Hickory Motor Speedway

Address: 3130 Highway 70 South East Newton, North Carolina

USAR Hooters PROCUP Series

35.695833333333 - 81.269444444444Koordinaten: 35 ° 41 ' 45 "N, 81 ° 16' 10" W

The Hickory Motor Speedway is a short track race track in Hickory, North Carolina. It is one of the most famous race tracks for touring car racing and is often referred to as "The World's Most Famous Short Track " and " Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars".

History

The circuit was opened in June 1951. At that time, it was a dirt track, a so-called dirt track on loose ground. The lap length was half a mile or approximately 800 m. The first race on the course won Gwyn Staley, who also distance champion was in the course of the year. Also master of the track were Junior Johnson, Ned Jarrett and Ralph Earnhardt in the 1950s. Alone Earnhardt won the title five times.

In 1953, our first race of the Grand National Series of NASCAR was held in Hickory. First winner was Tim Flock. Junior Johnson, who in 1952 won the track championship in Hickory, the most successful NASCAR drivers should be on this course. He won seven races in Hickory in the Grand National Series.

In 1955, the Hickory Motor Speedway was reconfigured and the lap length was then 0.4 miles or 0.64 kilometers. 1967, the loose surface has been replaced by a road made ​​of asphalt and 1970, followed by a further shortening of the course at a length of 0.363 miles or 0.584 km.

After the 1972 season, Hickory was deleted from the racing calendar of the Grand Nation Series, as the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, the main sponsor of the series was, which was held from 1972 below the name of Winston Cup. Connected with the sponsorship was that all races with a race distance of less than 250 miles from the calendar have been deleted. NASCAR stayed the course nonetheless loyal and organized races in the Late Model Sportsman Series in Hickory. After the conversion of the series in the Budweiser Late Model Series in 1982, the Hickory Motor Speedway played an important role in the first season of the new series: Six of the 28 races were held in Hickory. Among the most successful driving the train on this course include Jack Ingram and Tommy Houston, who both won eight times.

After the racing series on other race tracks became widespread, the number went to the annual race back to two in 1987. In 1995, a race in the meantime Busch Grand National Series denominated race series took place just yet. In 1998, when the races were also increasingly moved to the lines of Winston Cup, the Hickory Motor Speedway was canceled after 17 years in the racing calendar.

If none of the top divisions drive more on the Hickory Motor Speedway, NASCAR held so still races on the circuit with the Whelen All- American Series. Also on the program is a race of the USAR Hooters Pro Cup.

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