Lake Geneva Raceway (also LGR) was a motocross, demolition derby,

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 ...

, stock car, 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 scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on ...

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 Mil ...

, 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. 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 after a dispute with insurance. In 1974, Larry Ninneman, who went on to win the track championship at the Slinger Super Speedway, 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 to race in several states. Modified cars raced three nights per week, and late models 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, and lawn mowers.

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 ...

Super Late ModelsRacing Online December 1997 report on 1998 schedule
/ref> / NASCAR Midwest Series 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 Solo National Championships (then also called Solo II), an autocross 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 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 driver Tim Cox 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 Winston Cup 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 ...

driver and former track regular Rich Bickle 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

events.Announcement of upcoming SODA event at LGR in 1997
The May 1997 event was broadcast on ESPN2, 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, Evan Evans, Johnny Greaves, and Jack Flannery."Douglas scores double win at Lake Geneva Race"
(July 1997 race report), dated July 13, 1997, Retrieved January 13, 2007

Notable weekly stockcar drivers

* Rich Bickle * Bay Darnell * Erik Darnell * Alan Kulwicki * Dick Trickle * Dave Watson (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