Lake Geneva Raceway (also known as LGR) was a

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

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 ...

off-road racing Off-road racing is a form of motorsports consisting of specially-modified vehicles including cars, SUVs, trucks, motorbikes, quadbikes and buggies racing in off-road environments (e.g. snow, dirt, mud, etc.). North America Desert racing D ...

stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses. It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It originated in the southe ...

, and

kart racing Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on kart circuit, scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...

racetrack in

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Lake Geneva is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Walworth County and situated on Geneva Lake, it was home to 8,277 people as of the 2020 census, up from 7,651 at the 2010 census. It is located southwest of Milwaukee and no ...

, US. It was billed as "Wisconsin's Busiest Racetrack." The track closed on December 31, 2006, and a nursing home named "Lake Geneva Golden Years" was built on the site.

History

LGR was originally known as the Lake Geneva Speed Center. Promoters generated publicity by building an airplane landing strip, which they used to bring in movie stars. The promoters claimed the starts were part of the huge investment being made to construct a drag strip that would be nationally known.*''Lake Geneva Raceway Souvenir Yearbook: Checkered Flag Final Season 1963-2006'' Lake Geneva was the home to a

Playboy Club The Playboy Club was initially a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room, and a Club ...

. Contractors got swallowed up in the excitement and worked without upfront payment.

Drag strip

The track opened on July 3, 1963 as a drag strip. Only 600 fans showed up. The first drag race was won by Fox. Contractors talked to each other after the event, and found out that none of them had been paid. The contractors formed a group and took over the track. The final drag race was held in 1977, and was won by Fritz Barels.

Stockcar tracks

1/4 mile track

A 1/4 mile asphalt stockcar track was constructed in 1966 after the drag racing didn't take off nationally. A group of modified drivers came in from nearby dirt track Wilmot Speedway in

Wilmot, Wisconsin Wilmot (also Gilead) is a residential and business community in the village of Salem Lakes, Wisconsin, Salem Lakes in southwestern Kenosha County, Wisconsin, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the United States Census, 2010, 2010 ce ...

after a dispute with insurance. In 1974, Larry Ninneman, who went on to win the track championship at the

Slinger Super Speedway The Slinger Super Speedway (also known as Slinger Speedway) is a quarter-mile paved oval automobile race track with 33-degree banked corners located in Slinger, Wisconsin. The track is billed as the "World's Fastest Quarter Mile Oval." The curr ...

, was one of those drivers, and won 6 of 6 events entered. The corners had no banking, which permitted the drag strip to run through the center of the corner. The first modified race was won Pedro Roehl, and the first sportsman race was won by Dennis Burgan. The fast time in the modified cars was 17.58 seconds on the quarter mile. The track opened with a new grandstand for 10,000 fans and a new 300,000 watt lighting system. The modified cars later returned to Wilmot, and raced Saturday nights on the dirt at Wilmot and the asphalt at Lake Geneva on Sunday. Their ability to change setups gained widespread popularity that allowed the outlaw winged

sprint cars Sprint cars are open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval, circular dirt or paved tracks. Historically known simply as "big cars," distinguishing them from "midget cars," sprint car racing is popular primari ...

to race in several states. Modified cars raced three nights per week, and

late models 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 ...

were added to Saturday night programs.

1/3 mile track

The Dawson family purchased the property in 1985. Kevin and Marylynn Dawson immediately began working to update the entire facility, and eventually reconfigured the racing surface to a 1/3 mile progressively banked stockcar track after the 1989 season. The first event featured modified stockcars,

midget cars Midget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small, with a very high power-to-weight ratio, and typically use four-cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on most ...

, and

lawn mowers A lawn mower (also known as a grass cutter or simply mower, also often spelled lawnmower) is a device utilizing one or more revolving blades (or a reel) to cut a grass surface to an even height. The height of the cut grass may be fixed by the ...

Special stockcar events

The track held an annual October Classic, which frequently featured over 300 entries. The Classic was headlined by the "Small car World Championship". LGR hosted numerous touring series, including annual Mid-American stockcars, and nine

ARTGO The ARTGO Challenge Series was a late model short track racing series that ran in the Midwestern United States from 1975 until 1998. Many race car drivers used the ARTGO series as a stepping stone to get into ASA, ARCA, and NASCAR. Art Frigo cr ...

Super Late ModelsRacing Online December 1997 report on 1998 schedule
/ref> /

NASCAR Midwest Series The ARTGO Challenge Series was a late model short track racing series that ran in the Midwestern United States from 1975 until 1998. Many race car drivers used the ARTGO series as a stepping stone to get into ASA, ARCA, and NASCAR. Art Frigo cr ...

races between 1998 and 2005.

Special sports car event

On Oct. 12-13, 1974, LGR was the site of the second-ever

Sports Car Club of America The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting Autocross, Rallycross, HPDE, Time Trial, Road Racing, RoadRally, and Hill Climbs in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs ...

Solo National Championships (then also called Solo II), an

autocross Autocross is a form of motorsport in which competitors are timed to complete a short course using automobiles on a dirt or grass surface, excepting where sealed surfaces are used in United States. Rules vary according to the governing or sanctioni ...

event put on by the Chicago Region of the SCCA. 249 drivers competed in 15 classes over a serpentine course that utilized both the oval and the dragstrip. Fast time of the event was turned in by Gary Lownsdale who won A Modified in a

Lotus Elan Lotus Elan is the name of two separate ranges of automobiles produced by Lotus Cars. The first series of cars was produced between 1962 and 1975 as a rear-wheel drive vehicle. The second series was produced between 1989 and 1995 as a front-wheel ...

S2 with a best run of 52.736 seconds.

Final stockcar event

The final official stockcar event was held on October 1, 2006, with 275 cars competing. The event began with Hoosier Outlaw Sprint Series driver

Tim Cox Abram Cox (aka Tim Cox and T. Abram Cox) is a film director, director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer known for writing, directing and producing episodes of the Netflix original series ''Black Summer (TV series), Black Summer'', which ...

setting the all-time track record with a lap time of 14.186 seconds, and winning the "quest to set the ultimate lap." The final stockcar event was a 75 lap Super Late Model event. The event featured former

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 ...

Winston Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

and

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

driver and former track regular

Rich Bickle Richard Allen Bickle Jr. (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. Now retired from NASCAR racing, Bickle, who never completed a full season in the NASCAR Cup Series, had a long history in Short track motor r ...

starting at the pole. Bickle raced at the track in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. Bickle led the feature from start to finish to win the final stockcar feature. A few minor events took place before the land was sold.

Motocross track

The track hosted 125cc and 250cc motorcycle motocross events. The final 2006 season also included four-wheelers (quads). The 2006 season was extended several times, with the final races being held on October 21, 2006.

Off-road track

The track hosted numerous SODA

events.Announcement of upcoming SODA event at LGR in 1997
The May 1997 event was broadcast on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...

, and

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. Johnson has won seven Cup ch ...

beat

Brendan Gaughan William Brendan Gaughan (born July 10, 1975) is an American former professional racing driver who has competed in off-road racing, off-road and stock car racing, stock cars. He is the grandson of Las Vegas Valley, Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaug ...

in one of the televised events. Other off-road drivers to compete at the track include:

Walker Evans Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist best known for his work for the Resettlement Administration and the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great ...

, Evan Evans, Johnny Greaves, and Jack Flannery."Douglas scores double win at Lake Geneva Race"
(July 1997 race report), dated July 13, 1997, Retrieved January 13, 2007

Notable weekly stockcar drivers

Bay Darnell Wilbur Darnell (February 4, 1931 – February 28, 2023) was an American racing driver from Lake Bluff, Illinois. He raced mainly in USAC Stock Cars, but he did have a few Indy Car and NASCAR Grand National Series starts. His grandson Erik Darne ...

Erik Darnell Erik Louis Darnell (born December 2, 1982) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is the grandson of former United States Automobile Club, USAC and NASCAR driver Bay Darnell, who also started three NASCAR races (including one for ...

Alan Kulwicki Alan Dennis Kulwicki (December 14, 1954 – April 1, 1993), nicknamed "Special K" and "the Polish Prince", was an American auto racing driver and team owner. He started racing at local Short track motor racing, short tracks in Wisconsin bef ...

Dick Trickle Richard Leroy Trickle (October 27, 1941 – May 16, 2013) was an American race car driver. He raced for decades around the short tracks of Wisconsin, winning many championships along the way. Trickle competed in the ASA, ARTGO, ARCA, All ...

Dave Watson David Watson (born 20 November 1961) is an English football manager and former professional player. As a player, he was a centre-back from 1980 to 2001. He played his entire career for Norwich City and Everton. With the Toffees he played in ...

(1976 track champion) * Don Church Junor

Images

File:Lake Geneva Raceway Panorama March 2013.jpg, Pits were on the left, track/grandstand on the right File:Lake Geneva Raceway Barn March 2013.jpg, Barn with bar inside

References

External links

Lake Geneva Raceway race results
at Racing-Reference * {{coord, 42.577354, -88.406115, display=t, type:landmark 1963 establishments in Wisconsin 2006 disestablishments in Wisconsin Motorsport venues in Wisconsin NASCAR tracks Buildings and structures in Walworth County, Wisconsin Defunct motorsport venues in the United States Off-road racing venues in the United States Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Sports in the Milwaukee metropolitan area