Indianapolis Speedrome
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| Kitley Speedrome | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (UTC-4 DST) |
| Coordinates | 39°45′27″N 86°03′21″W / 39.7574841°N 86.0558009°W |
| Capacity | 6,000 |
| Address | 802 S. Kitley Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46219 |
| Opened | September 9, 1941 |
| Former names | Art Zipp's Speedway |
| Major events | World Figure 8 Championships Carb Night Classic |
| Website | www.speedrome.com |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Paved |
| Length | 0.200 miles |
| Turns | 4 |
| Figure 8 | |
| Surface | Paved |
| Length | 0.200 miles |
| Turns | 4 |
The Indianapolis Speedrome is the oldest operating figure 8 track in the United States as it opened in 1941.[1] It is believed by many historians that this is the first figure 8 track where cars intersect.
The Speedrome is home to the World Figure 8 Championships, the Annual Spring Shootout, and the 3 Hour Endurance Race.[2]
The Speedrome is the USAC's most active track with 496 events held,[3] and also produced Tony Stewart’s maiden USAC win on August 9, 1991.[4]
History
[edit]
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Events
[edit]Carb Night Classic
[edit] | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (September 2024) |
Three-hour figure 8 championship
[edit]The three-hour figure 8 championship is an annual three-hour endurance race featuring late models. It began in 1977 and like any other sport had sprees of dominance.
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 1977 | Jim Fox |
| 1978 | Kenny St John |
| 1979 | |
| 1980 | |
| 1981 | |
| 1982 | |
| 1983 | Wayne Arnold |
| 1984 | Bobby Ellett |
| 1985 | Wayne Arnold |
| 1986 | Rance Harmon |
| 1987 | Mike St John |
| 1988 | Leonard Basham |
| 1989 | Wayne Arnold |
| 1990 | Mike St John |
| 1991 | |
| 1992 | Duane Lee |
| 1993 | Jack Dossey Jr |
| 1994 | |
| 1995 | Duane Lee |
| 1996 | Jack Dossey Jr |
| 1997 | |
| 1998 | |
| 1999 | |
| 2000 | Bruce Tunny |
| 2001 | Bobby Douthitt |
| 2002 | Curtis McMurtrey |
| 2003 | Bill Tunny Jr |
| 2004 | Bruce Tunny |
| 2005 | |
| 2006 | Curtis McMurtrey |
| 2007 | Doug Greig |
| 2008 | Fred Bear Jr |
| 2009 | Ben Tunny |
| 2010 | RJ Norton Jr |
| 2011 | Doug Greig |
| 2012 | Ben Tunny |
| 2013 | Mark Tunny |
| 2014 | Danny Smith |
| 2015 | Ben Tunny |
| 2016 | Austin Tunny |
| 2017 | Mike Hadley Jr |
| 2018 | Mark Tunny |
| 2019 | Eddie VanMeter |
| 2020 | Jesse Tunny |
| 2021 | Ben Tunny |
| 2022 | Mark Tunny |
| 2023 | Austin Tunny |
| 2024 | Mark Tunny |
The death of Don Vogler
[edit]On May 1, 1981, Don Vogler and his son Rich Vogler were registered for a USAC midget car feature. Don was about to complete his final warm up lap when Don suddenly collided with the wall on turn 3, flipping over the concrete barrier and coming to rest in the catch fence. He was seen gripping his chest before the accident by multiple witnesses. He was pronounced dead in a local hospital a few hours later from blunt force trauma. The cause of accident is believed to be an heart attack. His son later raced in IndyCar and Nascar but died in 1990 not far from his father at Salem speedway[7][8][9]
Job Corps riot of 1965
[edit]During a Saturday night race in 1965 there were 35 Job Corps men and youths invited as special guests for that night‘s race. The Job Corps members were siting in the back of a pickup truck, when they started yelling obscenities at women entering the restroom. Later 15 of the youths were standing by the restroom and continued to yell obscenities at race goers until the spectators confronted and attempted to silence the youths. While the youth were being finally escorted out they began throwing sticks and stones into the crowd. A woman suffered lacerations to her arms.[10]
COVID-19 guideline violations
[edit]On October 3, 2020, a picture of the Speedrome at full capacity surfaced on the media. At this time, the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in place in Marion County had a guideline requiring that all sporting events were to be held at 25% capacity. The Speedrome was fined $1000.[11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "From the Cataloger's Desk: Calling all race fans!". Indiana Historical Society. October 5, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ^ "Schedule". Indianapolis Speedrome. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ^ "INDIANAPOLIS SPEEDROME RETURNS WITH MAY 23 HPD MIDWEST MIDGETS". www.sprintsource.com. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ^ ""Tony Stewart Classic" at the Lincoln Tech Indianapolis Speedrome". www.myracepass.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ^ "3-Hour Figure 8". Indianapolis Speedrome. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ "Results of the 2023 speedrome" (PDF). Retrieved September 19, 2023.
- ^ "Don Vogler, the veteran driver who was killed in... – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- ^ The Evening Independent. The Evening Independent.
- ^ The Item. The Item.
- ^ Congress, United States (1965). Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office.
- ^ "Health department issues notice of violation to Speedrome". wthr.com. August 10, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2023.