Huntington Beach Speedway

Huntington Beach Speedway

Location	Huntington Beach, California, United States
Time zone	UTC-8 (UTC-7 DST)
Capacity	17,000
Opened	1946
Closed	May 1958
Construction cost	US$200,000
Former names	Beach Speedway Talbert Stadium Huntington Beach Stadium American Legion Stadium
Oval
Length	.20 miles
Turns	4

Huntington Beach Speedway (later called Beach Speedway, Talbert Stadium, Huntington Beach Stadium, and American Legion Stadium) was a motorsports racetrack located in Huntington Beach, California. Designed to host midget car racing, the venue also featured motorcycle races as well as auto polo and other forms of motorsports. The racetrack operated from 1946 until May 1958 when it closed due to dwindling attendance.

History

In 1946, Tom Talbert purchased 60 acres (0.24 km²) of land west of Beach Blvd and south of Atlanta Avenue in Huntington Beach, CA. Two promoters convinced Talbert to build a midget car racetrack on the property. The track would be 1/5th of a mile oval track modeled after Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles and was designed to be the "finest midget car racetrack on the West Coast." With a capacity to hold 17,000 spectators, the stadium cost $200,000 to construct. As television became more popular in the 1950s, attendance began to decline and the stadium began to deteriorate. In May 1958, Talbert closed the speedway. A series of condominiums now occupies the site.

External links

There Used to be a Racetrack - Hidden Huntington Beach