Forum: Racing From The Past (go)
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A quick hit of the turnpike to the Fairgrounds.

I challenge you to pick out all the cars you recognize

bonus

Happy 4th of July!

I will say it again, can you see why Tulsa almost always had big crowds?

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

That shows how fast and big the track was. It was supposed to be a half mile but i heard it was closer to 6/10 or 7/8, i don't know if anybody ever measured it. A team coming to race there for the first time usually had to buy some new gears that were hi enough to run there. You could not run the same gear that you ran at OKC. The first time that Rick Ferkel and Bobby Marshall raced on it they called a big circle because the turns were so long and sweeping. Mike Peters told me he liked it because the turns were so long that you could really make some time up in them and he said that he could flat foot it all the way around if the car was working and the track was right. The 1979 and 81 WoO race was wild, i was in the pits and man those cars were fast. Not all the drivers liked the track it was fast, hard on engines and the concrete wall did not give but for the fans it was the best dirt track facility in the nation. I really miss those days, today is my 59th b'day and like they say you can't go back.

Ray

Haven't had the chance to get on the site much at all this past month or so. Busy time of the year in my office. I did find this awesome video (thank you Brian26). Had the chance to watch the first part sitting here at lunch. Man, I felt like I was fifteen again sitting in those stands..... Two questions have come to mind. I don't remember us having a lighted scoreboard and I'm not sure that's what I see when the cars come through the front stretch. Did we have a lighted scoreboard??? Secondly, I was wondering what sits on the real estate these days where that grand old speedway used to sit?

The new track that opened in 1974 has been made into a horse racing track, they had a USAC champ car race on it several years and the race was after a heavy rain and the track started coming apart and the race had to be stopped early. The paper had an article several weeks ago about all the trouble that the horse track is having.

The track that closed in 1973 and the buildings that you had to through to get in have been torn down and is a parking lot now

Ray

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=203&articleid=20110707_203_B1_FAIRME350844

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

Google view of the Fair Meadows Downs

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Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

That is a great picture. The pits were about where the baseball field is for the new track. several years ago I was at a ballgame and tried to figure out where everything used to be and it was hard to do. In "High Plains Thnder" you cans see the IPE building in the picture with Don Schofield in turn 1 of the old track. The pits of the the old track were on the South side of the track almost all the way to 21st. It is hard to tell where everything used to be because of all the changes at the fairgrounds. The baseball team left last year for a new stadium downtown. They raised ticket prices and have no free parking like the fairgrounds and have had record crowds. I called and asked about no free parking and was told "Tulsa people have been spoiled with free parking at the fairgrounds and that they could not please everbody" that was a direct quote, well i have not gone to any ballgames with a management with that attitude.

Ray

Lord the 1970's were great. Awesome race cars, never ending guitar solos and BIG HAIR! Just doesn't get any better... I could watch these videos forever.