Concord Speedway is a motorsports facility located in the town of Midland, North Carolina

Midland, North Carolina

Midland is a town in southern Cabarrus County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it lies in the region known as the Piedmont. The name of the town is derived from its location approximately one-half way between Charlotte and Oakboro on the...

, southeast of Concord, North Carolina

Concord, North Carolina

Concord is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. According to Census 2010, the city has a current population of 79,066. It is the largest city in Cabarrus County and is the county seat. In terms of population, the city of Concord is the second largest city in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area...

. The track held twelve NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Grand National (now Sprint Cup Series) events between 1956 and 1964.

History

The current track was built by race promoter Henry Furr. Originally a four-tenths of a mile oval dirt-track, Furr reconfigured the track adding a true dog-leg to the back stretch. The track now has three unique turns. Pit road entrance is located in the tri-oval prior to turn three. The track had seating for over 12,000 fans prior to a recent downsizing that saw the turn one grandstands converted to a dirt berm.

The track has hosted the Big 10 series in two different stints. Most recently Super Late Models

Late model

A "late model car" is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. The term is broadly used in car racing, and often appears in common use, as in "The officer was driving an unmarked, late model sedan."There is no precise...

 competed in the series from 2003-2005. Freddie Query

Freddie Query

Freddie Query is a former late model dirt track racing driver from Mooresville, North Carolina. He raced in the southeastern United States, primarily in North Carolina during the 80s and 90s. He raced in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southeast Series. Query won the 1998 Slim Jim All Pro...

 is the track's all-time leader in wins and claimed the Big 10 series championship in 2004 and 2005.

The track also hosts the USARacing series annually and hosted an ASA event.

Notable competitors

Winners and competitors at the track include Freddy Query, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jack Sprague

Jack Sprague

Jack Sprague is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver. He is currently a free agent. Sprague has finished in the top-ten in the points standings almost every year he has raced in the trucks, and won three championships in 1997, 1999, and 2001 while driving for Hendrick Motorsports.-...

, Ernie Irvan

Ernie Irvan

Virgil Earnest Irvan, more commonly known as Ernie Irvan is a former race driver in NASCAR. He is best remembered for his comeback after a serious head injury at Michigan International Speedway which earned him numerous awards and respect from his fellow drivers...

, Justin Labonte

Justin Labonte

Justin Labonte is a former NASCAR Busch Series driver. He is the son of NASCAR driver Terry Labonte, and the nephew of Bobby Labonte. He currently does not have a ride in the Nationwide Series, and is rumored to be racing late models on North Carolina short tracks...

, Clay Rogers

Clay Rogers

Clayton Rogers is an American stock car driver. He has competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series, and is the 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2010 champion in the USARacing Pro Cup Series series...

, Bobby Gill

Bobby Gill

Bobby Gill is a former NASCAR driver. He raced for a number of years in the Craftsman Truck Series, earning four top-tens in sixteen starts.Most of the starts came in 1996, when he started off with Spears Motorsports. In his debut with the team, he started 15th and finished 23rd at Homestead-Miami...

, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Ralph Earnhardt, Brian Love

Brian Love

Brian Love is an African American actor, singer, and martial artist. Originally from Lorain, Ohio he currently resides in both Miami, Florida and New York City...

 and Jeff Melton.

Statistics

The park consists of two tracks: a 1/2 mile tri-oval and a 1/4 mile oval. The tri-oval seats 8,500 fans with room for 28 RVs

Recreational vehicle

Recreational vehicle or RV is, in North America, the usual term for a Motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home.-Features:...

, while the 1/4 mile track seats 2,050. Additionally, the track has several air conditioned suites located behind the main grandstand.

Concord is home to several racing series, including the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series

Whelen All-American Series

The Whelen All-American Series is a points championship for NASCAR sanctioned local racetracks around the United States and Canada....

 and the USARacing Series.

The track is active as a site for the filming of several television commercials, television shows, and music videos.

Grand National

NASCAR held 12 Grand National (now Sprint Cup Series) races on the dirt half mile

• 1956 Speedy Thompson
  Speedy Thompson
  Alfred Bruce "Speedy" Thompson was a NASCAR pioneer and driver in the Grand National series from 1950 to 1971; capturing 20 wins along the way.-Racing career:...
  
  
• 1957 (race 2) Marvin Panch
  Marvin Panch
  Marvin Panch Marvin Panch Marvin Panch (born May 28, 1926, in Menomonie, Wisconsin, is a former NASCAR driver.-Early career:He started his racing career as a car owner in Oakland, California. One week, his driver did not show up, and he raced the car to a third place finish...
  
  
• 1957 (race 5) Jack Smith
• 1957 (race 51) Fireball Roberts
  Fireball Roberts
  Edward Glenn Roberts, Jr. , nicknamed "Fireball", was one of the pioneering race car drivers of NASCAR.-Background:...
  
  
• 1958 Lee Petty
  Lee Petty
  Lee Arnold Petty was an American stock car driver in the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR, and one of its first superstars. He was born near Randleman, North Carolina.-Career:...
  
  
• 1959 (race 5) Curtis Turner
  Curtis Turner
  Curtis Turner was an early NASCAR driver. In addition to his success in racing, he made a fortune, lost it, and remade it buying and selling timberlands. Throughout his life he developed a reputation for drinking and partying...
  
  
• 1959 (race 44) Jack Smith
• 1962 (race 1) Jack Smith
• 1962 (race 6) Joe Weatherly
  Joe Weatherly
  Joseph "Joe" Weatherly was a two-time NASCAR championship driver. Weatherly was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009 after winning NASCAR's Grand National championships in 1962 and 1963, three A.M.A...
  
  
• 1962 (race 20) Joe Weatherly
  Joe Weatherly
  Joseph "Joe" Weatherly was a two-time NASCAR championship driver. Weatherly was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009 after winning NASCAR's Grand National championships in 1962 and 1963, three A.M.A...
  
  
• 1964 (race 1) Ned Jarrett
  Ned Jarrett
  Ned Jarrett is a retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR champion.Jarrett was best known for his calm demeanor, and he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett", yet he was an intense competitor when he put his two hands on the steering wheel of a NASCAR Grand National stock car...
  
  
• 1964 (race 29) Richard Petty
  Richard Petty
  Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
  
  

Whelen Southern Modified Tour

NASCAR held one Whelen Southern Modified Tour

Whelen Southern Modified Tour

The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour is a stock car racing series owned by NASCAR and operated in the Southeastern United States as part of its Modified Division...

 race on the paved half mile,

• 2009 Ted Christopher
  Ted Christopher
  Ted Christopher , from Plainville, CT is an American racing driver who has raced and won in many different types of race cars, including Modifieds, SK Modifieds, Camping World East Series, Late Models, Pro Stocks, Midgets, and Supermodifieds. He has also raced in NASCAR's Sprint Cup, Nationwide...
  
  

Convertible Series

NASCAR held one Convertible Series race on the dirt half mile

• 1957 Curtis Turner
  Curtis Turner
  Curtis Turner was an early NASCAR driver. In addition to his success in racing, he made a fortune, lost it, and remade it buying and selling timberlands. Throughout his life he developed a reputation for drinking and partying...
  
  

1/2 Mile NASCAR Whelen All-American Series

Whelen All-American Series

The Whelen All-American Series is a points championship for NASCAR sanctioned local racetracks around the United States and Canada....

 divisions

• Late Model Stock Cars
• Pure Stocks
• Tim Marburger Honda
  Honda
  is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
  
   Fast & Furious Fours
• Town & County Ford Kimmel Street Stocks
• Vintage Sportsman

1/4 Mile Weekly divisions

• Bandoleros
  Bandolero racing
  Bandolero car racing is a type of entry-level racing in the United States. Many bandolero car drivers move into Legends racing. Cars can reach in excess of 70 mph, but do not accelerate very quickly. The cars are built like miniature stock cars, with a tube frame and sheet metal cage. Drivers...
  
   – (Beginners Bandits/Bandits/Outlaws)
• Legends Cars – (Young Lions/Semi-Pro/Pro/Masters)
• Thunder Cars
• Arena Cars
  Arena Racing USA
  Arena Racing USA is a motorsports series founded by former NASCAR chassis builder Ricky Dennis, son of 1970 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, Bill Dennis.-Details:...
  
  

1/4 Mile USAC MidWeek Mayhem divisions

• USAC Ford Focus Midgets
• USAC Jr. Ford Focus Midgets

External links

• Official Website