Tucson Speedway is a paved oval racetrack located at the Pima County Fairgrounds, off Interstate 10 just south of

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. It is one of only three paved ovals in the state of Arizona (the others are

Phoenix Raceway Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. ...

and Havasu 95 Speedway).

History

The track was built in 1968, originally as a clay oval and called Raven Speedway. 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 ...

CEO

Brian France Brian Zachary France (born August 2, 1962) is an American businessman and the former CEO and chairman of NASCAR. He served in the post from 2003 to 2018, following his grandfather (and NASCAR co-founder) Bill France Sr. and father Bill Jr., in t ...

took over track operations in 1990. The

International Speedway Corporation International Speedway Corporation (ISC) was a corporation whose primary business is the ownership and management of motorsports race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International ...

(ISC) paved the racing surface and renamed the track in 1992. ISC sold the track to Deery Sports West, Inc. ten years later. In 2005 the track was sold to Dan and Joyce Ruth, who made many track improvements. Three years later, Ruth sold the track to Mark Ebert, who made it an ASA Member track. The track was closed in 2010. In 2012, Tucson businessman John Lashley bought the lease on the track and spent six months renovating the facility, which re-opened in 2013 as Tucson Speedway. In 2014 Tucson Speedway joined NASCAR as an authorized Hometrack.

Racing at TRP

In 2014, Tucson Speedway re-joined the

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (formerly the Whelen All-American Series, Winston Racing Series and the Dodge Weekly Series) is a points championship for NASCAR sanctioned local short track motor racing around the United States and Ca ...

. Tucson Speedway features Super

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 ...

, Limited Late Models, Pro-Stocks,

Modifieds Modified stock car racing, also known as modified racing and modified, is a type of auto racing that involves purpose-built cars simultaneously racing against each other on oval tracks. First established in the United States after World War II, ...

, Hornets, Bandoleros, and Thunder Trucks. The

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West 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 ...

schedule holds the Twin 100s events in May. Races are usually held every other Saturday night, with occasional practice sessions held on Friday's the day before. Thanks to the warm climate in Tucson, the track is able to remain open from February to November, only closing on weekends when there is a NCS race at Phoenix Raceway.

Former events

In 1995, TRP hosted the second-ever NASCAR Truck Series race, the Racing Champions 200. This race returned in 1996 and 1997 as the NAPA 200. TRP was also the home of the TV program '' Winter Heat Series'', which ran during NASCAR's offseason from 1994–95 and 1998–99. This program was the launching pad for the careers of drivers such as Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch,

Matt Crafton Matthew Justin Crafton (born June 11, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is a three-time champion of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (2013, 2014, 2019), in which he competes full-time, driving the No. 88 Ford F-150 ...

and others.

References

External links

Tucson Speedway Official Website
{{NASCAR Elite Division Southwest racetracks Buildings and structures in Pima County, Arizona Motorsport venues in Arizona Sports venues in Tucson, Arizona NASCAR tracks Tourist attractions in Pima County, Arizona 1968 establishments in Arizona Sports venues completed in 1968