Tracks

CONNECTICUT

Active

Lime Rock Park
Lime Rock, CT
1.53 mile paved road course (4/18/1957 – present)
1/4 mile paved dragstrip (1958)
Road course originally proposed for 3.0 miles
Also proposed 1.5 mile paved oval in 1959, but it was never built.

Stafford Motor Speedway
55 West St., Stafford Springs, CT 06076
Built as a horse track in 1892 at the Stafford Springs Fairgrounds
Covered stands burned in 1957
1/2 mile dirt oval (October, 1934) (1948 – 10/03/1966)
1/5 mile paved oval (5/28/1948 – c.1952)
1/2 mile paved oval (1967 – present)
1/4 mile paved oval (July, 1994 – present)
1/5 mile paved oval (1994 – present)

 Thompson International Speedway
205 East Thompson Road, Thompson, CT 06277
AKA: New Thompson Speedway, Thompson Raceway
5/8 mile paved oval (5/26/1940 – 10/19/1941) (10/14/1945 – present)
Listed as a 1/2 mile in the beginning; may have been a dirt oval in 1939
Only track in state to host NASCAR Sprint Cup races (1951, 1969, 1971)
1/4 mile paved oval (1949 – c.1965)
paved road course (1945 – 1951) < used most of the oval
1.56 mile paved road course (1952 – 10/08/1956) < used parts of oval & pits
2.0 mile paved road course (5/26/1957 – 1967) < used parts of te pits west of oval
1.7 mile paved road course (1967 – c.1978) < different configuation using oval
1/4 mile paved dragstrip (1958 – 1959)
1/4 mile dirt oval “Little T Speedway” outside of turns 3/4

Waterford Speedbowl
Rt. 85/1080 Hartford Road, Waterford, CT 06385
AKA: New-London-Waterford Speedbowl
1/3 mile dirt oval (4/15/1951 – 4/29/1951)
Ran an exhibition race on 4/09/1951
1/3 mile paved oval (5/19/1951 – present)

Inactive

Branford Park – New Haven
1/2 mile dirt oval (7/25/1899 – c.7/25/1900)

Candlelite Stadium
River St., Bridgeport, CT
(AKA: Bridgeport Speedway/Candlelight Stadium)
1/5 mile paved oval (6/30/1947 – 1955)
1/10 mile dirt oval (6/03/1951) [Ran Three-Quarter Midgets]
Sold in Jan. 1955 for a drive-in theatre

Bristol Fairgrounds
Bristol, CT
1/2 mile dirt oval (1933 – 10/21/1934)

Bulkeley Stadium
Hartford, CT
1/5 mie dirt oval (c.1936)

Charter Oak Park
West Hartford, CT
1-mile dirt oval (6/16/1905 – 1920)
1/2 mile dirt oval (1923) (1927) (1929)
Site became Niles-Bement-Pond Co. factory

 Cherry Park Speedway
CT-177, Avon, CT
Built as a horse track in 1882
1/2 mile dirt oval (1933 – 6/16/1935) (5/30/1939 – 7/23/1939)
1/5 mile dirt oval (7/28/1946)
1/5 mile paved oval (8/11/1946 – 1951) (1954)
Torn down in 1959

Connecticut Dragway
Colchester, CT
AKA: Connecticut Int’l Raceway
1/4 mile paved dragstrip (c.1961 – c.1986)

Connecticut Speedway
Derby, CT
AKA: Island Park Speedway
3/4 mile dirt oval (6/24/1934) (9/02/1934) (c.1937)

Danbury Fair Racearena
Danbury, CT
AKA: Danbury Fair Race Track, Danbury Speedway, Danbury Fair Speedway
1/2 mile dirt oval (10/06/1908 – 10/07/1939)
1/5 mile paved oval (6/01/1940 – 5/10/1942) (September, 1945 – 1947)
1/4 mile paved oval (5/31/1947 – 9/30/1951)
1/3 mile dirt oval (10/05/1951 – 10/08/1955) (6/07/1958)
1/3 mile paved oval (6/14/1958 – 10/12/1981)
At the Danbury Fairgrounds
Held boat racing in a moat outside of the track in August, 1958.
Home track of the Southern New York Racing Association (SNYRA) (1952-1955, 1958-1981)
Site is now the Danbury Fair Mall

Danbury Mill Plain Micro-Midget Oval
Danbury, CT
1/20 mile oval (1960 – 1962)
The corners were paved and the straights were dirt

Huntington Speedway
Shelton, CT
1/2 mile dirt oval (5/06/1934 – 6/18/1939)

Kenosha Avenue Race Track
Danbury, CT
1/20 mile dirt oval (1957 – c.1959
Races were sanctioned by the Danbury Micro-Midget Racing Association

Legion Speedway
Meriden, CT
Dirt oval (Years unknown)

New Haven Arena
New Haven, CT
1/10 mile indoor wood oval (1936 – 3/24/1937)

New Haven Velodrome
New Haven, CT
dirt oval (c.1940 – c.1941)

New Haven Veterans Coliseum
New Haven, CT
1/10 mile indoor oval (12/11/1993 – 1994) (1997)

New London
New London, CT
dirt oval (1920’s)

New Milford Fairgrounds
New Milford, CT
AKA: Conetia Park Race Track

Newfield Park
Eagle St., Bridgeport, CT
1/5 mile dirt oval (5/14/1935 – 9/18/1940)
Bill Holmes was the first winner
Formerly a trotter horse track

North Haven Speedway
North Haven, CT
1/4 mile cinder oval (1932 – c.1939)
Ran motorcycles, maybe autos

Norwich Fairgrounds
Norwich, CT
1/2 mile dirt oval (7/04/1933)
Located at CT-82 & Surry St.
Now the site of a housing development

Plainville Stadium
CT-372, Plainville, CT
1/4 mile dirt oval (4/10/1949)
1/4 mile paved oval (4/17/1949 – 1980)

Plymouth Speedway
Plymouth, CT
AKA: Valley Park Speedway
Dirt oval (1965)

Rockville Driving Park
Rockville, CT
1/2 mile dirt oval (late 1930’s)

Sage Park Speedway
Windsor, CT
(8/12/1934) (8/19/1934)
Four miles from Hartford on US 5-A
Hal French fatally injured at the last race

Silver City Speedway
Meriden, CT
Ran half-midgets a few times
1/10 mile paved oval (1985)
Now a 1/4 midget track

Stratford, CT
Dirt oval  (1958
Ran Micro-Midgets

Suffield, CT
1/4 mile dirt oval (late 1940s – early 1950’s)

West Haven Speedway
West Haven, CT
AKA:  Savin Rock Amusement Park, Donovan Field (In honor of “Wild Bill” Donovan, a NY Yankees manager)
1/5 mile dirt oval (7/07/1935 – 10/27/1935)
1/5 mile paved oval (5/28/1936 – 9/11/1941) (8/30/1945 – c.1961)
Al Herman died here in a crash on 6/18/1960

Westport
Paved road course (1960’s)