International Amphitheatre (Chicago)

Chicago Auto Racing, Inc. held the first indoor drag races anywhere on December 30, 1962, inside Chicago’s International Amphitheatre at 42nd and Halsted on the South Side. Promoter Bill Schade came up with the idea and had a strip built through two large halls south of the arena, with steel guardrails along both sides of a sixty-foot-wide lane. The slick concrete track was 440 feet long with a 660-foot shutdown. That first night 5,500 spectators watched 160 cars make 2,248 runs for trophies in 38 classes. Jack Sharkey of Matteson had top speed at 70 mph in his ‘63 Plymouth, and one account says Richard Myracle of Melrose Park had low ET at 5.68 seconds in his ‘62 Plymouth.

The amphitheatre stood next to the Union Stock Yards. It was built in 1934 mainly for livestock shows, and before it was torn down in 1999 it hosted several Republican and Democratic national conventions, rock concerts and pro sports.

Newspapers said “popular demand” brought the races back on two Sundays, January 20 and 27, 1963, when the track record was set at 81.818 mph. Both doors at the south end were widened to eighteen feet for more speed and safety, and factory experimental cars took part. Races followed on March 17 and a season finale on March 31. The next winter brought five more dates in 1963-64, with racers such as Mr. Norm’s Dodge and Arnie Beswick. The 1965 season was canceled when the fire department ruled that so many cars indoors with gas in their tanks was a safety hazard.