Mobile International Speedway is a paved

oval track 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 univ ...

along

U.S. Highway 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. It generally travels near Int ...

in Irvington,

Mobile County Mobile County ( ) is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is the third-most populous county in the state after Jefferson and Madison counties. As of the 2020 census, its population was 414,809. Its co ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was built by Walter "Skip" Wetjen, and opened in 1965.

History

During the golden age of

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

, the track held races with the likes of Gene Tapia, Wayne Niedecken Sr., Phil Wendt, and other

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 ...

drivers. Longtime stock car driver Red Farmer won his 500th feature race at the track. From 1966 to 1968 the track hosted open-wheel racing and held the annual World 300 race for

Supermodified racing Supermodifieds are a class of open wheel race car that compete on paved short tracks throughout North America. The class was founded in the 1950s and is especially popular in the Western, Northeast, and Great Lakes regions. Supermodifieds have ...

, which attracted competitors that included notable drivers such as

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 ...

, Dale Hammac and Armond Holley. In the 1980s, the track hosted races sanctioned by All Pro Stock, ASA, NASCAR Grand American, NASCAR All-American Challenge Series, and NASCAR All Pro Stock Car. They included drivers

Donnie Allison Donnie Allison (born September 7, 1939) is an American former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned from 1966 to 1988. He is part of the " Alabama Gang", and is the br ...

Rusty Wallace Russell "Rusty" William Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series NASCAR Rookie of the Year, Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup ...

, Dave Mader III, Ronnie Sanders, Mike Cope, Freddy Fryar, Junior Niedecken,

Jody Ridley Murphy Jody Ridley (born May 19, 1942) is a former NASCAR driver. He won the 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award and one race at Dover International Speedway the next year, the only Cup victory for Donlavey Racing. His career sta ...

and others. More recently, the track has been home to a number of rising

and ARCA drivers including Rick Crawford, Kevin Swindell (a development driver for

Ray Evernham Raymond Donald Evernham Jr. (born August 26, 1957) is an American consultant for Rick Hendrick, Hendrick Companies, formerly an auto racing crew chief for Bill Davis Racing and Hendrick Motorsports, owner of his own team Evernham Motorsports fr ...

Bubba Pollard Andrew "Bubba" Pollard (born March 16, 1987) is an American stock car racing driver. He currently competes in super late model racing, driving the No. 26 Ford for his own team. He has previously competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the ARCA R ...

(of Roush Racing: Driver X),

Cale Gale Cale Kelly Gale (born March 5, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and crew chief. He is named after other accomplished racer Cale Yarborough. Karting Gale's racing career began when his father placed him on a Kart racing, g ...

and

Grant Enfinger Grant McArthur Enfinger (born January 22, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Silverado#Fourth-generation Silverado / fifth-generation S ...

. Kevin Swindell holds the all-time track record. The

ARCA Racing Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American 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 the three nationa ...

held the ARCA Mobile 200 at the track from 2012 to 2015, all of them won by local drivers: 1 win for Cale Gale and 3 for Enfinger. The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East held the Mobile 150 there in 2016. Also, the NASCAR Southeast Series hosted 9 races at Mobile International Speedway, between 1991 and 2001. The CARS Hooters Pro Cup Series also had run three races at the facility, between 1998 and 1999.

Film and television

Opening scenes from the 2009 film ''

The Final Destination ''The Final Destination'' is a 2009 American 3D supernatural horror film directed by David R. Ellis and written by Eric Bress. It is a standalone sequel to '' Final Destination 3'' (2006) and the fourth installment in the ''Final Destinati ...

'' were shot at the track.See, Starling, Bill, The Final Destination shoot scenes at Mobile International Speedway, ''Mobile Register'', August 27, 2009, found online at http://photos.al.com/mobile-press-register/2009/08/final_destination_4_shoot_scen_9.html

Notes

External links

Official Speedway WebsiteMobile International Speedway archive
at Racing-Reference {{CARS Pro Cup racetracks NASCAR tracks ARCA Menards Series tracks Motorsport venues in Alabama Sports venues in Mobile, Alabama Tourist attractions in Mobile County, Alabama Sports venues completed in 1965 1965 establishments in Alabama