The Stardust International Raceway was an auto racing track in present-day

Spring Valley, Nevada Spring Valley is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States, located west of the Las Vegas Strip. The population was 215,597 at the 2020 census. Spring Valley was formed in May 1981. History In 1 ...

, in the

Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area i ...

. It featured a flat, , 13-turn

road course Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

, and a quarter-mile drag strip. Some track maps depicted the road course with 10 numbered turns. Stardust International Raceway was developed in 1965 by the Stardust Racing Association, a Nevada corporation headed by the primary owner of the

Desert Inn The Desert Inn, also known as the D.I., was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, which operated from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. Designed by architect Hugh Taylor and interior design by Jac Lessman, it was th ...

and

Stardust Stardust may refer to: * A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space Entertainment Songs * “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael * “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974 * “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012 * ...

hotel-casinos. The track was developed ostensibly to attract

high roller A high roller, also referred to as a whale or cheetah, is a gambler who consistently wagers large amounts of money. High rollers often receive lavish " comps" from casinos to lure them onto the gambling floors, such as free private jet transfer ...

s to the Stardust hotel. The Stardust Racing Association also owned the property and functioned as event promoter. In 1966 it began hosting the season finale of the

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an SCCA/ CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. History Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two races in Canada (''Can'') and four races in the United ...

championship. In 1968 the

USAC Championship Car From 1956 to 1978, USAC Championship Car seasons featured the top teams and drivers in U.S. open-wheel racing. Until 1971, the Championship contained road courses, ovals, dirt courses, and, on occasion, a hill climb. Thereafter, the schedu ...

series held a race at Stardust. The drag strip hosted the NHRA Stardust National Open in 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1971. The Stardust Racing Association was dissolved on April 1, 1968, 1 day after the USAC Stardust 150. The hotel and raceway were sold in January 1969 to the Parvin-Dohrmann Corporation, and the new ownership closed the track shortly thereafter. Larry Horton, the track's manager, re-opened the drag strip in August 1970 and ran

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most ...

events until October 1971. Real estate developers

Pardee Homes Pardee Homes is a residential home building company founded in 1921 which currently builds new homes and planned communities in Southern California and the Las Vegas, Nevada, metro region. The company was founded by George Pardee Sr, who was joi ...

acquired the Stardust International Raceway property and related adjacent properties in August 1970 and built the Spring Valley community. Pardee commenced residential development on a portion of the property as drag racing events were still in operation directly adjacent. The track was replaced by the Las Vegas Speedrome, which opened in 1972 as a drag strip and road course. It was subsequently expanded in 1985 with a 3/8 mile paved oval, in 1996 with a 1.5 mile oval, when the circuits current name, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, was used, and in 2000 with the current drag strip location.

Results

Sports car

Trans-Am

USAC Champ Car

Lap records

The official lap records at Stardust International Raceway are listed as:

References

External links

Ultimate Racing History: Stardust archive
Motorsport venues in Nevada Defunct motorsport venues in the United States Motorsport in Las Vegas Defunct sports venues in Nevada 1965 establishments in Nevada 1970 disestablishments in Nevada Sports venues completed in 1965 {{Nevada-sports-venue-stub