Pacific Raceways is a mixed-use

road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

and

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most ...

facility near

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest municipality in greater Seattle and th ...

. The

race track 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 use ...

was constructed in 1959 and opened in 1960. The track was originally named Pacific Raceways, then became known as Seattle International Raceways in 1969. After the landowner regained control of the track in 2002, the name reverted to Pacific Raceways. June 2005 BMW club track day, Pacific Raceways

June 2005 BMW club track day, Pacific Raceways

Roaring up the straight Pacific Raceways

Pacific Raceways features a road course which is used by the SCCA, Society of Vintage Racing Enthusiasts (SOVREN), and ICSCC for automobile road racing. The Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association (WMRRA) uses the course for

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: Long-distance ...

road racing. The course has more than of elevation change and a naturally wooded back section. The track hosted two

NASCAR Winston West Series The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...

between 1984 and 1985, won by

Jim Bown Jim Bown (born June 24, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver. He has run a total of 23 Winston Cup Series races. He scored one top-ten result, a tenth-place finish at Riverside International Raceway in 1982. In the NASCAR Busch Ser ...

and

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

respectively and also hosted a

NASCAR Northwest Series The NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Northwest Series was a regional NASCAR late model stock car racing series first codified in 1985. The series, along with its three other series in its division, folded in 2006. Unlike the NASCAR national series ...

race in 2003, won by Jeff Jefferson. Pacific Raceways hosts a performance driving school which offers several curricula, including sanctioned race licensing courses, performance driving, lapping clinics, and specialty driving instruction. The facility also features a

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 ...

, which hosts the

NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series is a drag racing series organized by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). It is the top competition series of the NHRA, comprising competition in four classes, including Top Fuel Dragster, Funny Car, ...

Northwest Nationals and regional races, plus a dirt

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 competiti ...

track. Since 1988, Pacific Raceways has been home to the Northwest Nationals (originally known as the

Seafair Seafair is a summer festival in Seattle, Washington, that encompasses a wide variety of small neighborhood events leading up to several major citywide celebrations. While many small block parties and local parades occur under the auspices of S ...

Nationals) of the NHRA Drag Racing Series. The track played an important role during the heyday of professional sports car racing in the U.S. during the 1960s. From 1963 through 1968, Pacific Raceways hosted the Pacific Northwest Grand Prix, which was a round of the

United States Road Racing Championship The United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) was created by the Sports Car Club of America in 1962. It was the first SCCA series for professional racing drivers. SCCA Executive Director John Bishop helped to create the series to recover rac ...

. From 1967 through 1970, the venue hosted an annual round of the SCCA

Trans-Am Series The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includ ...

, including the season finales in 1967 and 1968. The Trans-Am Series returned to the track in 1975, 1977, and 1982 through 1984. The

SCCA Continental Championship The SCCA Continental Championship was an annual, professional, open-wheel motor racing series organized by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), under various names, from 1967 to 1976. The inaugural series was staged in 1967 as the SCCA Grand Prix ...

for

Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...

cars visited the track from 1969 through 1971, and again in 1973. The track hosted a two heat race weekend of the USAC

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive event ...

series in 1969. The first heat was won by

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

and the second was won by

Al Unser Alfred Unser (May 29, 1939 – December 9, 2021) was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men ( A. J. Foyt, himself, Rick ...

. Among the other champion drivers who have visited victory lane at Pacific Raceways are

Mark Donohue Mark Neary Donohue Jr. (March 18, 1937 – August 19, 1975), nicknamed "Captain Nice," and later "Dark Monohue," was an American race car driver and engineer known for his ability to set up his own race car as well as driving it to victories. D ...

Brian Redman Brian Herman Thomas Redman (born 9 March 1937 in Burnley, Lancashire and educated at Rossall School, Fleetwood, Lancashire), is a retired British racing driver. Racing for Carl Haas and Jim Hall's Chaparral Cars, Brian Redman won the 1974, '75 ...

, David Hobbs,

Ronnie Bucknum Ronnie Bucknum (April 5, 1936 – April 23, 1992) was an American race car driver, born in Alhambra, California. Bucknum participated in 11 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on August 2, 1964. He scored a total of two champi ...

, Peter Gregg,

Tony Adamowicz Tony Adamowicz (May 2, 1941 – October 10, 2016) was an American racing driver, active from 1963 until his death. He won the Under 2-Liter class of the 1968 Trans-Am Championship and the 1969 SCCA Continental Championship. Early life Adamowicz ...

Parnelli Jones Rufus Parnell Jones (born August 12, 1933) is an American former professional racing driver and racing team owner. He is notable for his accomplishments while competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Baja 1000 desert race. In 1962, he became the ...

Elliott Forbes-Robinson Elliott Forbes-Robinson (born October 31, 1943 in La Crescenta, California) is a road racing race car driver. He is known for his race wins and championships in many different series, including the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), Super Vee, Tran ...

, Pedro Rodriguez,

Dave MacDonald David George MacDonald (July 23, 1936 – May 30, 1964) was an American road racing champion noted for his successes driving Corvettes and Shelby Cobras in the early 1960s. At the age of 27, he was killed in the 1964 Indianapolis 500, alon ...

Ken Miles Kenneth Henry Jarvis Miles (1 November 1918 – 17 August 1966) was a British- American sports car racing engineer and driver best known for his motorsport career in the US and with American teams on the international scene. He is an induct ...

, Jim Hall and Jerry Titus.

References

External links

Pacific RacewaysPacific Raceways
at Racing-Reference
Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association (WMMRA)Trackpedia guide to driving this track
{{MotoAmerica circuits NHRA Division 6 drag racing venues NASCAR tracks Motorsport venues in Washington (state) Sports venues in Kent, Washington Buildings and structures in King County, Washington Tourist attractions in King County, Washington

See also

References

External links