The Michigan State Fairgrounds Speedway was a dirt oval racing track located in Detroit, Michigan. The track was built in 1899 for horse racing,[1] and it was part of the ground purchased to provide a permanent venue for the Michigan State Fair. Joseph Lowthian Hudson donated the land, at Woodward Avenue and what is now 8 Mile Road, to the Michigan State Agricultural Society.[2]
| Drome | |
|---|---|
| Location | Michigan State Fair Detroit, Michigan |
| Coordinates | 42°26′33″N 83°06′40″W / 42.44250°N 83.11111°W |
| Opened | 1899 |
| Major events | AAA/USAC Indy Car Detroit 100 (1949–1953, 1957) NASCAR Grand National Motor City 250 (1951–1952) |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Length | 1.6 km (1 miles) |
By 1908, the racetrack, at the east end of the fairground, had a 5,000-seat capacity grandstand. The track originally hosted Thoroughbred flat racing as well as Standardbred harness racing. Later, it was used for auto racing, after the growth of that industry.[3] In 1971 the grandstand was declared unsafe; it was demolished in 2001.[3]
AAA/USAC Champ Car race winners
NASCAR Grand National race winners
- ^ Reed, Terry (2005). Indy: The Race And Ritual Of The Indianapolis 500 (Second ed.). Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books. p. 4. ISBN 1-57488-907-9.
Michigan State Fairgrounds 1899.
- ^ Minnis, John; Beaver, Lauren (2010). Michigan State Fair. Images of America. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-7385-7789-0.
- ^ a b Minnis, John; Beaver, Lauren (2010). Michigan State Fair. Images of America. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-7385-7789-0.