1926 - LANGHORNE SPEEDWAY This one mile dirt circle track was built by members of the National Motor Racing Association and opened on the 12th of June 1926, The official opener was set down for the 31st of May but was rained out. Manage Settings Johnny Boyd (pictured below) was badly burned when his cars fuel tank was knocked off, and cars broke up and got upside down in Puke Hollow. However, efforts are underway to preserve the history of Langhorne and ensure that its legacy is not forgotten. The Watkins Glen road course has been a fixture on the circuit for a long time now, and is known as one the most if not the most demanding tracks in the sport. It was the site of the sports biggest heartbreak in recent memory when Dale Earnhardt lost his life in the 2001 Daytona 500 the last driver fatality for the Cup Series up to this point (and hopefully for good).if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'motorracingsports_com-leader-1','ezslot_11',115,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-motorracingsports_com-leader-1-0'); Two of the three previous Cup Series fatalities came at the 1994 Daytona 500, where drivers Rodney Orr and Neil Bonnet were killed in separate practice incidents. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. That and the speed record Bill Elliott set where the spark that started restrictor plate racing in NASCAR. There were several factors that contributed to the eventual demise of the Langhorne Speedway. Langhorne was also an early adopter of asphalt racing, which paved the way for the growth of stock car racing in the United States. Catering chiefly to USAC's Championship Car Division, Fried and Gerber had the track's layout reconfigured to a D shape in 1965 by building a straightaway across the back stretch and paving over the uneven dirt surface with asphalt. Marvin was one of 18 drivers to die at Langhorne. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. He died of head injuries, broken ribs and a broken leg. A separate list compiles drivers who have died of a medical condition while driving or shortly thereafter and another section shows non-driver deaths. Foyt, Mario Andretti, and Richard Petty, who all competed in races at Langhorne over the years. If you suddenly ran up on cars, it was hard to dodge them. The Legend of Puke Hollow: Remembering Langhorne Speedway - MotorTrend 43 Langhorne Speedway Premium High Res Photos But after the Champ Car race at Trenton in the spring, the drivers met secretly and voted to boycott the event. Al gave his car a little breather there, and I kind of closed my eyes and got around him and won the race. From then on, Langhorne became synonymous with dirt track racing and was a beloved venue for both drivers and fans alike. Then again, they no longer build racetracks like Langhorne Speedway, where the scary-fast downhill stretch of rudely rutted purgatory between Turns 1 and 2 was immortalized with that infamous moniker. It was like jumping a fresh-plowed field. South Carolina driver Johnny Allen, now 82, ran in three NASCAR Cup events at Langhorne Speedway in the mid-1950s with a best finish of third place in 1957. We may earn money from the links on this page. He was the first driver to win a 100-mile (160 km) dirt track race in less than an hour at Langhorne Speedway. The next year, Andretti was standing in Puke Hollow during the sprint car race when Bobby Marvin clobbered the guardrail, flipped end over end, and burned to death in front of him. The land has been repurposed for commercial use, and there are no remaining structures or artifacts from the speedway. Langhornes influence can still be felt in racing today, and its impact on the sport will never be forgotten. Johnny Thomson Had seen a couple guys not coming home from there. "Langhorne was the kind of place where, the bigger your huevos, the faster you went. "I hardly slept the night before. Additionally, the rise of NASCAR and the popularity of oval tracks made Langhorne less relevant in the world of racing. Drivers have compared racing at Bristol to flying a fighter plane in a parking lot. So take a moment to salute Langhorne Speedway. With its roots tracing back to the early 1900s, Langhorne became a hub for dirt track racing and played a significant role in shaping the sports evolution. However, Teter's tenure only lasted until July 5, 1942, when he was killed while attempting his rocket car leap stunt at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. What happened to the Langhorne Motor Speedway? The Langhorne Motor Speedway was closed in 1971 due to financial struggles and safety concerns. Safety improvements across all sports have made them increasingly safer. He was on the 211st lap at Langhome Speedway, crashing through a fence and flipping, three times according to press reports, his hudson hornet into some trees. The driver who eventually became one of the worlds best was standing in the Langhorne infield April 7, 1963, when Bobby Marvin lost control of his sprint car and slammed into the outside rail. Foyt and Jones drove past the car as it was flipping violently. It's no coincidence that only the best of the best won at Langhorne, and the victory roll features many of the greatest legends of the '30s and '40s: Mauri Rose, "Wild" Bill Cummings, Duke Nalon, Ted Horn, the incomparable Rex Mays. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. You were hanging on the edge by a thread. This distinct, egg-shaped oval was the site of the closest and arguably most memorable finish in series history. [10] The Strictly Stock series was renamed the Grand National series for the 1950 season, and the series is now known as NASCAR Cup Series. If something went wrong, you were in the wall.". What Happened to Langhorne Motor Speedway? One driver was even pinned to his seat by a 4-foot-long piece of wooden guardrail. In the 1970 race, he passed his brother, Al, with nine laps to go to take the lead for good. In 1941, Hankinson sold the track to stuntman Earl "Lucky" Teter after a falling out with the AAA. Fried and Gerber announced the sale of the property to mall developers in 1967, but the speedway held on through five more seasons. If youre afraid of racing, you best get out of it. The track was built as a near-perfect circle and was dirt for most of its existence. The loss of the speedway, located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was deeply felt by racing enthusiasts and had a significant impact on the local economy. Killing field: The myth, the legend of Langhorne Speedway - Autoweek And naked fear. While New Hampshire International has been free of such tragic incidents since, it remains a track to be respected due to its combination of high speeds and flat corners. All motor racing and motorsport is dangerous, pushing machines to the limit on enclosed dangerous tracks will sometimes result in accidents.