NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Hits Full Stride
26 NASCAR ‘Home Tracks’ Open in April
Twenty-six NASCAR Whelen All American Series tracks in 19 states and provinces across North America are scheduled to open in April.
Among them are three of NASCAR’s longest continuously-operated tracks.
The “granddaddy” of all NASCAR short tracks is Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. The flat .250-mile paved oval echoes of NASCAR history on a weekly basis. The track’s rich tradition of Southern Modified racing is displayed every Saturday night; Bowman Gray’s 61st season starts April 25 and runs through Aug. 15.
Ardent fans and hot rivalries make Saturday nights a happening at “The Stadium.” But like its “granddaddy” superspeedway cousin, Darlington Raceway, the old place has received some makeovers over the years. Just like Darlington, the sense of tradition never changes, even with some of the modern era upgrades.
The stadium is owned by the City of Winston-Salem, which has admirably grown their jewel while three generations of the Hawkins-Pinilis family have stood steady at the wheel. In recent years, the city has assured the stadium’s future with major investments in a huge new ultra-modern tower featuring hospitality suites, a new pit-side field house where pit operations are run, a new video scoreboard and a recently extended 20-year lease with the Hawkins-Pinilis family.
Still, there are no cobwebs in the concrete horseshoe-shaped grandstands that can seat up to 17,000 fans who are treated weekly to Modifieds, Sportsman, Street Stocks and Stadium Stocks.
“We’re excited about our upcoming 61st season,” said track publicist Loren Pinilis, a member of the third generation track operators. “We’ve held the line on ticket prices ($10 for adults), our sponsors like to do giveaways for the fans and drivers and we’ve got some of the best racing in the south.”
Jonathan Hawkins serves as the track’s general manager, Gray and Pam Garrison are the promoters and the second generation of Dale and Johnny Pinilis are always around. The Hawkins family roots go back to Alvin and Elioise Hawkins, best friends of Bill France Sr. and his wife Anne B. Alvin was NASCAR’s original flagman starting on the original Daytona Beach road course.
Two other longtime tracks open on April 4: Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Va., and Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway.
Old Dominion Speedway features Late Model Stock Cars, Mini Modifieds, U-Cars and Legends. The track, built on the site of the former Longview Speedway, opened as a paved .375-mile oval in 1952.
Myrtle Beach Speedway, originally known as Rambi Raceway, is a .538-mile paved oval, opened in 1958. Weekly divisions include Late Models, Super Trucks, Limiteds, Mini Stocks and Street Stocks.
All three tracks operate on Saturday nights and all three hosted the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in the series’ formative years.
Another track opening is Motor Mile Speedway, a .416-mile paved oval in Radford, Va., home to two-time series national champion Philip Morris. Motor Mile Speedway opens Saturday, April 4. Morris, 43, of Ruckersville, Va., has already posted his first win of the season at South Boston (Va.) Speedway in March.
The complete list of NASCAR-sanctioned short tracks opening in April:
- April 3: Kil-Kare Speedway, Xenia, Ohio; Motordrome Speedway, Smithton, Pa., and Tri-County Motor Speedway, Hudson, N.C.
- April 4: Colorado National Speedway, Dacono, Col.; Elko (Minn.) Speedway; Grandview Speedway, Bechtelsville, Pa.; Motor Mile Speedway; Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway; and Old Dominion Speedway, Manassas, Va.
- April 5: Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway;
- April 10: Cedar Lake (Minn.) Speedway;
- April 11: Columbus (Ohio) Motor Speedway; Evergreen Speedway, Monroe, Wash.; Langley Speedway, Hampton, Va.; West Liberty (Ia.) Raceway;
- April 18: Junction Motor Speedway, McCool Junction, Neb.;
- April 25: Adams County Speedway, Corning, Ia.; Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem, N.C.; Delaware (Ont.) Speedway; Kalamazoo (Mich.) Speedway; LaCrosse (Wisc.) Fairgrounds Speedway; Monadnock Speedway, Winchester, N.H.; Park Jefferson Speedway, Jefferson, S.D.; Rockford (Ill.) Speedway; SunValley Speedway, Armstrong, B.C.; Thunder Raceway, Show Low, Ariz.;
• April 26: Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway.
Sources: Jason Christley/NASCAR PR