| The Big Left Turn | |
| |
| Location | Middletown Township, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Time Zone | UTC -5/-4 (DST) |
| Capacity | 33,000 (grandstands) - 120,000 (w/ infield and outfield) |
| Opened | 1926 |
| Closed | 1971 |
| Major Events | World Stock Car Championship Round of Pennsylvania Round of Langhorne |
| Former Name(s) | New Philadelphia Speedway (1926 - 1930) |
| Dirt Circle (1926 - 1964) | |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Distance | 1.000 mi (1.609 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | Turns: 3° |
| D-Shaped Oval (1965 - 1971) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Distance | 1.000 mi (1.609 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | 3° |
Langhorne Speedway
Langhorne Speedway (previously known as New Philadelphia Speedway) was a one-mile race track in Middletown Township, near the borough of Langhorne, Pennsylvania. It was one of the earliest dirt tracks purpose-built for auto racing; previous facilities had been converted horse racing tracks.
History[edit | edit source]
The speedway was first built in 1926 by a group of racing enthusiasts based out of Philadelphia. The first race was held in June 1926 and the track would run under the original operators until 1930, when new promoters took over after narrowly saving the track from bankruptcy. Ownership would change hands again in 1941 when, during a ban on auto racing due to World War II, promoter Hank Freeman died of a heart attack in Pittsburgh. Stable ownership would not be found until 1950, when Mark Harden took over and began hosting stock cars; Harden recognized the growth of stock cars throughout the 1940's and sought to bring the craze to the Philadelphia suburbs.
The track hosted its first World Stock Car Championship race in 1950, and the series would visit the track annually until 1966, when Jack Crawford announced that all dirt tracks would be removed from the schedule as part of a series of reforms. The loss of its premier events hurt the track greatly, and despite reconfiguring into a D-shaped asphalt course in 1967, pressure from suburban developers and the track's dwindling financial position forced the closure of the speedway in 1971.
Despite many drivers outright stating that they considered the track unsafe, it was regularly one of the most well-attended events on the schedule; NSCS events at Langhorne regularly drew 20-30,000 spectators at a time when most tracks struggled to draw crowds one-third the size. By 1953 the track was offering the third-largest purse of any on the schedule.