Flat Rock Speedway is a

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

in Monroe County in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. It is located in Ash Township just south of the city of Flat Rock along

U.S. Route 24 U.S. Route 24 or U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States Numbered Highways of 1926 which runs east and west for most of its routing. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Misso ...

. Opened in 1953, it is owned by

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

and is the sister track to Toledo Speedway. It features racing on Saturday nights that include Outlaw Body Late Models, Street Stocks, and Figure 8s for its weekly divisions. It is the closest NASCAR-style

oval track racing Oval track racing is a form of motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic is almost u ...

circuit to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

History

Flat Rock Speedway was constructed in 1952, but financial issues led to the original investors backing out. Under Sheldon Hayes of the Cadillac Asphalt Company, the track was completed in 1953; using 70 tons of a mixture of rubber and asphalt, Hayes created a "rubberized" asphalt surface that was the first of its kind for a race track. The speedway opened on August 14. It was initially scheduled to open on August 7, but the opening was postponed by a week after a

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

drowned in its drainage system and subsequent rain flooded the track. Dick Good won Flat Rock's first track championship in the "Hardtop" division, which was rebranded as the Late Model class in 1954. That year,

founder and president

Bill France Sr. William Henry Getty France (September 26, 1909 – June 7, 1992) was an American businessman and racing driver. He was also known as Bill France Sr. or Big Bill. He is best known for founding and managing NASCAR, a sanctioning body of US-based s ...

became its promoter and helped attract NASCAR drivers like

Curtis Turner Curtis Morton Turner (April 12, 1924 – October 4, 1970) was an American stock car racer who won 17 NASCAR Grand National Division races and 38 NASCAR Convertible Division races. Throughout his life, he developed a reputation for drinking and ...

, Joe Weatherly, and

Lee Petty Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He is the patriarch of the Petty racing family. He was one of the early pioneers of NASCAR and one of its f ...

to the track. France left his position at the speedway in 1956. Motor City Speedway promoter Andy Barto served as Flat Rock's promoter until he stepped down in March 1956 and was replaced by Hayes, who was the track president, to commit his work to Motor City; Barto returned to Flat Rock as its general manager in 1959. During the 1953 season, the Midwest Association for Race Cars (MARC) began racing at the track, with J. H. Petty winning the first races – consecutive 100-lap events – on September 11.

Late model Late Model stock car racing, also known as late model racing and late models, refers to a type of auto racing that involves purpose-built cars simultaneously racing against each other primarily on oval tracks. This type of racing was early-on ...

s were introduced in 1962. Without NASCAR support, the track struggled in the late 1950s. In 1960, new general manager Joan Simmons created a points system and raised competitor numbers, leading to track attendance increasing by 81 percent. A year later, Simmons formally established ties with France's friend and MARC head

John Marcum John Marcum (1913–1981) was the co-founder of ARCA and a NASCAR official from Toledo, Ohio, United States. He raced in the 1930s and 1940s. He owned cars entered in two NASCAR Grand National Series races with one Top 10 finish.

, who became track owner the following year. Marcum would later rename his sanctioning body the

Automobile Racing Club of America The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is an auto racing sanctioning body in the United States, founded in 1953 by John Marcum. A subsidiary of NASCAR since 2018, the current president of ARCA is Ron Drager, who took over the position i ...

(ARCA), whose Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series continued racing at Flat Rock until 2000, with

Frank Kimmel Francis James Kimmel (born April 30, 1962) is an American former stock car racing driver. He competed primarily in the ARCA Racing Series, from 1990 through 2016. Kimmel is the most successful driver in ARCA history. He has won the ARCA championsh ...

winning the final ARCA premier series race at the track. Simmons remained in her position until 1970. Following Marcum's death in 1981, wife Mildred and grandson John Drager took over track operations; when John departed for other interests, brother Ron became track promoter. In 1999, Drager purchased Toledo Speedway, connecting it to Flat Rock as a sister track. As part of their new relationship, Flat Rock's marketing division Marcum Productions assumed the same role at Toledo, while Scott Schultz served as general manager for both tracks.

Races

ARCA Menards Series

The

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car racing, stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into ...

first visited Flat Rock in 1985, then had an annual race from 1985 to 2000. The

ARCA Menards Series East The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly known by other names) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Races are h ...

took over the in 2023 and held a race annually since.

References

External links

* * {{ARCA tracks Motorsport venues in Michigan Tourist attractions in Monroe County, Michigan Buildings and structures in Monroe County, Michigan ARCA Menards Series tracks Sports venues completed in 1953 1955 establishments in Michigan Figure 8 Motorsport venues