Sandusky Speedway facts for kids

Sandusky Speedway is a cool half-mile race track for cars located in Perkins Township, near Sandusky, Ohio. It's in Erie County, Ohio, in the United States. This track is special because its turns are not very steep, and it has long, straight sections. Its design is a bit like the famous Martinsville Speedway.

The idea for a dirt track in Sandusky started in 1948. In 1950, a group called the Lake Erie Stock Coupe Racing Association bought the land. The very first race happened on May 14, 1950. Richard Brickly from Willard, Ohio won that race. He was driving a 1932 Ford coupe and won $103!

In 1955, the track got a big upgrade. It was paved over, and new steel grandstands were built. These new stands replaced the old wooden ones. This change increased the number of seats from 3,500 to 5,000. The track's surface was updated again in 2003.

Sandusky Speedway closed for a short time at the end of 1969. The owners at that time, the Decker family, decided to shut it down. It stayed closed for all of 1970. But then, a new agreement was made to lease the track, and it reopened the next year. It has been running races ever since!

The History of Sandusky Speedway

This race track has had two short connections with NASCAR over the years. Some NASCAR-approved races were held there in 1952. Later, from 1987 to 1994, Sandusky Speedway hosted events that are now part of the Whelen All-American Series.

In 2008, the track welcomed the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series for the very first time. This was an exciting new event for the speedway.

Types of Races and Changes Over Time

For many years, Sandusky Speedway held weekly races for different types of cars. These included:

• Spectator Stock (cars with four or six cylinders and automatic transmissions)
• Street Stock
• Sportsman
• Modified
• Sprint Car

In 2012, the Spectator Stock and Sportsman divisions were removed from the weekly schedule. The track then focused on three main divisions:

• Modified Division
• Street Stock Division
• A rotating schedule of other exciting races like the Buckeye Super Sprints, Ohio Late Models, Main Event Racing Series, or Supermodifieds.

The 25th Main Event Super Late 'Outlaw' Bodied Series Championships were held at Sandusky Speedway that year. This was a big event that had been held in Columbus before.

In 2013, the racing schedule changed again. The Ohio Late Model series was stopped. A new Hobby Stock division was added. This division was similar to Spectator Stock, but it kept the cars very close to their original factory condition. This meant no special racing tires or engine parts were allowed.

That same year, a week before the 36th Annual Hy-Miler race, the track faced a huge challenge. Heavy rain caused major flooding. Officials worked for days to pump water out of the turns, the infield, the pit area, and the parking lot. It's thought that about 3.7 million gallons of water were pumped away!

Supermodified Racing at Sandusky

Sandusky Speedway is a very important place for Supermodified racing. These are special, very fast open-wheel race cars. The track hosts an annual race for the International Supermodified Association (ISMA). It also holds three races each year for the Midwest Supermodified Association (MSA) championship.

The Supermodified races at Sandusky are so important that another famous track, Oswego Speedway in New York, actually closes when the MSA races are happening in Sandusky. In return, Sandusky Speedway closes on the weekend of the annual Oswego Classic race. This shows how much these tracks respect each other's big events.

Track Champions

• 1950 – George Fosco