Islip Speedway was a .2-mile (320-meter) oval

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 ...

Islip, New York Islip ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States, on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island. The population was 339,938 at th ...

which was open from 1947 until 1984. It is the smallest track to host

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 ...

Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (the top NASCAR series, known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 and 1970, then the NASCAR ...

, from 1964 to 1971. The first

demolition derby Demolition derby is a type of motorsport, usually presented at county fairs and national events. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their v ...

took place at Islip Speedway in 1958. The idea was patented by Larry Mendelsohn, who worked at Islip Speedway. The speedway has since been demolished.

Demolition Derby

Islip Speedway is credited with hosting the first

, which took place in 1958. According to Larry Mendelsohn, he originated the idea after realizing that spectators enjoyed watching the cars crash more than the races. However, there are alternative accounts to the origins of demolition derby. One source claims that

Don Basile Don Basile is an entrepreneur and high tech investor best known for his work in the fields of technology, healthcare, and telecommunications. Don Basile currently serves as an investor in multiple companies He is a contributing author at Tech Cr ...

invented the demolition derby at Carrell Speedway in 1947. The

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

television show '' Wide World of Sports'' broadcast demolition derbies at Islip Speedway beginning in the early 1960s. This exposure gave the event national attention and helped increase its popularity.

Figure 8

In 1962, a Figure 8 track was added. The Figure 8 course shared the north and south turns with the oval and crisscrossed using lanes paved through the infield. The first Figure 8 race was held on August 11, 1962. The popular Figure 8 class became a regularly featured division from the time of its inception until the track's final date of operation September 8, 1984. In 1964, track promoter Larry Mendelsohn conceived the idea of hosting the first "Figure 8 World Championship" event and sold his idea to ABC-TV, who would film the daytime event for broadcast at a later date on their popular Saturday afternoon television show, ''ABC's Wide World of Sports''. To draw out-of-town competitors, Mendelsohn would guarantee a starting spot in the feature event to all Figure 8 division track champions who would travel to Long Island and represent their home track, hoping to claim the title of "World Champion". The remaining starting positions were determined through heat races. The "Demolition Derby World Championship" was held immediately following the "Figure 8 World Championship" feature race and was also taped for future broadcast on ''ABC's Wide World of Sports''. These broadcasts led to increased exposure and notoriety of the track, which came to be known as "World Famous Islip Speedway". Figure 8 drivers who won the title and were crowned "Figure 8 World Champion" at Islip were: 1963- Larry Wood, Northport, NY; 1964-Benny Giaraputo, West Islip, NY; 1965-Art Cox, Anderson, IN; 1966-Forrest Halliburton,

Indianapolis, IN Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County. Indianapolis is situated in the state's central till plain region along the west fork o ...

; 1967-Richie Gomes, Brentwood, NY; 1968-Richard Simmons, Plymouth, MI; 1969-Aaron Coller,

Tampa, FL Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the county seat of Hillsboroug ...

; 1970-Lester Slone, Pinellas Park, FL; 1971 & 1973-Sonny Thompson, Indianapolis, IN; 1972- Bobby Lane, Bay Shore, NY; 1974 & 1975-Carl Voelker, Islip NY; 1976 & 1979-Chuck Hall,

Toledo, OH Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in Ohio and 86th-most populous city in the United St ...

; 1977-Quinn Vollgraff, Ronkonkoma, NY; 1978-Allen Brock, Medford, NY; 1980-Eddie Sutton, Crownville, MD; 1981, 1982 & 1983-Doug Huber, Bellport, NY; 1984-Chuck Hlatky, Ronkonkoma, NY.

NASCAR racing

Islip Speedway hosted six races from 1964 to

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, skipping the years 1969 and 1970.

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most nota ...

won the last NASCAR race at Islip by two laps. Others who have won at Islip include

Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (December 3, 1937 – November 9, 2024) was an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant ...

and Billy Wade. NASCAR stopped coming to Islip Speedway when the organization axed all races shorter than from its schedule.

Gallery

Image:M10JohnnyCoyIslip.jpg, Legendary race driver Johnny Coy at Islip Speedway behind the wheel of the Vitucci midget number 10. Car owner Angelo Vitucci is standing (second from left). Image:1972LesterSlone136.jpg, 1970 Figure 8 World Champion Lester Slone of Pinellas Park, Florida at Islip Speedway, 1972. Image:1974RichardSimmons771.jpg, 1968 Figure 8 World Champion "Li'l Richard" Simmons of Plymouth, Michigan at Islip Speedway, 1974. Image:BobWaas6.jpg, 9A Modified driven by Bobby Holmberg at Islip Speedway.

References

External links