The Dallas International Motor Speedway was a

racetrack A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also u ...

located in

Lewisville, Texas Lewisville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, predominantly within Denton County with a small part lying within Dallas County. As a suburban community within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the 2020 census tabulated a population of 111 ...

. It operated from June 1969 to 1973. The racetrack served as the site for such events as the NHRA Spring Nationals and World Finals, and the

Texas International Pop Festival The Texas International Pop Festival was a music festival held at Lewisville, Texas, on Labor Day weekend, August 30 to September 1, 1969. It occurred two weeks after Woodstock. The site for the event was an open field just south and west of the ...

in 1969. When it first opened, the Speedway featured a quarter-mile paved

dragstrip A dragstrip is a facility for conducting automobile and motorcycle acceleration events such as drag racing. Although a quarter mile (1320 feet, 402 m) is the best known measure for a drag track, many tracks are eighth mile (201&n ...

, grandstands, and a distinctive control and observation tower. Later, a 2.5-mile road course was added, followed by a quarter-mile dirt course for motorcycle racing. The first event held at the Speedway was the 1969 NHRA Spring Nationals. The event was generally considered to be a successful debut for the new track, but was marred by tragedy when Funny Car driver Gerry Schwartz was killed in a mid-track collision with Pat Foster. The track was also the site of another tragedy on Oct. 16, 1971 when race car driver

Art Arfons Arthur Eugene Arfons (February 3, 1926 – December 3, 2007) was the world land speed record holder three times from 1964 to 1965 with his ''Green Monster'' series of jet-powered cars, after a series of ''Green Monster'' piston-engine and je ...

crashed his jet-powered "Super Cyclops" resulting in the deaths of two onlookers and a passenger in the vehicle, WFAA TV news reporter Gene Thomas. A series of event rainouts, debt issues, and track maintenance costs combined to force the Speedway into bankruptcy by 1973, when the property was purchased for commercial development and the Speedway facilities were demolished. No trace of the Speedway remains at the site today. The track was located east of I-35E at what is now approximately mile marker 448 (Round Grove Rd./Hebron Parkway exit). The Speedway tower was near the present-day intersection of Waters Ridge Dr. and Lake Pointe Dr.

References

External links

* http://www.na-motorsports.com/Tracks/TX/DIMS.html * http://www.dragzine.com/news/flashback-friday-dallas-international-motor-speedway/ * http://www.cityoflewisville.com/index.aspx?page=896 Motorsport venues in Texas Sports venues in Dallas {{Dallas-stub