Mount Clemens Race Track
| Location | Mt. Clemens, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Opened | 1951 |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 0.5 mi (0.80 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
Mount Clemens Race Track was located on a 55-acre site along North River Road near the I-94 freeway in Mount Clemens, Michigan, in suburban Detroit. The property was purchased after World War II by Mount Clemens resident Dr. Clayton Stubbs. The land was an old harness racing site, the Clinton Driving Park, which had not been used for racing since about 1925. About 1950, local race drivers were using the dirt track to practice for their races at the Michigan State Fairgrounds Speedway and approached Dr. Stubbs about cleaning up the track and offering races there. Dr. Stubbs agreed to their proposal, and the Mount Clemens Race Track opened on September 3, 1951, with 5,000 fans in attendance.[1]
The raceway hosted stock car races on weekends, including female drivers, along with special events including a demolition derby and kid's Big Wheel races. Grandstands seating 5,500 featured an adjacent picnic and playground area, and the grounds included half-mile, quarter-mile ovals and a figure-eight.[1][2] Notable drivers included Joy Fair, a prolific winner on short-tracks in the Midwest,[3] Canadian driver Junior Hanley,[4] NASCAR driver Tracy Leslie,[5] and NASCAR legend Dick Trickle.[6][7]
For the opening of the 1954 season, a man-made lagoon was created at the race track, and Mount Clemens Race Track would feature auto races and boat races. Small outboard craft were set to race on the lagoon, and the Tommy Bartlett Show from Cypress Gardens, Florida, was brought in to entertain the crowds with acrobatic water skiing. The water show opened on July 11, but the premiere was marred by an accident in which one of the performers fell and was mangled by the twin propellers of the tow boat. The skier recovered from the deep lacerations on his back, and the water show went on through the summer drawing good crowds, but it was not repeated the following year. The lagoon became a landscape decoration thereafter.[1]
In June, 1977, Dr. Stubbs sold Mount Clemens Race Track to Dr. Henry Winkler and his wife, Cynthia, who continued to operate the track. After a divorce, Cyndy Winkler placed the race track on the market in 1985, and sold it to the city of Mount Clemens in March, 1986, for the sum of $725,000. The track equipment was sold at auction the next month and Mount Clemens Race Track ended its 36-year history.[1][8][9]
The city of Mount Clemens then sold the race track property in 1987 to Gebran Anton and his Riverside Associates, and was converted to use for the Gibraltar Trade Center, which opened in 1990.
External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d https://www.mtclib.org/DocumentCenter/View/429/race-track
- ^ "Mount Clemens Race Track, 1967 article". August 24, 1967. p. 25 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Joy Fair, champion driver at MCRT, dies". December 10, 2011.
- ^ "Mount Clemens 1981 – David Allio • Racing Photography Archives". June 25, 2021.
- ^ "Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame - Leslie, Tracy 2015". www.mmshof.org.
- ^ "July 15, 1985: Car-race track draws fans – when sun shines". Crain's Detroit Business. July 12, 2015.
- ^ "Mount Clemens Speedway - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com.
- ^ "Mt. Clemens Race Track, Puscas column, 1983". May 4, 1983. p. 49 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mt. Clemens Race Track, 1984". August 2, 1984. p. 123 – via newspapers.com.