Lake Geneva Raceway (also LGR) was a

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

demolition derby Demolition derby is a non-racing motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehic ...

off-road racing Off-road racing is a form of motorsports consisting of specially-modified vehicles including cars, SUVs, trucks, motorbikes, quadbikes and buggies racing in off-road environments (e.g. snow, dirt, mud, etc.). North America Desert racing Desert ...

stock car 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

kart racing Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on kart circuit, scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are als ...

racetrack in

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Lake Geneva is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Walworth County and situated on Geneva Lake, it is home to an estimated 8,105 people as of 2019, up from 7,651 at the 2010 census. It is located about 40 miles southwest of Milwa ...

, US. It was billed as "Wisconsin's Busiest Racetrack."Official website
/ref> The track closed on December 31, 2006, and a nursing home named "Lake Geneva Golden Years" was built on the site.

History

LGR was originally known as the Lake Geneva Speed Center. Promoters generated publicity by building an airplane landing strip, which they used to bring in movie stars. The promoters claimed the starts were part of the huge investment being made to construct a drag strip that would be nationally known.*''Lake Geneva Raceway Souvenir Yearbook: Checkered Flag Final Season 1963-2006'' Lake Geneva was the home to a

Playboy Club The Playboy Club was initially a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room, and a Club R ...

. Contractors got swallowed up in the excitement and worked without upfront payment.

Drag strip

The track opened on July 3, 1963 as a drag strip. Only 600 fans showed up. The first drag race was won by Fox. Contractors talked to each other after the event, and found out that none of them had been paid. The contractors formed a group and took over the track. The final drag race was held in 1977, and was won by Fritz Barels.

Stockcar tracks

1/4 mile track

A 1/4 mile asphalt stockcar track was constructed in 1966 after the drag racing didn't take off nationally. A group of modified drivers came in from nearby dirt track Wilmot Speedway in

Wilmot, Wisconsin Wilmot (also Gilead) is a residential and business community in the village of Salem Lakes in southwestern Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2010 census, prior to the incorporation into Salem Lakes, Wilmot was a census-designat ...

after a dispute with insurance. In 1974, Larry Ninneman, who went on to win the track championship at the

Slinger Super Speedway The Slinger Speedway (also known as Slinger Super Speedway) is a quarter mile paved oval automobile race track with 33-degree banked corners located in Slinger, Wisconsin. The track is billed as the "World's Fastest Quarter Mile Oval." The curre ...

, was one of those drivers, and won 6 of 6 events entered. The corners had no banking, which permitted the drag strip to run through the center of the corner. The first modified race was won Pedro Roehl, and the first sportsman race was won by Dennis Burgan. The fast time in the modified cars was 17.58 seconds on the quarter mile. The track opened with a new grandstand for 10,000 fans and a new 300,000 watt lighting system. The modified cars later returned to Wilmot, and raced Saturday nights on the dirt at Wilmot and the asphalt at Lake Geneva on Sunday. Their ability to change setups gained widespread popularity that allowed the outlaw winged

sprint cars Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 * Chevrolet Sprint ...

to race in several states. Modified cars raced three nights per week, and

late models A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.) The precise definition ...

were added to Saturday night programs.

1/3 mile track

The track was reconfigured as a 1/3 mile progressively banked stockcar track after the 1989 season. The first event featured modified stockcars,

midget cars Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like "dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of ca ...

, and

lawn mowers A lawn mower (also known as a mower, grass cutter or lawnmower) is a device utilizing one or more revolving blades (or a reel) to cut a grass surface to an even height. The height of the cut grass may be fixed by the design of the mower, but g ...

Special stockcar events

The track held an annual October Classic, which frequently featured over 300 entries. The Classic was headlined by the "Small car World Championship". LGR hosted numerous touring series, including annual Mid-American stockcars, and nine

ARTGO The ARTGO Challenge Series was a late model short track racing series that ran in the Midwestern United States from 1975 until 1998. Many race car drivers have used the ARTGO series as a stepping stone to get into ASA, ARCA, and NASCAR. Art Fr ...

Super Late ModelsRacing Online December 1997 report on 1998 schedule
/ref> /

NASCAR Midwest Series The ARTGO Challenge Series was a late model short track racing series that ran in the Midwestern United States from 1975 until 1998. Many race car drivers have used the ARTGO series as a stepping stone to get into ASA, ARCA, and NASCAR. Art Fr ...

races between 1998 and 2005.

Special sports car event

On Oct. 12-13, 1974, LGR was the site of the second-ever

Sports Car Club of America The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...

Solo National Championships (then also called Solo II), an

autocross Autocross (also called "Solo", "Auto-x" or "Autoslalom") is a timed competition in which drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either a sealed or an unsealed surface. It is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competition ...

event put on by the Chicago Region of the SCCA. 249 drivers competed in 15 classes over a serpentine course that utilized both the oval and the dragstrip. Fast time of the event was turned in by Gary Lownsdale who won A Modified in a

Lotus Elan Lotus Elan is the name of two separate ranges of automobiles produced by Lotus Cars. The first series of cars was produced between 1962 and 1975 as a rear-wheel drive vehicle. The second series was produced between 1989 and 1995 as a front-wheel ...

S2 with a best run of 52.736 seconds.

Final stockcar event

The final official stockcar event was held on October 1, 2006, with 275 cars competing. The event began with

Hoosier Outlaw Sprint Series Hoosier is the official demonym for the people of the U.S. state of Indiana. The origin of the term remains a matter of debate, but "Hoosier" was in general use by the 1840s, having been popularized by Richmond resident John Finley's 1833 poem "T ...

driver

Tim Cox Abram Cox (aka Tim Cox and T. Abram Cox) is a film director, director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer known for writing, directing and producing episodes of the Netflix original series Black Summer (TV series), Black Summer, which pr ...

setting the all-time track record with a lap time of 14.186 seconds, and winning the "quest to set the ultimate lap." The final stockcar event was a 75 lap Super Late Model event. The event featured former

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 ...

Winston Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

and

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

driver and former track regular

Rich Bickle Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

starting at the pole. Bickle raced at the track in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. Bickle led the feature from start to finish to win the final stockcar feature. A few minor events took place before the land was sold.

Motocross track

The track hosted 125cc and 250cc motorcycle motocross events. The final 2006 season also included four-wheelers (quads). The 2006 season was extended several times, with the final races being held on October 21, 2006.

Off-road track

The track hosted numerous

SODA Soda or SODA may refer to: Chemistry * Some chemical compounds containing sodium ** Sodium carbonate, washing soda or soda ash ** Sodium bicarbonate, baking soda ** Sodium hydroxide, caustic soda ** Sodium oxide, an alkali metal oxide * Sod ...

events.Announcement of upcoming SODA event at LGR in 1997
The May 1997 event was broadcast on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially fo ...

, and

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...

beat Brendan Gaughan in one of the televised events. Other off-road drivers to compete at the track include:

Walker Evans Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans' work from ...

, Evan Evans, Johnny Greaves, and

Jack Flannery Jack Flannery (November 22, 1952 – April 6, 2010) was an American off-road racing driver who was active in the late 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Flannery won six short course off-road championships in Short-course Off-road Drivers Association (SODA) an ...

."Douglas scores double win at Lake Geneva Race"
(July 1997 race report), dated July 13, 1997, Retrieved January 13, 2007

Notable weekly stockcar drivers

Bay Darnell Bay Darnell (born February 4, 1931) is an American racing driver from Lake Bluff, Illinois. He raced mainly in USAC Stock Cars, but he did have a few Indy Car and NASCAR Grand National Series starts. His grandson Erik Darnell is a current NASCAR ...

Erik Darnell Erik Darnell (born December 2, 1982) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is the grandson of former USAC and NASCAR driver Bay Darnell, who also started three NASCAR races (including one for Holman Moody). Darnell formerly dro ...

Alan Kulwicki Alan Dennis Kulwicki (December 14, 1954 – April 1, 1993), nicknamed "Special K" and the "Polish Prince", was an American auto racing driver and team owner. He started racing at local short tracks in Wisconsin before moving up to regional ...

Dick Trickle Richard Leroy Trickle (October 27, 1941 – May 16, 2013) was an American race car driver. He raced for decades around the short tracks of Wisconsin, winning many championships along the way. Trickle competed in the ASA, ARTGO, ARCA, All ...

Dave Watson David Watson (born 20 November 1961) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a defender from 1980 to 2001. He played his entire career for Norwich City and Everton. With the Toffees he played in ...

(1976 track champion)

Images

File:Lake Geneva Raceway Panorama March 2013.jpg, Pits were on the left, track/grandstand on the right File:Lake Geneva Raceway Barn March 2013.jpg, Barn with bar inside

References

External links

Lake Geneva Raceway race results
at Racing-Reference
Lake Geneva Raceway Official website as it appeared after last event
{{coord, 42.577354, -88.406115, display=t, type:landmark 1963 establishments in Wisconsin 2006 disestablishments in Wisconsin Motorsport venues in Wisconsin NASCAR tracks Buildings and structures in Walworth County, Wisconsin Defunct motorsport venues in the United States Off-road racing venues in the United States Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Sports in the Milwaukee metropolitan area