Any Articles on Ghost Tracks?

Sunday! Sunday! SUNDAY @ Green Valley Raceway!!!

Those ads ran for years. I watched a couple of historic Trans Am races there.

One time I talked with Ol Shel' at what he said was the very first outing of the Cobra. It tore everything else up! I'm sure I'd heard of the Cobra by then so I don't know what he meant by first outing. First outing there? in the series?

I saw his twin turbo, or was it twin supercharged?, 427 Cobra around town too.

Now Green Valley Raceway a housing development in the middle of mid-cities DFW. They say there's a short stretch of the pavement left but I can't get close enough to see.

Interestingly the city it's located in has a 30 mph speed limit everywhere so instead of going fast there you have to really work at going that slow.

This is also the very first track I got seat time on. A bathtub Porsche and an XK120 Jag. I didn't have a clue they were more than just old cars.

donalson wrote: there was a show with James may where he setup a slot car race on an old no longer complete track in england... was a good show... had old race footage and stuff for the back story

That was Brooklands. Parts still stand - parts are now houses. He re-created the entire track using Scalextric and then raced a lap.

Not really a ghost track, but the original plan for Lime Rock included a long course.

I have a book that shows aerial photos of the construction. You can't really see it in the current Google Maps photo, but I imagine that you might see the outline of it when the leaves fall off the trees.

The long course was a continuation of the straight that bypassed Big Bend and then rejoined the existing track just past the esses.

Here is a good one...

Paramount Ranch

And another that you can still see the outline of... Vaca Valley http://g.co/maps/nbkrs

Maroon92 wrote:

N Sperlo wrote: In reply to Maroon92: I'll keep you in the loop. I plan on starting closer to home, but the wife just got a job as a flight attendant which means free flights

Who are you? Peter Griffin? ("I'm Winston Churchill. I like Tea and Crumpets")

No, I'm just a big ole'

aeronca65t wrote: I remember going to Marlboro as a high school kid. Penske and Donahue would run there.

I spent a lot of time at Marlboro in the late 60's crewing for a guy that ran a Mini in B Sedan. Very interesting track. The transitions in and out of the oval were interesting to say the least.

You know, "ghost tracks" would make a great regular feature in Classic Motorsports.

Keith wrote: You know, "ghost tracks" would make a great regular feature in Classic Motorsports.

Great enough to get me to subscribe, actually.

noddaz wrote: Here is a good one... Paramount Ranch

Been there, walked it with my wife. Absolutely beautiful setting. A good friend of mine lived there as the ranger. His house was an actual part of the Doctor Quinn: Medicine Woman set not too far from the remains of the track.

Middle Georgia Raceway was a local paved banked oval track that hosted a lot of big races in the 60s / 70s - NASCAR, etc etc - and some memorable concerts. Last I heard there were trees growing up through the banks on turns 3&4 but in the satellite shot from the link you can see a few cars parked on it. I've never investigated, but I drive by it all the time and you can easily see the back of the banks from Hwy 41. In the last 5 years they've started hosting a Racer's Reunion car show and swap meet there with the plan of perhaps restoring or preserving the track. We rent one of our locations from the guy that owns the property - I should get permission to go take some pics.

If someone is doing magazine stories and wants to get a look, let me know. I might be able to set something up

Track History from RacersReunion.com

well, VIR was a ghost track. Fortunately now it isn't

Javelin wrote:

Keith wrote: You know, "ghost tracks" would make a great regular feature in Classic Motorsports.

Great enough to get me to subscribe, actually.

Yes Yes Yes.

Keith wrote: You know, "ghost tracks" would make a great regular feature in Classic Motorsports.

prob could make for a nice "reader submitted photo" type of thing...

Oh, golly. Continental Divide Raceway. Colorado Springs, Colorado. The drag strip kept it operational, but the track was Awesome! I remember when it closed, I was, what? late 20's? Sad. Nothing left. It was bought for development, still mostly empty, but somewhere along the line an owner "plowed it up" so it could never be reopened as a race track. Damn libtards!

I found out recently that there was a ghost track in Augusta, Georgia, the town I grew up in. Not only were NASCAR races held there, but Jim Hall and Don Yenko raced USRRC races there. I had no idea!

http://www.historicmustang.com/augustainternational.html
http://www.augustainternationalraceway.org

SCCA Sportscar magazine did a monthly series on ghost tracks some years ago (5+ yrs IIRC). Lotta old tracks, pics and history... thorough as they usually are.

A friend lent me a copy of the Nov 1959 Road & Track. In it was a listing for most of the tracks in America. Included were tons of old airport tracks. I just scanned a pdf of the one that contained our local (Pensacola) Navy airfield track. Corry field. Our retired RA for Gulf Coast region SCCA talked about how he ran races and such there in the 60's. I will see if I can somehow post that pdf. Umm anyone have any thoughts on copyright rules?

nderwater wrote: I found out recently that there was a ghost track in Augusta, Georgia, the town I grew up in. Not only were NASCAR races held there, but Jim Hall and Don Yenko raced USRRC races there. I had no idea! http://www.historicmustang.com/augustainternational.html http://www.augustainternationalraceway.org

This one is fun to find on Google Earth. The whole track is still there as well as the dragstrip. Orient yourself by finding the hairpin turn in the upper left near the baseball / softball complex.

pstrbrc wrote: Oh, golly. Continental Divide Raceway. Colorado Springs, Colorado. The drag strip kept it operational, but the track was Awesome! I remember when it closed, I was, what? late 20's? Sad. Nothing left. It was bought for development, still mostly empty, but somewhere along the line an owner "plowed it up" so it could never be reopened as a race track. Damn libtards!

More likely a real estate speculator trying to pick up the land for a song.

The Saratoga Auto Museum holds a get together every fall to have people talk about dead race tracks mostly in upstate NY. Interesting speakers, some who had raced at these tracks. Pictures and videos abound.

Lof8 wrote: What a cool topic!

Indeed. Good stuff here.

I'd love to putt around hte track int he OP on my mountainbike for the helluvit.

redstack wrote: A friend lent me a copy of the Nov 1959 Road & Track. I will see if I can somehow post that pdf. Umm anyone have any thoughts on copyright rules?

As long as you post it for our enjoyment and list a source, you're fine, nobody is benefitting from it more than Road & Track. Unless you can still buy a back copy..

If the magazine (GRM) were to run that story, things would be different.

Harewood Acres (http://www.canadianracer.com/harewood.asp) ran in the 50s,and 60s in southern Ontario.