Dawn of the superspeedway – Fifty years ago a new kind of track changed NASCAR racing forever

August 06, 2010
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By RICK MINTER / Cox Newspapers

It hasn’t exactly been the most celebrated of Golden Anniversaries, but 2010 marks the 50th year since NASCAR’s original superspeedway boom.

Back in 1960, three new superspeedways joined the group of tracks hosting races for the circuit now known as Sprint Cup, a list that was dominated at that time by dirt tracks, most of them a half-mile or less.

Atlanta International Raceway, now known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, plus Charlotte Motor Speedway and Marchbanks Speedway in California, opened in 1960, joining the two existing superspeedways on the circuit – Darlington Raceway, which opened in 1950, and Daytona International Speedway, which opened in 1959.

Two other attempts at superspeedways had failed in the 1950s. The one-mile paved oval in Raleigh, N.C., opened in 1953 and was gone by 1958. The 1.5-mile, high-banked dirt oval Memphis-Arkansas Speedway had just a three-year run – from 1954 to 1957.

But during the 1950s, Darlington Raceway was wildly successful, and it was those Darlington races that led a group of Georgia businessmen to set about building a track in Atlanta.

The men went to a race at Darlington and came home with a dream to build a state-of-the-art speedway in Atlanta and to bring NASCAR racing to it.

About the same time, promoter Bruton Smith and driver Curtis Turner were pursuing similar dreams at Charlotte, and in Hanford, Calif., businessman and farmer B.L. Marchbanks was busy building a 1.4-mile paved track that he named Marchbanks Speedway.

Ed Clark, the current president of the Atlanta track, points out that those early track builders were true pioneers.

“Superspeedways were just coming into being, and nobody knew what the future held,” Clark said. “Those people were pioneers to even think about undertaking a mile-and-a-half, high-banked race track. Now you look back, and not only has it grown in the Atlanta area but also nationwide, and NASCAR racing has become a mainstream sport.”

Clark said it’s important to remember that AMS, like the track in Charlotte where he worked before coming to Atlanta, survived many a hurdle in the early days.

“Nobody would lend you money,” he said. “Everything was under-funded. Everything was rough and not very polished, but that speaks to the core product and the appeal it had to people. That and a few people who just diligently worked and wouldn’t give up are what got the track and the sport to where it is now.”

The tracks in Atlanta and Charlotte both were opened with much work remaining to be done. At Charlotte, paving went on right up until race week, and the uncured asphalt came apart during the inaugural World 600, forcing teams to put giant screens on the fronts of the cars to keep chunks of asphalt from breaking the radiators.

Jack Smith of Atlanta was five laps ahead late in the race when a chunk of asphalt knocked a hole in his gas tank, putting him out of the race and opening the door for Joe Lee Johnson to take the win.

When Atlanta opened a few weeks later, NASCAR officials, worried about a repeat of the track problems at Charlotte, limited the race to 300 miles.

But the track held up just fine, and Fireball Roberts scored a popular win.

The down-to-the-wire work at Atlanta mostly involved getting the grandstands ready. Concrete pouring went on right up until race time.

Still, track officials and the people of Atlanta were happy to have a race track all their own.

“It was a glorious, fun-filled day,” Jack Black, one of the original shareholders who later became track president, said in an interview several years ago. “It was a great race, and there were lots of cars still running at the end.”

Black said somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000 people witnessed the first race, but that number was never for certain because all the fencing wasn’t in place and many fans walked in for free.

Marchbanks was a different story. The Southern drivers, for the most part, didn’t make the long, expensive haul to California. The official crowd estimate for the first race was just 7,000, and the track hosted just one more NASCAR race before dropping off the schedule.

But the tracks in Atlanta and Charlotte survived the tough early years and went on to play key roles in the growth of the sport.

Races at Atlanta, Charlotte and Daytona brought national media attention and the first TV coverage to the then-fledgling sport of stock car racing.

Clark, the Atlanta track president, said racers and race fans everywhere owe a debt to the pioneers who kept the Atlanta and Charlotte tracks in business through all the rough times, preventing them from being lost to time like Marchbanks, Raleigh and Memphis-Arkansas.

“It could have very easily happened,” Clark said. “A lot of people put a lot of personal time into it that they weren’t compensated for because they believed in it and loved it.”

Dawn of the superspeedwayFifty years ago a new kind of track changed NASCAR racing foreverBy RICK MINTER / Cox Newspapers
It hasn’t exactly been the most celebrated of Golden Anniversaries, but 2010 marks the 50th year since NASCAR’s original superspeedway boom.Back in 1960, three new superspeedways joined the group of tracks hosting races for the circuit now known as Sprint Cup, a list that was dominated at that time by dirt tracks, most of them a half-mile or less.Atlanta International Raceway, now known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, plus Charlotte Motor Speedway and Marchbanks Speedway in California, opened in 1960, joining the two existing superspeedways on the circuit – Darlington Raceway, which opened in 1950, and Daytona International Speedway, which opened in 1959.Two other attempts at superspeedways had failed in the 1950s. The one-mile paved oval in Raleigh, N.C., opened in 1953 and was gone by 1958. The 1.5-mile, high-banked dirt oval Memphis-Arkansas Speedway had just a three-year run – from 1954 to 1957.But during the 1950s, Darlington Raceway was wildly successful, and it was those Darlington races that led a group of Georgia businessmen to set about building a track in Atlanta.
The men went to a race at Darlington and came home with a dream to build a state-of-the-art speedway in Atlanta and to bring NASCAR racing to it.About the same time, promoter Bruton Smith and driver Curtis Turner were pursuing similar dreams at Charlotte, and in Hanford, Calif., businessman and farmer B.L. Marchbanks was busy building a 1.4-mile paved track that he named Marchbanks Speedway.Ed Clark, the current president of the Atlanta track, points out that those early track builders were true pioneers.“Superspeedways were just coming into being, and nobody knew what the future held,” Clark said. “Those people were pioneers to even think about undertaking a mile-and-a-half, high-banked race track. Now you look back, and not only has it grown in the Atlanta area but also nationwide, and NASCAR racing has become a mainstream sport.”Clark said it’s important to remember that AMS, like the track in Charlotte where he worked before coming to Atlanta, survived many a hurdle in the early days.“Nobody would lend you money,” he said. “Everything was under-funded. Everything was rough and not very polished, but that speaks to the core product and the appeal it had to people. That and a few people who just diligently worked and wouldn’t give up are what got the track and the sport to where it is now.”The tracks in Atlanta and Charlotte both were opened with much work remaining to be done. At Charlotte, paving went on right up until race week, and the uncured asphalt came apart during the inaugural World 600, forcing teams to put giant screens on the fronts of the cars to keep chunks of asphalt from breaking the radiators.Jack Smith of Atlanta was five laps ahead late in the race when a chunk of asphalt knocked a hole in his gas tank, putting him out of the race and opening the door for Joe Lee Johnson to take the win.When Atlanta opened a few weeks later, NASCAR officials, worried about a repeat of the track problems at Charlotte, limited the race to 300 miles.But the track held up just fine, and Fireball Roberts scored a popular win.The down-to-the-wire work at Atlanta mostly involved getting the grandstands ready. Concrete pouring went on right up until race time.Still, track officials and the people of Atlanta were happy to have a race track all their own.“It was a glorious, fun-filled day,” Jack Black, one of the original shareholders who later became track president, said in an interview several years ago. “It was a great race, and there were lots of cars still running at the end.” Black said somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000 people witnessed the first race, but that number was never for certain because all the fencing wasn’t in place and many fans walked in for free.Marchbanks was a different story. The Southern drivers, for the most part, didn’t make the long, expensive haul to California. The official crowd estimate for the first race was just 7,000, and the track hosted just one more NASCAR race before dropping off the schedule. But the tracks in Atlanta and Charlotte survived the tough early years and went on to play key roles in the growth of the sport.Races at Atlanta, Charlotte and Daytona brought national media attention and the first TV coverage to the then-fledgling sport of stock car racing. Clark, the Atlanta track president, said racers and race fans everywhere owe a debt to the pioneers who kept the Atlanta and Charlotte tracks in business through all the rough times, preventing them from being lost to time like Marchbanks, Raleigh and Memphis-Arkansas.“It could have very easily happened,” Clark said. “A lot of people put a lot of personal time into it that they weren’t compensated for because they believed in it and loved it.”