The Las Vegas Park Speedway was a horse and automobile racing facility in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. It was built to be a horse racing facility and it held single races in

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 ...

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 ...

, AAA, and USAC Stock cars before it was demolished. It opened as the Las Vegas Jockey Club.

History

Construction

Joseph M. Smoot hitched a ride from lawyer

Hank Greenspun Herman Milton "Hank" Greenspun (August 27, 1909 – July 23, 1989) was the publisher of the ''Las Vegas Sun'' newspaper. He purchased the ''Sun'' in 1949, and served as its editor and publisher until his death. Greenspun was also a promine ...

to get from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to Las Vegas. He claimed to have helped build tracks in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

which turned out to be untrue. The track was built to be a major horse racing facility on the south side of Las Vegas. Smoot funded the track by convincing 8000 shareholders to give him $2 million. "Old Joe knew a track wouldn't have a chance and he said so when he came here in 1946," Greenspun later said in his biography. After the construction was delayed well past its original opening date, Smoot published an apology in a local newspaper. Smoot and two others were charged with

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

after he could not provide receipts for missing $500,000. A

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

was appointed by a federal judge to run the track. Smoot remained indicted until he was found dead in a hotel room two years later.

Horse racing

On September 4, 1953 the track was opened named the Las Vegas Jockey Club. Ticket booths and tote boards did not work properly and only one entrance discouraged customers. Customers had to wait one hour in traffic to park and some went home without attending. 8200 customers attended in the first day and the board of directors closed the track for two weeks after the third day to replace the ticket booths. The track was rapidly losing money, so the board closed after operating 13 days. It opened back up in 1954 to host

quarter horse The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at s ...

racing but closed after seven weeks.

Auto Races

Three major auto racing event were held on the track. In 1954, an

American Automobile Association American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...

(AAA)

Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...

event was held at the track, followed by a 1955

Grand National race. The final race was a

United States Auto Club The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the List of USAC Championship Car seasons, United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the ...

(USAC) Stock Car event in 1959.

Championship car

The

held its final Indy Car race of the 1954 season on November 14. The event was won by season champion

Jimmy Bryan James Ernest Bryan (January 28, 1926 – June 19, 1960) was an American racecar driver who won the 1958 Indianapolis 500. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Bryan died as a result of injuries sustained in a champ car race at Langhorne Speedway. Career ...

. 16 cars started the race and six of them were unable to return after being involved in a second lap wreck.

=Championship car results

= #

Manny Ayulo Manuel Leaonedas Ayulo (October 20, 1921 – May 17, 1955) was an American racecar driver. His efforts, along with those of friend and teammate Jack McGrath, helped establish track roadsters as viable race cars. Ayulo was killed in practic ...

Jimmy Davies James Richard Davies (August 8, 1929 – June 11, 1966) was an American racecar driver in Champ cars and midgets. He was the second man to win three USAC National Midget Championships.Rodger Ward Rodger M. Ward (January 10, 1921 – July 5, 2004) was a World War II Lockheed_P-38_Lightning, P-38 aviator in the United States Army Air Forces, and an American race driver with 26 victories in top echelon open-wheel racing in North America ...

# Andy Linden #

Tommy Hinnershitz Thomas Paul Hinnershitz (April 6, 1912 – August 1, 1999) was an American race car driver. Hinnershitz was active through the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s on dirt, asphalt and boards, driving "Big Cars" (later Sprint Cars), at that time slightly s ...

# Rex Easton #

Chuck Weyant Chuck Weyant (April 3, 1923 – January 24, 2017) was an American racecar driver. He was born in St. Mary's, Ohio. Until his death, Weyant was the oldest living Indianapolis 500 veteran. He died on January 24, 2017, at the age of 93. Midget cars ...

# Pat O'Connor #

Larry Crockett Larry "Crash" Crockett (October 23, 1926 in Cambridge City, Indiana – March 20, 1955 in Langhorne, Pennsylvania) was an American racecar driver. Crockett made 10 Championship Car starts all in the 1954 season with a best finish of 4th in th ...

# Roy Prosser # Johnnie Tolan #

Johnny Boyd Johnny Boyd (August 19, 1926 – October 27, 2003) was an American racecar driver. Racing career Born in Fresno, California, Boyd drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series from 1954 to 1966 with 56 starts. He finished in the top ten 31 ...

Bob Sweikert Robert Charles Sweikert (May 20, 1926 – June 17, 1956) was an American racing driver, best known as the winner of the 1955 Indianapolis 500 and the 1955 National Championship, as well as the 1955 Midwest Sprint car championship - the only ...

# Bob Carroll #

Cal Niday Cal Niday (April 29, 1914 in Turlock, California – February 14, 1988 in Lancaster, California) was an American racecar driver. He lost his leg in a motorcycle accident after high school, but it did not affect his race car driving career. Cal is ...

Tony Bettenhausen Melvin Eugene "Tony" Bettenhausen (September 12, 1916 – May 12, 1961) was an American racing driver, who won the National Championship in 1951 and 1958. Bettenhausen was nicknamed the "Tinley Park Express" in honor of his hometown. He was n ...

Danny Oakes Danny Oakes (July 18, 1911 – January 13, 2007) was an American midget car hall of fame driver. Early life Daniel G. Oakes became interested in racing when he delivered morning and evening newspapers in his hometown of Santa Barbara, Califor ...

NASCAR

The track's only NASCAR event was held at the 1-mile dirt track on October 16, 1955. The 43rd event for the season was scheduled for 200 laps. The race was won by three-time USAC stock car champion

Norm Nelson Norm Nelson (January 30, 1923 – November 8, 1988) was an American stock car racer. He competed in the United States Auto Club (USAC) Stock Cars in the 1950s through 1970s. He won the season championship in 1960, 1965, and 1966 as a driver. N ...

after darkness shorted the event to 111 laps; it was his only NASCAR win. He led the final 106 laps in a

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

owned by 1955 championship owner

Carl Kiekhaefer Elmer Carl Kiekhaefer (June 4, 1906 – October 5, 1983) was the owner of ''Kiekhaefer Mercury'' (later Mercury Marine) and ''Kiekhaefer Aeromarine'' and also a two-time NASCAR championship car owner. Kiekhaefer Mercury founder Mr Kiekhaefer ...

. Nelson won the race by two laps.

=NASCAR results

= #

#Bill Hyde #Bill West #Sherman Clark #Jim Murray #Bob Ruppert #

Johnny Mantz Johnny Mantz (September 18, 1918 – October 25, 1972)< ...

#Bill Stammer #Ernie Young #Bob Stanclift #Tom Francis #Fred Steinbroner #Herb Crawford #Danny Letner #John Lansaw #Allen Adkins #John Kieper #Ed Brown #Herb Hill #Virgil Martin #Eddie Pagan #Erick Erickson #Clyde Palmer #

Bill Amick Bill Amick (November 16, 1925 – July 15, 1995) was a NASCAR Grand National Series and West Coast driver from Portland, Oregon. He has one win, nineteen top-fives, twenty-seven top 10s, and five poles in Grand National. Driving career After ra ...

#Carl Hoover # Lloyd Dane #Britton Jones

USAC stock car race

USAC held a 250 lap

USAC Stock Car The USAC Stock Car division was the stock car racing class sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC). The division raced nationally; drivers from USAC's open wheel classes like Indy cars, Silver Crown, sprints, and midgets frequently comp ...

race which it co-sanctioned with

Automobile Racing Club of America The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is an auto racing sanctioning body in the United States, founded in 1953 by John Marcum. The current president of ARCA is Ron Drager, who took over the position in 1996 following the death of Bob Log ...

(ARCA) on November 29, 1959. The race was shortened to 147 laps on account of darkness;

Fred Lorenzen Frederick Lorenzen Jr. (born December 30, 1934), nicknamed The Golden Boy, Fast Freddie, The Elmhurst Express and Fearless Freddy, is a former NASCAR driver from Elmhurst, Illinois. Active from 1958 to 1972, he won 26 races including 1965 Daytona ...

won the race after starting from the

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

. 16 of 35 starters finished the race.

=USAC results

= #

#Mike Klapak #Harold Smith #Whitey Gerken #Bob Merritt #Wayne Weiler #

Johnny Mantz Johnny Mantz (September 18, 1918 – October 25, 1972)< ...

#Bob Perry #Johnny Allen #Bob Duell #Dempsey Wilson #Jim Murphy #Chuck Webb #Cotton Farmer #Lou Fegers #

Westgate Las Vegas The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is a hotel, casino, and timeshare resort in Winchester, Nevada. Located near the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, it is owned by Westgate Resorts. It opened in 1969 as the International Hotel, and wa ...

Las Vegas Convention Center The Las Vegas Convention Center (commonly referred to as LVCC) is a convention center in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. As one of the largest convention centers in the world, it h ...

, and part of the

Las Vegas Country Club The Las Vegas Country Club is a private membership club located in the Winchester area of metropolitan Las Vegas, Nevada. History It was built on the site of a 1950s horse and automobile racetrack named Las Vegas Park and later the Las Vegas Park ...

References

{{NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racetracks NASCAR tracks Sports venues in Las Vegas Motorsport venues in Nevada Defunct horse racing venues in the United States Defunct sports venues in Nevada Defunct motorsport venues in the United States 1953 establishments in Nevada 1955 disestablishments in Nevada