Portland Speedway
LocationPortland, Oregon, U.S.
Opened1924
Closed2001
Major eventsNASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
NASCAR Winston West Series
World of Outlaws
Oval
SurfaceClay (1924–1946; 2000–2001)
Asphalt (1946–2000)
Length1/2 and 1/4 miles (0.8 km)
Turns4

Portland Speedway was a half-mile race track for auto racing in Portland, Oregon, U.S. It was in existence from 1924 until 2001.

History

The track began as a five-eighths-mile (one km) clay oval in 1924 on the site of a field in north Portland. The track hosted big cars, midget cars, and stock cars before the suspension of racing during World War II.[1]

The track was paved in 1946 as a half-mile oval. NASCAR sanctioning came to Portland after Western Speedways, Inc. leased the track in 1984. It hosted four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races from 1995 to 1998.[2] Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday Jr. won at Portland during their championship seasons, 1995 and 1996 respectively.[2] Rich Bickle and Stacy Compton won the final two events there.[2]

The NASCAR Winston West Series ran 36 Portland races between 1971 and 2000 with Hershel McGriff winning a series high five times.[2] Other notable winners included future NASCAR Winston Cup champion Bobby Allison, 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope, and NASCAR drivers Chad Little, Greg Biffle, and Ken Schrader.[2] 1994 Portland winner Rick Carelli competed in all four Portland Craftsman Truck Series races, with three top tens and a best finish of third in 1998.[3]

The track held a total of seven NASCAR Cup Series races during the 1956 and 1957 seasons.[4]

Between 1956 and 2000, the track held many NASCAR West Series races.[4]

The last race on the pavement surface was on July 30, 2000.[1] The track was converted to a clay surface and hosted the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars in 2000 and 2001.[5][6]

References

  1. 1 2 White, Will. "Portland Speedway". Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Boodman, Alan. "Race Results at Portland Speedway — Racing-Reference.info". Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  3. ↑ Boodman, Alan. "Rick Carelli's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results at Portland Speedway — Racing-Reference.info". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Portland Speedway". www.racing-reference.info. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  5. ↑ Harms, Phil. "2000 Pennzoil World Of Outlaws Sprint Car Series" (PDF). Motorsport.com. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  6. ↑ Harms, Phil. "2001 Pennzoil World Of Outlaws Sprint Car Series" (PDF). Motorsport.com. Retrieved 16 November 2010.

45°35′37″N 122°40′11″W / 45.59361°N 122.66972°W / 45.59361; -122.66972

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