I believe there is one in Illinois. Any others? The Model K held the 24 hour world record from June 1907 until September 1907 when Locomobile took the record. Ford averaged 47.2 mph and Locomobile eclipsed that mark by a few tenths, both on mile dirt tracks.

Someday, I'd like to take our K on a one mile flat dirt track, and see how difficult it is to average 47 miles per hour for a few laps. These tracks were flat, with 1/4 mile straightaways and 1/4 curves.

Thanks for any info,
Rob

We lost ours here in NY only a couple short years ago. Probably like most, the Syracuse Mile was extremely famous here in the northeast, hosting Super DIRT week.

An excerpt from an online article

"There are only five mile-long dirt tracks that run auto races left in the U.S. All of them were originally built as horse tracks, and all of them are at state fairgrounds: DuQuoin, Indianapolis, Springfield, Sacramento (which hasn’t hosted an auto race in years), and Syracuse."

https://jalopnik.com/were-losing-one-of-americas-best-dirt-tracks-and-its-he-173 6199776

There is a very nice flat dirt racetrack in Arlington Heights, Illinois. You might have problems sharing with the horses.

There are very few auto race tracks left in Illinois. They were closed for noise and pollution.

As Chad mentioned above, there is a 1 mile track at the Cal Expo Fairgrounds in Sacramento that is still used by AMA for their Sacramento Mile event. USAC used this track up until about 1980 for their Silver Crown Dirt Champ Car Series.

There's a mile track on the Eastern Idaho State Fairgrounds here in Blackfoot, Idaho. Even horse racing has become a bit sketchy lately though, and when race meets are held, they're usually Quarter Horse races and the whole track is not used. The state fair features a demolition derby on the last night of the fair, and the fair board is pretty easy-going, so I'd think it wouldn't be impossible to get permission to use the track for a special auto event, especially one with historic significance - but we're a little far from you.

For that matter, there are mile tracks at most county fairgrounds around here, in Rigby, Downey, and Pocatello - don't they race horses at county fairs in Kansas ? I bet you'll find some tracks close to you if you look around.

From Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dirt_track_ovals_in_the_United_States

Rob, our buddy Greg C. says to tell you hi, he enjoys your posts on the MTFCA forum most of all...and here's one for you from him to watch, he and his Stoddard were able to do a few laps.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM-gAXK6pBI

Forgot to add Greg's comment:

" We got a couple of informal laps . Perfect down to the horseshoe prints in the dirt. "

As Chad stated, our criminal, leftist and liberal governor in NY tricked us into giving up our historic mile dirt track...

Tim,

Maybe future Governor Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) will re instate it!


Back in the mid-1960's near Red Oak, MI. we used to have a no-holds-barred dirt track- An unofficial one that circled the sand pit in the woods that also served as the unofficial neighborhood dump and playground.

On random summer evenings a few young hoodlums would take some soon-to-be-sacrificed cars or trucks (1940's-50's models mostly, a few no doubt acquired through less-than-legal means...) out there and race around and around the pit until they blew them up or wrecked them. Us younger kids would hear the racket from afar and quickly gather to ride our bikes or run along the various trails to the spot, them climb up into the "balcony", a huge old white pine that years ago the wind had toppled over. As luck would have it, it never reached the ground. Instead, it got snagged in another tree so it hung out of the woods and over the track at a height of about 15 feet. We would all climb out on that well worn trunk, wedge ourselves between the stubs of some broken off branches and watch the race go right under our feet (and eat sand dust a few seconds later)! Sure, some unlucky kids in prime spots over the track and near the top of the tree always "fell" out of their perches, (and had to go to the back of the seating order until someone else further up the tree also lost their grip and we all moved up a spot), but the sand below was soft, our Wonderbread fortified bones were strong and I don't remember anyone ever hitting the sand at an inopportune time and getting run over.

When the inevitable wreck or mechanical melt-down happened, they would push the the dead or dying vehicles into the hole and sometimes light them on fire to "destroy the evidence"- often before the rest of the gang was done racing!
After that, these hulks would serve as handy target practice, great for setting bottles and cans on top of and blazing away at them, and again, sometimes this began before the other racers were finished!
The mayhem would continue until the entire fleet was immobilized, it got too dark to see the course, there was a multi person fist-fight, or somebody's dad or mom drove out there and put a stop to it.

All that fun ended in the 1970's, when the major instigators all grew up and/or moved away. I hiked back to that pit about 10 years ago ( the trails have all filled in with trees and the mossy trunks of the fallen) and to my surprise, almost all of the junk is gone too! How and when it was removed is a mystery to me, maybe when this area was burnt over and lumbered out in the early 1980's. Sadly, the "Balcony" is long gone, but there is enough debris scattered about - chunks of tires, broken glass, mangled cans, spent .22, .308, and .30-06 casings and every gauge short of a goose gun in plastic shot-gun shells everywhere. Along with the bits of iron and odd pieces of stainless steel auto trim poking out of the sand, and despite efforts to the contrary,there is still enough "evidence" there to let an archaeological survey team in the far distant future know something wonderful went on there.

Rob,
I'm sure I could ask around to borrow a dozer, cut a trail and skim the edge of the pit to clear the track if you want to kick up some easily sucked up sand get some left turn practice in. I might even push over a tree to create a dead-fall that would give any lucky spectators a unique balcony view!

Georgia has a few scroll down here
http://www.racereview.com/georgia.htm

Thanks guys. Dale, great memories. Probably my best bet are the two in Ilinois (looking for one mile dirts unbanked tracks). Seven and eight hours away. Maybe I'll get the chance on the way somewhere.
Springfield IL:


Du Quoin IL State Farigrounds:


Michigan State Fairgrounds, June 21, 1907. Yes, that's a Ford six leading a Thomas Flyer and Pope Toledo:

Rob,

That 1907 picture of the Ford Six leading a Pope-Toledo is a great action shot. But to be historically accurate, you will need a mechanic to ride with you.

Who in their right mind would ride with you at 70 MPH ?

Where does the line start???

Dick,
Look at the bright side, at 70 in a 1907 car, the ride only lasts half as long (or less):

Rob.

I will come and play. Have a few others that would also show up.

Our track in town is 3/8 mile and banked
http://rpmspeedway.net/?page=about

Back in the '20s San Luis Obispo Ca had the fastest dirt 1 Mile hi banked race track in the country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBicDo04Uw0

I think there is still one at the State Fair grounds in Indianapolis. Been years since I been there. They ran everything from horses to sprint cars on it.

Oak Shade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio?

http://oakshaderaceway.com/

The question mark is because their stupid website says NOTHING about the track. Length? Bank?

Also in Wauseon, OH a dirt track here:

http://fultoncountyfair.com/

The AARCA, (I think that's correct), used to run Model T racers there.

And there’s always Peoria, though I couldn’t verify it is a mile track, I think it is.

I believe the track in Clear Lake, Ca. is one mile. I have not been there for a bunch of years.

Hal: Are you talking about Calistoga Speedway? It is a half mile dirt track, and they still race sprint cars there. It is about 40 miles south of Clear Lake. It was in the mid 1970's that we got to race Model T speedsters and race cars there in a exhibition. Boy was that fun !
http://www.calistogaspeedway.org/

Rob:

Springfield IL is my home town. Every year they have an antique car show hosted by the Secretary of state. I wonder if they might want to improve attendance by allowing some old cars onto the track for exhibition. A slightly distant member of my family is involved in that show. I will see if I can get some info. In Illinois we typically do lots of things that are illegal, improper, and immoral by simply knowing who to talk to. I can't promise anything but I sure would like to see you go around that track.

I watched Roger Ward win the 100 mile race that was held there when I wore a much younger man's clothes. He led the race wire to wire and won it by a huge margin. Other Indy drivers were in that race as well. I think it was during fair week which is in August.

There are probably more forgotten dirt tracks that can be found using aerial/googlemaps than can be remembered.

Attached - not the best quality - a black and whit aerial showing the location of a 1/4 ? mile track in Mifflin County Pa. The track was popular in the 1940's. Not much history is known. If one has time during a rainy day a search of local aerial can show lost auto-transportation history.

John, is the track?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_State_Fairgrounds_Racetrack

Dale:

Yep that is it. I witnessed the 1957 win by Roger Ward. I had just left grade school and it was the summer before my freshman year in high school.

Kevin, I was thinking of the track in Lake Port, not Clear Lake, but I believe it's less than a mile

Rob, The Wikner Ford Special has arrived in Long Beach, hopefully will be in Richmond at the MTFCA museum in the next couple of weeks. Freighter Jim is delivering the car for me, plus Jaxson Brashier from Long Beach is picking it up from Customs. As you may guess I would be super keen to run the dirt with you if it could be organised.

How about an event the weekend before or after the Speedster & Racer reunion next year as our car will still be there & would love to have a visit with you & your cars.

Regards & Happy Easter from Partingtons

Doug,
I heard your car had landed.... A one mile with all that are interested would be great. I'll see what is available. It seems there is one dirt track near Indianapolis, so maybe that is an opportunity.
Cheers,
Rob

Passport is a tiny 1/4 mile, almost round. It's a great place to watch a race cause it's always warm and they have bomber beers.

Andy

Rob, dirt is the way to go even quarter mile is OK, pavement tries to pull the BE tyres off rims & too often succeeds. Rob an opportunity has arisen for you to make the USA great again, go for it I can't wait to run USA dirt as my cars first race was on a one mile dirt track in 1922 at Penrith west of Sydney.