Portland International Raceway
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Portland Speedway will celebrate its 14th season as a NASCAR Winston Racing Series track in 1997. Originally built as a clay oval track, the speedway has a rich and storied history dating back to the mid-1920s and involving many of the legendary names of the sport.
As such, it is one of the oldest continuously operating automobile race tracks in the United States and has hosted the oldest West Coast stock car racing circuit, the NASCAR Winston West Series, since 1954.
Portland Speedway's creators carved the orginal 5/8-mile surface out of a north Portland field in the 1920s. The track subsequently played host to Big Car, Midget and Stock Car races through the start of World War II. In 1946 the track's operators paved and shortened Portland Speedway to a half-mile oval and, in the late 1940s, added the inner quarter-mile oval.
In 1984 the speedway's lease was acquired by Western Speedways, Inc. and a sanctioning agreement with NASCAR, the largest and most successful automobile racing organization in the world, was granted. Although the track was in disrepair at the time the management team persisted and the facility rebounded in splendid fashion.
Through a committment to excellence in all phases of operation, Portland Speedway has shown tremendous growth, both in terms of competitor participation and spectator attendance.
In addition to the NASCAR Winston West Series schedule, the track will host the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the NASCAR REB-CO Northwest Tour.
Location: North of Portland on I-5, exit 306A, then southeast.
Source: NASCAR.com
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