The Winston-Salem Fairgrounds (previously known as the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds) was a dirt

oval track Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic ...

spanning in addition to its primary purpose as a fairground. During the times of the year that it wasn't expected to host a stock car race, this fairground was the home of the annual ''Winston-Salem Fair''/''Dixie Classic Fair for Northwest North Carolina''The Dixie Classic Fair History (Internet Archive)
/ref> along with other events related to the

Piedmont Triad The Piedmont Triad (or simply the Triad) is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina anchored by three cities: Greensboro, North Carolina, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Winston-Salem, and H ...

area of North Carolina. The annual fair would traditionally take place in the first week of October. On December 1, 1969, the Winston-Salem Foundation gave the Fairgrounds, the Memorial Coliseum, and $75,000 to the City of Winston-Salem.

Racing history

The race track component of the fairgrounds was used primarily for

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

-style

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

and was discarded by the

Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 to 1970, then the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand Nation ...

after their

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

season. Most of the races took place on either the summer or early autumn months; although one race took place after what is now called the ''Dixie Classic Fair'' (October 31, 1948).

Lee Petty Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR and one of its first superstars. He was NASCAR's first three-time Cup ch ...

won both the May 29 and August 7 unnamed Grand National Series races on this race course.Everything Stock Car - Forsyth County Fairgrounds
/ref>

Fred Dove Fred Dove (September 7, 1927 – January 5, 1990) was a NASCAR Grand National driver from Martinsville, Virginia, USA. Career He competed in 47 races from (1952 to 1955) with one finish in the top-five, 12 top-ten finishes, and 3919 laps of ...

would be notable for participating in his last NASCAR Cup Series career race on this track; he would finish in third place out of 23 competitors. Outside of the Cup Series,

Fonty Flock Truman Fontell "Fonty" Flock (March 21, 1920 – July 15, 1972) was an American stock car racer. Flock family He was the brother of NASCAR pioneers Tim Flock and Bob Flock, and the second female NASCAR driver Ethel Mobley. The four race ...

(in his NASCAR modified vehicle),

Curtis Turner Curtis Morton Turner (April 12, 1924 – October 4, 1970) was an American stock car racer. Throughout his life, he developed a reputation for drinking and partying. In 1999, he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. History He was ...

(driving in a stock car race that preceded the NASCAR Cup Series), and Jack Harrison (driving in the SAFE Convertible Series) would win races at this ½-mile dirt oval. The SAFE (Society of Auto Sports, Fellowship, and Education) Convertible Series would eventually be bought out by NASCAR to become the

NASCAR Convertible Division The NASCAR Convertible Division was a division of convertible cars early in NASCAR's history, from 1956 until 1959, although the signature race for convertibles remained a Convertible Division race until 1962. Two remnants of the Convertible Divi ...

in 1955. However, even the NASCAR Convertible Series would be short-lived and become permanently disbanded after 1959. This was due to the fact that multiple sedan passenger automobiles could race on the track much more safely with the increasingly faster speeds than their convertible counterparts. Both of the Cup Series races spanned and the most expensive purse was $3,765 ($ when adjusted for inflation). Driving speeds of up to could be sustained on this race track through single-car qualifying.Racing Reference - Forsyth County Fairgrounds - General information
/ref> When all cars were on the track, the fastest average speed would be reduced to . The speeds are considered to be slightly inferior to the typical modern

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

which can sustain speeds up to . Races would typically last less than two hours; with the longest race lasting one hour, fifty-nine minutes, and forty-four seconds.Racing Reference - Untitled August 7, 1955 Race
/ref> All forms of automobile racing was discontinued on this track after 1963. The fate of motorcycle and horse racing on the track were left uncertain after the stock cars stopped racing in this venue.

References

External links

{{coord, 36.124565, -80.253754, display=title Buildings and structures in Winston-Salem, North Carolina Fairgrounds in the United States Motorsport venues in North Carolina NASCAR tracks Tourist attractions in Winston-Salem, North Carolina