Remembering More Bygone Courses

I did a post about Meadowdale (07/29/12) that mentioned Riverside Raceway in passing.  Here's another post to salute some good courses (and one great one)--and the times that went with them.  These were all "legitimate" road circuits.  No airport tracks are included, although a nod is due them for  giving road racers a place to play in the years when true road courses began to disappear and the purpose-built courses that replaced them were not yet on-line.

While I'm at it, a shout out to the lesser-known courses that survived from inception until now, sometimes by the skin of their teeth: Blackhawk Farms, Grattan, Nelsons Ledges, Roebling Road, Summit Point, Virginia International Raceway, Willow Springs.  Those are the ones that come to mind; no doubt there are others.

The courses below were mostly in the East and Midwest, the regions I know best.  If you want more information on them, you can find it by Googling the name with additional modifiers in the search window, like "history" or "road races."

Thompson, CT (1952-1978)

Thompson was a 5/8 mile oval before that track became part of the road course.  George and Barbara Weaver, early East Coast pillars of the SCCA, were instrumental in Thompson's creation.  It regularly hosted SCCA Nationals in the glory days of amateur road racing.  The circle track remains in use today.  There has been talk of reviving Thompson as a (reconfigured) 2-mile road course again.  But it was then, and would remain now, overshadowed by the nearby and hugely successful Lime Rock Park, which itself has a history rivaling other iconic courses in the U.S.

Far right: Barbara and George Weaver (at the wheel of his Maserati V8RI "Poison Lil").  This picture was taken at
Shannon's Atlantic in Watkins Glen in 1951.   George Shannon is standing behind the black MG TD.  Weaver won the
Formula Libre race on the old, through-the-town, circuit the next day.  The car next to his is an Allard J2X.  The MG's
are wearing dealer plates.  They probably came up from New York City to do some marketing while taking in the races. 

Marlboro Raceway (1954-1969)

This course was near Upper Marlboro, MD (and Washington DC), and a venue for major SCCA races until it was "abandoned" in favor of Summit Point (WV) by the local SCCA Region.  Like Thompson, it incorporated part of a short oval track.  It is now private land, with parts of the course still visible on Google Earth.

Chuck Stoddard's Alfa Giulietta Veloce in the hairpin at Marlboro, 1961.  He came second in the race and won the
D Production title that year (one of his four championships).  Spectators, not to mention workers, have never since
been this close to the action.  Was signing a Release a release in those less risk-conscious and litigious days?

Bridgehampton, NY (1957-1971)

Like Watkins Glen, Road America, and Laguna Seca, Bridgehampton replaced a through-the-streets course.  Like them, and Thompson and Marlboro too, it was home to major SCCA events: Can-Am cars raced at Bridgehampton.  Like Meadowdale, it was abandoned for many years after it closed, but was finally "re-purposed:" Bridgehampton is now a golf course.

Bridgehampton part-way through its metamorphosis into a golf course.  The bridge to the infield is not yet down, but the
fairways and greens have been laid out.  I don't golf.  This picture makes me sad.  Maybe they could name the club
house after one of the dozens of famous drivers who completed the course in about a minute and 30, well under par.

Riverside Raceway, CA (1957-1989)

Of all the courses in the U.S. that have disappeared, Riverside's demise is the most regrettable.  Legendary races were held there from beginning to end, including SCCA, IMSA, and NASCAR pro events.  Superstar drivers and iconic cars ran Riverside regularly.  And when it finally went under, it did so quickly and irretrievably: it became a shopping mall and subdivisions.  Riverside was a victim of urban sprawl in Los Angeles.  In the boondocks when it was built, it was valuable real-estate when it closed.

The original 3.3 mile course included a 1.1 mile (!) straight.  It was later shortened to 2.6 miles
with the cut-off between Turn 7 and "Old 8," and a dog-leg leading onto a new and very fast
Turn 9 with twice the radius, still banked.  Either way, Riverside was a fast course.

One of many epic battles at Riverside: Phil Hill (Ferrari 410) tries to get the drop on Chuck Daigh (Scarab) by going
around the outside in Turn 7 to get the preferred line into "Old 8."  This was a race-long, place-swapping, duel until
near the end, when Hill retired with overheating and Daigh cruised to a win.  L.A. Times Grand Prix, 1958.  A
Mercedes Benz 300SL, never much of a factor in U.S. road racing, is being abandoned (quickly) in the background.

Greenwood Raceway, IA (1963-1966)

Near Indianola, Iowa (south of Des Moines), Greenwood lasted only three years.  "Big time" 1964 and 1965 USRRC events were financial failures from which it never recovered.  There are more elevation changes than the aerial photograph suggests, which made Greenwood a fast and challenging 3.0 mile course.  Much of the asphalt yet exists, on private land, used to train heavy-equipment operators and closed to the public.

The pits were on the short straight, lower right.

Practice for the 1964 USRRC event.  Foreground, Lotus 23; background, Chuck Stoddard's Alfa GTZ.  Stoddard came
third in GT-2 behind two factory Ford Lotus Cortinas, when his fuel system vapor-locked while he was leading.  He
finished 4th in the SCCA's Manufacturers' Championship and was Central Division C Production Champion in 1964.

Thanks to Chuck Brandt for bringing me up-to-date on the current status of Greenwood Raceway.