Selinsgrove Speedway (nicknamed The Fastest Half-Mile on The East Coast, Auto Racing's Showcase since 1946) is a high-banked clay dirt oval south of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
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History

Selinsgrove Speedway was built in 1945 under the supervision of

Joie Chitwood George Rice Chitwood (April 14, 1912 – January 3, 1988), nicknamed "Joie", was an American racecar driver and businessman. He is best known as a daredevil in the Joie Chitwood Thrill Show. Background Chitwood was born in Denison, Texas; he was ...

, a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

stunt man and race car driver from

Denison, Texas Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. It is south of the Texas–Oklahoma border. The population was 22,682 at the 2010 census. Denison is part of the Texoma region and is one of two principal cities in the Sherman–Denis ...

. The land had previously been a

family farm A family farm is generally understood to be a farm owned and/or operated by a family; it is sometimes considered to be an Estate (land), estate passed down by inheritance. Although a recurring conceptual model, conceptual and archetype, archet ...

owned by the Allison and Davis families of Snyder County. They sold it to the Dauntless Hook and Ladder

Volunteer Fire Department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond ...

of Selinsgrove in 1941 as a permanent home for the fire company's annual

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival ...

. The first race was held on July 20, 1946, as an

American Automobile Association American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...

-sanctioned event promoted by Sam Nunis. The winner was

Bill Holland Willard Holland (December 18, 1907 – May 19, 1984)) was an American race car driver from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1949 and finished second in 1947, 1948 and 1950. He also was runner up in the 1947 American ...

, who would go on to win the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of India ...

in 1949. Placing second was Red Byron, who won the first

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. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

-sanctioned race ever, held on February 15, 1948, at the

Daytona Beach Road Course The Daytona Beach and Road Course was a race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. It originally became famous as the location where 15 world land speed records were set. Beach and r ...

and would go on to become the first champion of the NASCAR's Strictly Stock division, now known as the

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

. The

grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap al ...

at Selinsgrove Speedway was constructed in 1948. Still standing as of 2022, the grandstands were built from 175,000

board feet The board foot or board-foot is a unit of measurement for the volume of lumber in the United States and Canada. It equals the volume of a length of a board, one foot wide and thick. Board foot can be abbreviated as FBM (for "foot, board measure" ...

(400 m³) of

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

with a capacity of 5,500 spectators. Lights for night racing were added in 1953 with the first night race held on June 19, 1953. Selinsgrove Speedway began hosting weekly events in 1950, under the promotion of George "Buster" Keller. Weekly racing continued until 1959, when the action at the track slowed to occasional races. In 1963, weekly racing resumed once again.

Chris Economaki Christopher Constantine Economaki (October 15, 1920 – September 28, 2012) was an American motorsports commentator, pit road reporter, and journalist. Economaki was given the title "The Dean of American Motorsports Journalism."

, a pioneer of

motorsports Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

writing, served as the track announcer during the early 1950s. The track continued to expand its operation over the years and was managed by several promoters including Hall of Fame promoter Jack Gunn(ne John Gunnels), and from 2001 thru 2015 Charlie Paige who directed vast improvements and expansion at Selinsgrove Speedway. New concession stands were built along with new restrooms and V.I.P. facilities. The smaller Selinsgrove Raceway Park was built in the infield in 2001 and the backstretch and turns 1 and 3 were widened in 2006. As of 2020 the property is still owned by the Selinsgrove Fair Association with racing conducted under the Speedway Management Group banner. Businessman and sprint car owner Michael Heffner and Alan Kreitzer, a long time promoter at Silver Springs Speedway, Lincoln Speedway and Williamsgrove Speedway, head SMG with Steve Inch serving as General Manager With the advent of larger race car haulers, the pit area, formerly located in the infield, was moved to the outside of turn 4 for the 2018 season, improving the view of the track for spectators. In 2020, the

United States Auto Club The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapo ...

held its first Silvercrown race at the track. It was named the Bill Holland Classic after the track's first winner and it was 74 laps in length as it was the 74th anniversary since his win.

Selinsgrove Open

The track started the

sprint car racing Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, Ne ...

special event in 1983. The event was won by 1984 track champion

Maynard Yingst Maynard K. Yingst (October 10, 1949 – March 6, 1993) was an American racer and pit stop, crew chief from Linglestown, Pennsylvania. He quit his sprint car racing career to become the crew chief for Bruce Larson (racing driver), Bruce Larson's ...

. Yingst won the event in 1984 and 1985 before becoming the national championship winning

Funny Car Funny Car is a type of drag racing vehicle and a specific racing class in organized drag racing. Funny cars are characterized by having tilt-up fiberglass or carbon fiber automotive bodies over a custom-fabricated chassis, giving them an appe ...

crew chief for 1989

NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...

driver

Bruce Larson Bruce Larson (1937) is an American retired drag racer from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. He became nationally known for his match races. He quit funny Car racing in 1972 after a bad fire and raced in the Pro Stock class for 2 years. He then returned ...

. Several national sprint car drivers have won the event, including

Dave Blaney David Louis Blaney (born October 24, 1962) is a semi-retired American professional stock car racing driver. Blaney was a successful sprint car driver before he started racing in NASCAR, competing in both the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Seri ...

, Sammy Swindell, and Greg Hodnett. *1983 -

*1984 - Maynard Yingst *1985 - Maynard Yingst *1986 - Don Kreitz, Jr. *1987 -

*1988 - Keith Kauffman *1989 - Doug Wolfgang *1990 - Sammy Swindell *1991 - Johnny Mackison *1992 - Don Kreitz, Jr. *1993 - Todd Shaffer *1994 - Todd Shaffer *1995 - Fred Rahmer *1996 - Fred Rahmer *1997 - Fred Rahmer *1998 - Greg Hodnett *1999 - Fred Rahmer *2000 - Fred Rahmer *2001 - Todd Shaffer *2002 - Lance Dewease *2003 - Stevie Smith *2004 - Greg Hodnett *2005 - Lucas Wolfe *2006 - Chad Layton *2007 - Greg Hodnett *2008 - Todd Shaffer *2009 - Lance Dewease *2010 - Lance Dewease *2011 - Pat Cannon *2012 - Pat Cannon *2013 - Pat Cannon *2014 - Greg Hodnett *2015 - Danny Dietrich *2016 - Lucas Wolfe *2017 - Brian Brown *2018 - Ryan Smith *2019 - Logan Wagner

Racing Series

The following racing series have run events at Selinsgrove Speedway since 1946. * The All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) *

(AAA) Sprints * American Racing Club (ARC) Midgets * American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) Midgets * American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) *

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. The current president of ARCA is Ron Drager, who took over the position in 1996 following the death of Bob Lo ...

(ARCA) Stock Cars * Central States Racing Association Midgets * Empire State Sprints, Empire Super Sprints (ESS) * Modcar Modifieds * National Auto Racing Association (NARA) Sprints *

National Sprint Tour The National Sprint Tour was a United States sprint car racing league. It formed in 2005 as a rival to the World of Outlaws. The series folded after one season. The series was started by Brownfield Promotions, Inc. of Snohomish, Washington. Th ...

(NST) * PASS/IMCA 305 Sprint Cars * Patriot Sprint Tour (PST) * Penn-Jersey Sprint Association * Penn-Mar Racing Association Stock Cars * Pennsylvania Speedweek * Race of Champions Modifieds (RoC) * SCODA Sports Stock Cars * Super Midget Racing Club (SMRC) * Super Sportsman * Tri County Stockcars * United Racing Club (URC) Limited Sprints * United Sprint Association * USAC National Midgets * USAC Silver Crown *

World of Outlaws The World of Outlaws (often abbreviated WoO) is an American motorsports sanctioning body. The body sanctions two major national touring series. It is best known for sanctioning the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws La ...

References

{{World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series race venues Buildings and structures in Snyder County, Pennsylvania Dirt oval race tracks in the United States Motorsport venues in Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Snyder County, Pennsylvania