Portland Speedway

Location	Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Opened	1924
Closed	2001
Major events	NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR Winston West Series World of Outlaws
Oval
Surface	Clay (1924–1946; 2000–2001) Asphalt (1946–2000)
Length	1/2 and 1/4 miles (0.8 km)
Turns	4

Portland Speedway was a half-mile race track for auto racing in Portland, Oregon, U.S. It was in existence from 1924 until 2001.

History

The track began as a five-eighths-mile (one km) clay oval in 1924 on the site of a field in north Portland. The track hosted big cars, midget cars, and stock cars before the suspension of racing during World War II.^[1]

The track was paved in 1946 as a half-mile oval. NASCAR sanctioning came to Portland after Western Speedways, Inc. leased the track in 1984. It hosted four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races from 1995 to 1998.^[2] Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday Jr. won at Portland during their championship seasons, 1995 and 1996 respectively.^[2] Rich Bickle and Stacy Compton won the final two events there.^[2]

The NASCAR Winston West Series ran 36 Portland races between 1971 and 2000 with Hershel McGriff winning a series high five times.^[2] Other notable winners included future NASCAR Winston Cup champion Bobby Allison, 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope, and NASCAR drivers Chad Little, Greg Biffle, and Ken Schrader.^[2] 1994 Portland winner Rick Carelli competed in all four Portland Craftsman Truck Series races, with three top tens and a best finish of third in 1998.^[3]

The track held a total of seven NASCAR Cup Series races during the 1956 and 1957 seasons.^[4]

Between 1956 and 2000, the track held many NASCAR West Series races.^[4]

The last race on the pavement surface was on July 30, 2000.^[1] The track was converted to a clay surface and hosted the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars in 2000 and 2001.^[5][6]

References

External links

• Portland Speedway race results at Racing-Reference

45°35′37″N 122°40′11″W / 45.59361°N 122.66972°W / 45.59361; -122.66972