Salem Speedway
Salem Speedway is a .555 miles (0.893 km) long paved oval motor racetrack in Washington Township, Washington County, near Salem, Indiana, approximately 100 miles (160 km) south of Indianapolis. It opened in 1947. Major auto racing series that run at Salem are ARCA and USAC.
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| Location | 2729 Hwy 56 West Salem, Indiana |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°36′00″N 86°08′25″W |
| Owner | Owen & Beverly Thompson |
| Opened | June 22, 1947 |
| Length | .555 mi |
| Banking | 33° |
The track has 33° degrees of banking in the corners.
The first ARCA Racing Series race was 1955. The NASCAR Grand National East Series ran one race at the speedway, in 1973.
The ASA National Tour ran 6 races at the track, from 1998 through 2003 and had notable NASCAR drivers as winners, like David Stremme, Tim Sauter, Scott Hansen, Gary St. Amant and others.
USAR also had ran 8 races at the track, between 2002 and 2008, and also had notable NASCAR drivers like Brian Ross, Joel Kauffman, Mikey Kile, Jeff Agnew, Gary St. Amant and others as winners.
NASCAR Southeast Series ran two races at the facility, between 1996 and 1997.
Salem Speedway has seen many great racers who are household names, such as Ruttman, Carter, Sweikert, O’Connor, Parnelli Jones, A. J. Foyt, Al Unser, Mario Andretti, Vogler, Allison, Parsons, Waltrip, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Busch, Kasey Kahne, Ken Schrader, Joey Logano, and the list goes on. With Owen and Beverly Thompson as owner, the track will continue to be a historic battleground for years to come.
The ARCA qualifying record is 16.785 seconds/119.035 mph by Gary Bradberry in 1994.[1]
Rich Vogler
On July 21, 1990, during the Joe James / Pat O'Connor Memorial sprint car event at the Salem Speedway, which was nationally broadcast on ESPN Thunder, sprint car driver Rich Vogler sustained severe head injuries and was killed after a crash in turn 4. Vogler, who was leading the event at the time and was about to take the white flag signaling one lap to go, hit head on with the turn 4 wall, violently throwing tires, Vogler's helmet, and other pieces of Vogler's car all over the track. The race was red flagged and would never restart. Vogler, now dead at the age of 39, was declared the winner posthumously because of USAC National Sprint Car Series rules on a red flag reverting to the previous completed lap. This was his 170th win. Finishing first among the survivors was a young driver from Pittsboro, Indiana, named Jeff Gordon.
References
- "Salem Speedway", ARCA Racing, archived from the original on 2012-05-13