Thompson Speedway Dragway
ClosedClosed No longer racing, but some of the track is still there.
- Raced
- 1958
- State
- Connecticut
- What's left
- A good length of the old track surface is still there, in poor to good condition.
- On the site today
- Thompson International Speedway (oval still operating)
- First race
- summer 1958
- Location
- Straightaway of the Thompson half-mile oval, in front of the grandstand
- Elevation
- 415 ft (127 m)
- Coordinates
- 41.98164, -71.82528
A drag strip was laid out on the straightaway of the half-mile oval, right in front of the grandstand, after many hot rod groups in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts had pushed for one. It was sanctioned by the U.S. Timing Association. A series of races ran in summer 1958, with twenty-five trophies given out each week. After the first month, class winners had come from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and southern New England. Motorcycles joined the program on July 20, when thirty entered. The oval still runs as Thompson International Speedway.
Background
Thompson was the first paved oval in the United States and was once called the "Indianapolis of the East." It now runs a 5/8-mile oval and a 1.7-mile road course, and it hosts the yearly World Series of Speedway Racing for modifieds.
More in Connecticut
- Closed No longer racing, but some of the track is still there. Connecticut Dragway (East Haddam) 1960-85
- Closed No longer racing, but some of the track is still there. Lime Rock Park 1958