race
Sprint car driver Rich Vogler was leading the race. He was just about to start his final lap. However, he had an accident in turn 4. The race was stopped right away.
Because of the rules for the USAC National Sprint Car Series, the results went back to the last completed lap. This meant that Rich Vogler was declared the winner of the race. It was his 170th career win. A young driver named Jeff Gordon finished in second place among the drivers who completed the race.
