Saugus Speedway is a 1/3 mile racetrack in Saugus, Santa Clarita, California on a site. The track hosted one

NASCAR 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 thr ...

event in 1995, which was won by

Ken Schrader Kenneth Schrader (born May 29, 1955) is an American professional racing driver. He currently races on local dirt and asphalt tracks around the country while also competing part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 11 Ford for Fast Tra ...

. Schrader became the first

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 ...

driver to win in a race in all three of the sanctioning body's major series, following previous wins in the

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

Busch Grand National Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

. The stadium was closed on July 19, 1995 and no longer holds races.

History

The track started out as a

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

called Baker Ranch Stadium in 1927. Its construction was announced in December 1926. It was owned by Roy Baker, brother of shoe businessman C. H. Baker. The stadium held 18,000 spectators. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, it was sold in 1930 to Cowboy actor

Hoot Gibson Edmund Richard "Hoot" Gibson (August 6, 1892 – August 23, 1962) was an American rodeo champion, film actor, film director, and producer. While acting and stunt work began as a sideline to Gibson's focus on rodeo, he successfully transitioned ...

. He used the stadium for

movie set Set construction is the process undertaken by a construction manager to build full-scale scenery, as specified by a scenic design, production designer or art director working in collaboration with the theatre director, director of a productio ...

s. The stadium was sold to Paul Hill in 1934. The valley that the stadium was in got flooded in 1937. Debris from the flood was too much for Hill to deal with, so the bank got the property. William Bonelli purchased it and renamed Bonelli Stadium. In 1939, Bonelli started hosting

open wheel racing An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have the ...

on the flat dirt surface. Crowds of 10,000 to 12,000 watched drivers such as

Walt Faulkner Walt Faulkner (February 16, 1918 – April 22, 1956) was an American racing driver from Tell, Texas. He moved to Milledgeville, Georgia at the age of two-and-a-half, and to Lake Wales, Florida at the age of eight. He then moved to San Diego, Cal ...

Mel Hansen Melvin Lloyd Hansen (born July 11, 1911, Redfield, South Dakota – Died June 5, 1963, San Bernardino, California) was an American racecar driver. Hansen was nicknamed the "Firecracker Kid" because he loved to throw the explosive devices unde ...

, Allen Heath,

Johnny McDowell John Maxwell McDowell (January 29, 1915 – June 8, 1952) was an American racecar driver from Delavan, Illinois. He died in a qualifying crash at the Milwaukee Mile the week after the 1952 Indy 500. Racing career McDowell was raised in Pasa ...

, Jack McGrath,

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 ...

Troy Ruttman Troy Ruttman (born March 11, 1930 – May 19, 1997) was an American race car driver. He was the older brother of Jimmy Ruttman, and NASCAR driver Joe Ruttman. Ruttman won the Indianapolis 500 in 1952, at the age of 22 years and 80 days. , he is ...

, and

Bill Vukovich William John Vukovich Sr. (; December 13, 1918 – May 30, 1955) was an American automobile racing driver of Serbian descent. He won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500, plus two more American Automobile Association National Championship races, ...

. The track was part of the

United Racing Association United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

in 1940 and 1941. The last race during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

was held on June 30, 1942. The track was unused in 1943 and 1944, like all racetracks in the United States. The track was the first circuit on the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

to host a post-war race when it reopened on September 9, 1945.

won the race. Nine races were held that season, and Vukovich was crowned the champion. The track was paved in 1946, but the pavement was removed and the track returned to dirt.

Midget car racing Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on mos ...

was the national sensation in 1946, drawing large crowds to the track. Roadsters were the main class raced at the track from 1947 until 1950, until midget cars came back. The grandstands in the backstretch needed repairs, so the grandstands from

Gilmore Stadium Gilmore Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Los Angeles, California. It was opened in May 1934 and demolished in 1952, when the land was used to build CBS Television City. The stadium held 18,000. It was located next to Gilmore Field. The st ...

were installed after the track closed in 1950. From 1951 to 1955, the roadsters and midget cars shared the track equally, with occasional rodeos and

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

es. The track was paved for a second time in 1956. The first

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 ...

event on the track happened in 1957. It was promoted by Tony Coldeway, who later formed the Pacific Racing Association. 23 cars and 523 spectators came to the event. The track became mainly used for stock car events after that event. It featured USAC stock cars,

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 ...

, and the NASCAR Southwest Tour. It also hosted the third race in NASCAR

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 ...

history during the series' first year on April 15, 1995. Ken Schrader beat

Geoffrey Bodine Geoffrey Edwin Bodine (born April 18, 1949) is a retired American motorsport driver and bobsled builder. He is the oldest of the three Bodine brothers (with Brett Bodine and Todd Bodine), and sister Denise. Bodine lives in West Melbourne, Florida ...

by 1.7 seconds. The race had the slowest speed in Craftsman Truck Series history with an average speed of 43.526 miles per hour (70.048 kilometers per hour).NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Notes (Week of July 14)
July 18, 1997, Retrieved December 14, 2007 In June 1994, the speedway hosted the graduating class of nearby William S. Hart High School after the stadium at College of the Canyons was deemed unsafe for occupancy; a consequence of the Northridge Earthquake. The track closed unexpectedly on July 19, 1995 in the middle of the season after the grandstands had been red-tagged and condemned by the County of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and have since been torn down.

Current use

The track hosts weekly

swapmeet A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

s on Sundays, and flea markets on Saturday and Tuesday. The (Saugus) Santa Clarita Swap Meet features over 600

vendor In a supply chain, a vendor, supplier, provider or a seller, is an enterprise that contributes goods or services. Generally, a supply chain vendor manufactures inventory/stock items and sells them to the next link in the chain. Today, these terms ...

s and 15,000 people each Sunday since 1963. The track hosts numerous special events and

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

s, including car shows, antique appraisals, and

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

s. The track has been used for numerous films and television productions.

Notable drivers

* Sonny Easley * Eddie Gray *

Lance Hooper Lance Allen Hooper (born June 1, 1967) is a race car driver and crew chief in NASCAR as well as several touring divisions. Hooper attended his first race when he was just two weeks old, and also came from a long line of racing champions, includi ...

Woodside still on track; ex-Saugus Speedway star races today at California Speedway
June 21, 1997; Dave Desmond, ''Daily News''; Retrieved December 12, 2007 *

Ron Hornaday Jr. Ronald Lee Hornaday Jr. (born June 20, 1958) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is the father of former NASCAR driver Ronnie Hornaday and son of the late Ron Hornaday Sr., a two-time Winston West Champion. Hornaday is ...

* Ron Hornaday Sr. *

Jimmy Insolo Jimmy Insolo (born February 4, 1943) is a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race driver whose career spanned from 1970 to 1983. Career Insolo began his career at Saugus Speedway, where he became one of the top drivers at the track. In addition to his W ...

Nick Joanides Nicholas Joanides (born June 17, 1970) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series West, driving the No. 77 Toyota for Performance P-1 Motorsports. He has also competed in the NASCAR Xfini ...

(final track record holder in the Super Late Model Division) *

Sean Woodside Sean Woodside (born October 16, 1970) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is a veteran of what is now the ARCA Menards Series West, having raced in the series in the late 1990s to early 2000s, which included five full seasons ...

, 1994 and 1995 track champ, NASCAR Southwest Tour *Rick Crow (final track record holder in the Street Stock Division Oval & Figure 8)

References

External links

Official website

{{NASCAR Elite Division Southwest racetracks Defunct motorsport venues in the United States Motorsport venues in California NASCAR tracks Santa Clarita, California Sports venues in Greater Los Angeles