Michigan State Fairgrounds Speedway

Michigan State Fairgrounds Speedway
Drome
LocationMichigan State Fair
Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates42°26′33″N 83°06′40″W / 42.44250°N 83.11111°W / 42.44250; -83.11111
Opened1899
Major eventsAAA/USAC Indy Car
Detroit 100 (1949–1953, 1957)
NASCAR Grand National
Motor City 250 (1951–1952)
Oval
SurfaceDirt
Length1.6 km (1 miles)

The Michigan State Fairgrounds Speedway was a dirt oval racing track located in Detroit, Michigan. The track was built in 1899 for horse racing,[1] and it was part of the ground purchased to provide a permanent venue for the Michigan State Fair. Joseph Lowthian Hudson donated the land, at Woodward Avenue and what is now 8 Mile Road, to the Michigan State Agricultural Society.[2]

By 1908, the racetrack, at the east end of the fairground, had a 5,000-seat capacity grandstand. The track originally hosted Thoroughbred flat racing as well as Standardbred harness racing. Later, it was used for auto racing, after the growth of that industry.[3] In 1971 the grandstand was declared unsafe; it was demolished in 2001.[3]

  1. ^ Reed, Terry (2005). Indy: The Race And Ritual Of The Indianapolis 500 (Second ed.). Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books. p. 4. ISBN 1-57488-907-9. Michigan State Fairgrounds 1899.
  2. ^ Minnis, John; Beaver, Lauren (2010). Michigan State Fair. Images of America. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-7385-7789-0.
  3. ^ a b Minnis, John; Beaver, Lauren (2010). Michigan State Fair. Images of America. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-7385-7789-0.