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Topic: old champaign dirt track
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January 08, 2015 at
06:05:12 PM
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anyone remember the old dirt track in champaign illinois where dick gaines was injured i believe. i remember seeing doug wolfgang running the visegrip 20 there. i never have seen pictures of it. going thru lost speedway site looking to see if they had any pictures but could not find any. anyone remember track and where it was located.
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January 08, 2015 at
07:05:39 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: turtle4156 on January 08 2015 at 06:05:12 PM
anyone remember the old dirt track in champaign illinois where dick gaines was injured i believe. i remember seeing doug wolfgang running the visegrip 20 there. i never have seen pictures of it. going thru lost speedway site looking to see if they had any pictures but could not find any. anyone remember track and where it was located.
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I was there @remember the front axle broke ,was quite a ride. I think the track was n@ w of town . Real flat in the middle of a field. Prob. wrong wonder what year it was?
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January 08, 2015 at
10:30:37 PM
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i remember it that way too. out in middle of a field and a flat track. i remember my dad thought they turned it back into a field.
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January 08, 2015 at
10:41:17 PM
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I was there the night that Dick Gaines had his career ending accident. And I believe n/w of town is correct. I do recall that the grandstands was a very far distance from the track, at least 100' or more. The year was 1978 give or take a year. It was rumored that he was driving a car with an aluminum chassis but that was not the case, thank goodness. However I do believe that Karl Kinser was experimenting with an aluminum one. Anyone have a comment about the aluminum chassis that Karl was involved with?
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January 09, 2015 at
03:19:51 AM
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Alan Brown's America's Speedways said the track operated from 1973-1979 and torn down in 1980 but didn't give a location. It was also known as Twin City Speedway. Sorry I don't know more.
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January 09, 2015 at
07:34:03 AM
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I was looking through an old box the other day and came across a program from Champaign Motor Speedway, If I remember right it was the Illinois LM championship it was around 75 or 76. The program also had pics of LM and Sprints in it. I also had a tee shirt thats CMS on the front of it. At that time it was a cutting edge tee shirt. LOL The tracks that my Dad took me too they are almost gone now sad.
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December 06, 2016 at
11:16:43 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: turtle4156 on January 08 2015 at 06:05:12 PM
anyone remember the old dirt track in champaign illinois where dick gaines was injured i believe. i remember seeing doug wolfgang running the visegrip 20 there. i never have seen pictures of it. going thru lost speedway site looking to see if they had any pictures but could not find any. anyone remember track and where it was located.
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I live near the race track. The track is now partically field and trees south of the "S" curves on dewey fisher road, south of champaign.
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December 06, 2016 at
11:41:53 AM
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Hansen,
Check these coordinates on Google Maps:
40.219176, -88.284473
Is this the track location?
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December 08, 2016 at
10:46:52 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: sprintfanatic on December 06 2016 at 11:41:53 AM
Hansen,
Check these coordinates on Google Maps:
40.219176, -88.284473
Is this the track location?
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Yes.
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December 08, 2016 at
10:59:51 AM
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Wolfgang, I think, won the very first $10,000.00 to win WoO Feature at Champaign, Illinois.
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December 08, 2016 at
11:36:16 AM
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Good stuff all. I went to the U of I (long after the track was gone - early 2000s) and didn't know this existed. I knew Farmer City was/is close to Champaign, but no sprints there.
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December 08, 2016 at
10:47:33 PM
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Blazer you are correct Wolfgang took the $10,000 to win show in Champaign in May of 1979. Was a 2 day Saturday and Sunday afternoon deal if I remember right. Doug then high tailed it to Hawkeye Downs that Sunday night and started last in the B and won that then won the A from way back in the field. It wasnt the WoO's first 10,000 to win show, Shane Carson won that at the Eldora finale in October of 1978.
Does anybody know the finishes of those late model shows at Champaign in September of 1975 and 1976??
The worst president of my lifetime:
Ronald Reagan
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December 09, 2016 at
07:09:57 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: newbeevur on December 08 2016 at 10:47:33 PM
Blazer you are correct Wolfgang took the $10,000 to win show in Champaign in May of 1979. Was a 2 day Saturday and Sunday afternoon deal if I remember right. Doug then high tailed it to Hawkeye Downs that Sunday night and started last in the B and won that then won the A from way back in the field. It wasnt the WoO's first 10,000 to win show, Shane Carson won that at the Eldora finale in October of 1978.
Does anybody know the finishes of those late model shows at Champaign in September of 1975 and 1976??
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Thanks! Wasn't sure about wether or not it was the first $10k feature or not, but as soon as I read your post naming Carson, I knew you were correct.....you jogged my memory banks with that one. And....AHHHHH to the days when a driver could do what Wolfie did at Hawkeye Downs! Those WERE the days!
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December 09, 2016 at
09:15:21 AM
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Pretty cool. You can still make out part of the track from the satellite images.
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