| 250px | |
| Location | Nashville, Tennessee, USA |
| Time Zone | UTC -6/-5 (DST) |
| Capacity | 15,000 (grandstands) |
| Opened | 1904 (dirt), 1958 (asphalt) |
| Major Events | World Stock Car Championship Round of Tennessee Round of Nashville |
| Former Name(s) | Music City Motorplex Nashville Speedway USA Nashville Motor Raceway Nashville Motor Speedway Fairgrounds Speedway at Nashville Nashville International Raceway |
| Dirt Oval (1904 - 1957) | |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Distance | 1.125 mi (1.811 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | Turns: 6° |
| Paved Oval (1958 - present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Distance | 0.596 mi (0.959 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | Turns: 18° Straights: 3° |
Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway
Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway is a motorsport racetrack located at the Nashville Fairgrounds near downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The track is the second-oldest continually operating track in the United States.
History[edit | edit source]
The track first featured "horseless carriages" and motorcycles on June 11, 1904, on a 1 1⁄8 mi (1.8 km) dirt oval. Races were canceled after a motorcycle ran into the back of a car that was lining up. Harness horse racing events were also held at the track.
In September 1904 another series of races was organized. Most of the entrants came directly to Nashville from the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, where spectators marveled at cars driving over 60 miles per hour (97 km/h).
The track began holding annual events in September 1915 to coincide with the state fair. Many of the same drivers from the Indianapolis 500 brought their cars down to Nashville.
Local tracks sprang up and began running weekly Saturday night shows (collectively called the "Legion Bowl"), and the local racers competed at the track for the 1954 through 1957 State Fairs. In 1958 car racers decided to build a paved racetrack. The racers ended opposition from horse racers by building a horse track. The racers got a 10-year lease from the state fair board in order to build a paved 1⁄2 mile track which shared the frontstretch with a 1⁄4 mile track. On July 19, 1958, the first race was held at the new speedway. Races were held only on the 1⁄4 mile track (except for special events).