Memphis Motorsports Park
Encyclopedia
Memphis International Raceway (formerly known as Memphis Motorsports Park) is an auto racing
park located across the Loosahatchie River
from Memphis, Tennessee
, approximately ten miles south of Millington, Tennessee
. The facility opened in 1987 with a drag strip and 1.8-mile (2.9 km) road course. It includes a 3/4-mile tri-oval short track
, built in 1998, which once hosted the NASCAR
Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series, as well as an ASA Late Model Series
race. The 4400 feet (1,341.1 m) drag strip used to host such events as National Hot Rod Association
, American Drag Racing League, AMA Dragbike Championship Series, and the Super Chevy Show. An IHRA
Nitro Jam event has been scheduled to be hosted at Memphis in 2011.
The entire facility was purchased by the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach in 1996, and in 1997, a ¾-mile paved tri-oval was added on the site of the old dirt track, while a new dirt track was built on the site of the former go-kart track. The name of the facility was also changed-to Memphis Motorsports Park-and the tri-oval opened on June 5, 1998.
The following month, Memphis Motorsports Park was acquired by Dover Motorsports, Inc. in connection with its purchase of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. Memphis Motorsports Park closed October 30, 2009 due to lack of finances. Its parent company, Dover Motorsports, Inc. announced that it was ceasing all operations at Memphis Motorsports Park and that it would not be promoting any events in Memphis in 2010. The Memphis facility was under an agreement of sale to Gulf Coast Entertainment but Gulf Coast was unable to secure financing. The track's Camping World Truck Series date was moved to Nashville Superspeedway
and its Nationwide Series date to Gateway International Raceway
, and later abandoned after a year. Dover Motorsports, Inc. auctioned off the complex on December 14, 2010 to Palm Beach International Raceway
for $1.9 million.
It was announced on January 31, 2011 that the deal between Palm Beach International and Dover Motorsports was finalized, and the track is expected to re-open in April. The track was also renamed to Memphis International Raceway, and a new logo was created to reflected the change which adopted a similar theme with its sister track in Palm Beach. The track became sanctioned with IHRA, which is expected to hold an IHRA Nitro Jam event in 2011.
The strip will host IHRA events with its new owner, including a Nitro Jam event, as their sister track in Palm Beach is also affiliated with IHRA. Dates for the 2011 IHRA events have yet to be announced. The American Drag Racing League announced, on March 3, 2011, that they will hold an event during the weekend of May 20, 2011 at MIR.
which gave Hornaday the edge on the restart to beat Brian Scott. On October 24, 2009, Brad Keselowski won the race at the oval by holding off Kyle Busch to the finish line on the 11th and final annual racing event, for both the Nationwide Series and the oval, as the track would not carry any racing events in 2010, when Dover Motorsports, Inc. announced the closure of Memphis Motorsports Park, a week after that race.
With the removal of Lucas Oil Raceway from the Camping World Truck Series calendar, Memphis Raceway is expected to consider bidding for that Truck date for 2012.
*Top Fuel and Funny Car based on 1,000 feet records under the new NHRA regulations. Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle are still 1,320 feet.
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
park located across the Loosahatchie River
Loosahatchie River
The Loosahatchie River is a stream in southwestern Tennessee. Except for a few miles near its head, its mouth, and near the middle of its length, it has been entirely channelized, as have its major tributaries, for agriculture purposes...
from Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, approximately ten miles south of Millington, Tennessee
Millington, Tennessee
Millington is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 10,176. Millington was the home of the recently closed Memphis Motorsports Park. It was granted the title "Flag City Tennessee" by the Tennessee State Legislature. The Naval Support Activity Mid-South is...
. The facility opened in 1987 with a drag strip and 1.8-mile (2.9 km) road course. It includes a 3/4-mile tri-oval short track
Short track motor racing
In North American auto racing, particularly with regard to NASCAR, a short track is a racetrack of less than one mile in length. Short track racing, often associated with fairgrounds and similar venues, is where stock car racing first got off the back roads and into organized and regulated...
, built in 1998, which once hosted the 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...
Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series, as well as an ASA Late Model Series
ASA Late Model Series
ASA Late Model Series is a nationally touring American stock car racing series. Founded by Ron Varney in 2003 as the "USPRO Cup Series" , it was renamed "ASA Late Model Series in when it was purchased by the American Speed Association in 2004...
race. The 4400 feet (1,341.1 m) drag strip used to host such events as National Hot Rod Association
National Hot Rod Association
The National Hot Rod Association is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and host events all over the United States and Canada...
, American Drag Racing League, AMA Dragbike Championship Series, and the Super Chevy Show. An IHRA
International Hot Rod Association
The International Hot Rod Association, also known as IHRA, is the 2nd largest drag racing sanctioning body after the NHRA.-The Carrier Era:The IHRA was formed in November 1970 by businessman Larry Carrier. Throughout this period the organization was operated primarily in the south-eastern United...
Nitro Jam event has been scheduled to be hosted at Memphis in 2011.
History
Memphis International Raceway was founded in 1986 by Ed Gatlin who, along with a group of investors, bought a 400-acre tract of land in northeast Shelby County, Tenn., and built a drag strip with an adjacent road course, a dirt track and go-kart track.The entire facility was purchased by the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach in 1996, and in 1997, a ¾-mile paved tri-oval was added on the site of the old dirt track, while a new dirt track was built on the site of the former go-kart track. The name of the facility was also changed-to Memphis Motorsports Park-and the tri-oval opened on June 5, 1998.
The following month, Memphis Motorsports Park was acquired by Dover Motorsports, Inc. in connection with its purchase of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. Memphis Motorsports Park closed October 30, 2009 due to lack of finances. Its parent company, Dover Motorsports, Inc. announced that it was ceasing all operations at Memphis Motorsports Park and that it would not be promoting any events in Memphis in 2010. The Memphis facility was under an agreement of sale to Gulf Coast Entertainment but Gulf Coast was unable to secure financing. The track's Camping World Truck Series date was moved to Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee , United States, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville. On August 2, 2011, it was announced that Nashville Superspeedway will not host any NASCAR events in 2012. It is a concrete oval track 1 1/3 miles in...
and its Nationwide Series date to Gateway International Raceway
Gateway International Raceway
Gateway Motorsports Park is a race track in Madison, Illinois, USA, just east of St. Louis, Missouri. After being shuttered by former owner Dover Motorsports Inc., on Nov. 3, 2010, it was announced Sept. 8, 2011, that the facility would re-open and host an NHRA Full Throttle Series event Oct. 5-7,...
, and later abandoned after a year. Dover Motorsports, Inc. auctioned off the complex on December 14, 2010 to Palm Beach International Raceway
Palm Beach International Raceway
Palm Beach International Raceway is a motorsports facility located west of Jupiter, Florida. It is currently awaiting an FIA Grade II Certification.-Early days:...
for $1.9 million.
It was announced on January 31, 2011 that the deal between Palm Beach International and Dover Motorsports was finalized, and the track is expected to re-open in April. The track was also renamed to Memphis International Raceway, and a new logo was created to reflected the change which adopted a similar theme with its sister track in Palm Beach. The track became sanctioned with IHRA, which is expected to hold an IHRA Nitro Jam event in 2011.
Drag Strip
The drag strip immediately drew the attention of the NHRA and was awarded a sanction in 1988 as the host site of the Mid-South Nationals. While the NHRA has 140 member tracks, Memphis was one of only 23 to host a national event. It also was the section of the complex used by other events such as the Mid-South SCCA events and the Super Chevy Show. The last NHRA race, O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals, at Memphis was to be hosted on October 4, 2009, but a rain delay postponed the event to October 5, 2009. In the winner's circle were Jeff Arend (Funny Car), Morgan Lucas (Top Fuel), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Michael Phillips (Pro Stock Motorcycle).The strip will host IHRA events with its new owner, including a Nitro Jam event, as their sister track in Palm Beach is also affiliated with IHRA. Dates for the 2011 IHRA events have yet to be announced. The American Drag Racing League announced, on March 3, 2011, that they will hold an event during the weekend of May 20, 2011 at MIR.
Paved Oval
On September 13, 1998, before a sold-out crowd and a national television audience, the facility hosted its first NASCAR event-the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Memphis 200. NASCAR returned every year since with two events—the Truck Series in the summer, and the Nationwide Series in the fall. Ron Hornaday took home his second consecutive Elvis trophy in the last MemphisTravel.com 200 Camping World Truck Series race held at the oval. A late caution forced a green-white-checkered finishGreen-white-checker finish
The green-white-checker finish is a rule implemented into many levels of automobile racing in the United States. When the race would otherwise end during a yellow-flag caution condition , this rule gives the field an attempt to finish the race under a green-flag, racing condition...
which gave Hornaday the edge on the restart to beat Brian Scott. On October 24, 2009, Brad Keselowski won the race at the oval by holding off Kyle Busch to the finish line on the 11th and final annual racing event, for both the Nationwide Series and the oval, as the track would not carry any racing events in 2010, when Dover Motorsports, Inc. announced the closure of Memphis Motorsports Park, a week after that race.
With the removal of Lucas Oil Raceway from the Camping World Truck Series calendar, Memphis Raceway is expected to consider bidding for that Truck date for 2012.
Records
| Series | Driver | Car | Date | Speed | Time | Layout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NASCAR Nationwide Qualifying | Jeff Green | Chevrolet Monte Carlo Chevrolet Monte Carlo The Chevrolet Monte Carlo was an American-made two-door coupe introduced for model year 1970, and manufactured over six generations through model year 2007. It was marketed as a personal-luxury coupe through most of its history, with the last model version being classified as a full-sized coupe... |
October 28, 2000 | 120.267 miles per hour (193.55 km/h) | 22.450 | NASCAR Oval |
| NASCAR Nationwide Race | Kevin Harvick Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick is an American stock car auto racing race car driver and car owner currently competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing, driving the No. 29 Budweiser/Jimmy John's/Rheem/Okuma/Realtree Outdoors/Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet Impala... |
Chevrolet Monte Carlo | October 28, 2000 | 92.352 miles per hour (148.63 km/h) | 2:01:49 | NASCAR Oval |
| NASCAR Camping World Qualifying | Greg Biffle Greg Biffle Gregory Jack "Greg" Biffle is a NASCAR driver who drives the #16 3M Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. After racing in the NASCAR Winter Heat Series in the mid-90s, he was recommended to Jack Roush by former announcer Benny Parsons... |
Ford F-150 | June 24, 1999 | 120.139 miles per hour (193.34 km/h) | NASCAR Oval | |
| NASCAR Camping World Race | Travis Kvapil Travis Kvapil Travis Kvapil is an American race car driver. He currently drives for Front Row Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.-Early career:... |
Ford F-150 | June 30, 2007 | 91.806 miles per hour (147.75 km/h) | NASCAR Oval | |
| NHRA Top Fuel ET* | Brandon Bernstein Brandon Bernstein Brandon Bernstein is and American Drag Racer, and son of NHRA Legend Kenny Bernstein.-Early life:Bernstein was born in Dallas, Texas on August 2, 1972 the son of 6 time NHRA Champion Kenny Bernstein. He worked on his dad's team when he was a teenager... |
Hemi Powered Top Fuel Top Fuel Top Fuel racing is a class of drag racing in which the cars are run on a mix of approximately 90% nitromethane and 10% methanol rather than gasoline or simply methanol. The cars are purpose-built for drag racing, with an exaggerated layout that in some ways resembles open-wheel circuit racing... |
September 2008 | 3.825 | Drag Strip | |
| NHRA Top Fuel MPH* | Brandon Bernstein Brandon Bernstein Brandon Bernstein is and American Drag Racer, and son of NHRA Legend Kenny Bernstein.-Early life:Bernstein was born in Dallas, Texas on August 2, 1972 the son of 6 time NHRA Champion Kenny Bernstein. He worked on his dad's team when he was a teenager... |
Hemi Powered Top Fuel Top Fuel Top Fuel racing is a class of drag racing in which the cars are run on a mix of approximately 90% nitromethane and 10% methanol rather than gasoline or simply methanol. The cars are purpose-built for drag racing, with an exaggerated layout that in some ways resembles open-wheel circuit racing... |
September 2008 | 313.88 miles per hour (505.14 km/h) | Drag Strip | |
| NHRA Funny Car ET* | Ashley Force Hood | Ford Mustang Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A... |
September 2008 | 4.079 | Drag Strip | |
| NHRA Funny Car MPH* | Melanie Troxel | Dodge Charger R/T Dodge Charger (LX) The Dodge Charger LX is a rear-wheel drive four-door automobile introduced in February 2005. Built by Chrysler for its North American Dodge brand, the car was created to continue the Dodge Charger line, and replaced the Dodge Intrepid as Dodge's full-size sedan... |
September 2008 | 302.28 miles per hour (486.47 km/h) | Drag Strip | |
| NHRA Pro Stock ET | Allen Johnson Allen Johnson Allen Kenneth Johnson is a retired hurdling athlete and won Olympic Gold in the 110 metre high hurdles at the 1996 games in Atlanta, Georgia.... |
Dodge Stratus R/T Dodge Stratus The Dodge Stratus was a mid-size 4-door sedan introduced in 1995. It was based on the Chrysler JA platform Cab forward . The Stratus, Breeze, and Cirrus were all on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1996 and 1997. It received critical acclaim at launch, but ratings fell over time... |
September 2008 | 6.591 | Drag Strip | |
| NHRA Pro Stock MPH | Greg Anderson Greg Anderson Greg Anderson may refer to:*Cadillac Anderson , Gregory Wayne "Cadillac" Anderson, basketball player*Greg Anderson , Canadian actor*Greg Anderson , NHRA pro stock drag racer... |
Pontiac GXP Pontiac G6 The Pontiac G6 was a mid-size car produced under the Pontiac brand of American automaker General Motors.It was introduced in the fall of 2004 to replace the Grand Am. The car was built on the GM Epsilon platform which it shared with the Chevrolet Malibu and Saab 9-3 along with other General Motors... |
September 2007 | 209.17 miles per hour (336.63 km/h) | Drag Strip | |
| NHRA Pro Stock Bike ET | Chip Ellis | Suzuki Pro Stock Bike | September 2007 | 6.892 | Drag Strip | |
| NHRA Pro Stock Bike MPH | Chip Ellis | Suzuki Pro Stock Bike | September 2007 | 193.21 miles per hour (310.94 km/h) | Drag Strip | |
Former
- Camping World Truck Series, MemphisTravel.com 200, 1998–2009
- Nationwide Series, Kroger On Track for the Cure 250, 1999–2009
- NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing SeriesNHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing SeriesThe NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is the top competition division of the NHRA. It consist of four classes, Top Fuel Dragster, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle.-History:...
1988–2009 - ASA Late Model SeriesASA Late Model SeriesASA Late Model Series is a nationally touring American stock car racing series. Founded by Ron Varney in 2003 as the "USPRO Cup Series" , it was renamed "ASA Late Model Series in when it was purchased by the American Speed Association in 2004...
?–2009 - AMA Dragbike ?–2009