Myrtle Beach Speedway

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Myrtle Beach Speedway
MyrtleBeachSpeedway.svg
LocationMyrtle Beach, South Carolina
Time zoneGMT-5
Coordinates33°44′47″N 78°57′7″W / 33.74639°N 78.95194°W / 33.74639; -78.95194Coordinates: 33°44′47″N 78°57′7″W / 33.74639°N 78.95194°W / 33.74639; -78.95194
Capacity12,000 (Oval)
Opened1958
Closed2020
Major eventsNASCAR Whelen All-American Series
D-oval
SurfaceAsphalt
Length0.538 mi (0.866 km)
BankingTurns - 13°
Straights - 4° front, 3° back
Myrtle Beach Speedway

Myrtle Beach Speedway (originally named Rambi Raceway), was built in 1958 and was located on U.S. Route 501 near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The speedway was a semi-banked asphalt oval track that spans 0.538 miles (0.866 km).The NASCAR Cup Series competed at the Speedway from 1958 through 1965. The NASCAR Busch Series (now the Xfinity Series) raced at Myrtle Beach Speedway from 1988 to 2000.

Over the years, Myrtle Beach Speedway has been the training grounds for some of NASCAR's biggest stars including Jeff Gordon (former Busch Series track record holder). All four generations of Pettys (Lee, Richard, Kyle, and Adam) and three generations of Earnhardts (Ralph, Dale Sr., Dale Jr., and Kelley[1]) have taken a green flag around the asphalt oval that spans 0.538 miles (0.866 km).

History[]

A Late Model car belonging to The NASCAR Racing Experience

Rambi Raceway opened as a dirt track in 1958.

The track hosted one NASCAR Convertible Series event in 1958 and one NASCAR Grand National East Series race in 1972.

Nick Lucas bought the track in 1968, paving it in 1974. Billy Hardee became a co-owner in 1987.

NASCAR Southeast Series had ran 17 races at the facility between 1991 and 2004.

The Busch Series race (the Myrtle Beach 250) in 2000 was the last major NASCAR event at the track.

Till 2020 the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series race on Saturday nights from late February through November. The track also runs various other classes of racing including Late Model Charger, Super Trucks and Mini Stocks. The speedway is home of the Myrtle Beach 400, IceBreaker 200, NASCAR Racing Experience, Monster Jam, NOPI Nationals and Horry County Fair with recent additions of Wheels of Destruction Thrill Show and the Myrtle Beach BikeFest.[2]

In a deal that closed April, 2012, Speedway Group Inc. bought the facility, including 48 acres. Robert J. Lutz, one of the new owners, said Lt. Gov. André Bauer arranged for the deal to take place. Bauer said he wanted the track to help improve Myrtle Beach's economy with new events. Upgrades to the track were planned, and plans called for the to attract drivers and tourists. One goal was another top-level race.[3]

The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour had one race at the speedway in 2009. After merging the two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tours at the end of the 2016 season, beginning in 2017, the newly unified tour hosted three events at the track from 2017 through 2019.

CARS X-1R Pro Cup Series had 24 races at Myrtle Beach between 1998 and 2014. CARS Super Late Model Tour and CARS Late Model Stock Tour had 3 events each at the facility, between 2015 and 2018.

In May 2020, it was announced the track would close its doors for good once the season was complete as the result of a sale to a land developer.[4]

The final race at Myrtle Beach Speedway was held in August 2020. Sam Yarbrough won the final Late Model race while Carmen Odum and Carsyn Gillikin won their respective races in the final feature race ever held at the track.

Originally, the land owners' plan was to demolish the facility and build hotels and condos on the property, but it was announced in early July 2021 that the company will not use the land for the original purpose, and the concept for the area fell through. Although it keeps the track safe from demolition for now, photos taken on July 6, 2021 show weeds and grass slowly taking over the racetrack.

In preparation for the last race, in July 2020, track promoter Steve Zacharias and business partners Brian Vause and Savannah Brotherton formed Speedway Plus Promotion LLC, acquiring from Charlie Powell the Florence Motor Speedway in Timmonsville, 75 miles from the track but in the same metropolitan market. Sam Yarbrough, who won the last Myrtle Beach Late Model feature, won the first race at Florence with the same promoters, the 100 lap Prelude to the Southern 500. In addition, NASCAR approved the transfer of Myrtle Beach's NASCAR sanction to Florence to start the 2021 season. The Myrtle Beach 400, now renamed the South Carolina 400 Charlie Powell Memorial, was held in its traditional date in November 2020. The IceBreaker, another major Myrtle Beach race, made its Florence debut in February 2021.

References[]

  1. ^ Newton, David. "Junior took a backseat to big sis Kelley". ESPN. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  2. ^ "Start Your Engines at Myrtle Beach Speedway". Compass Cove. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  3. ^ Kanpek, Kurt (2012-02-25). "New owners have big plans for Myrtle Beach Speedway". The Sun News. Archived from the original on 2012-02-28. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  4. ^ Altman-Devilbiss, Alexx (2020-05-13). "Myrtle Beach Speedway prepares for final season of racing". WLOS. Retrieved 2020-05-23.

External links[]

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