Occoneechee Speedway was one of the first two NASCAR tracks to open. It closed in 1968 and is the only dirt track remaining from the inaugural 1949 season.[2]
The Occoneechee Farm occupied the land in the late 19th century. The farm was named after the Occaneechi Indians that lived in the area in the late 17th century and late 18th century. The landowner, Julian S. Carr, raced horses, and built a half mile horse racing track on the site.[3]
Bill France noticed the horse racing track and expanse of open land while piloting his airplane.[3] On the site of the earlier horse track, he built a 0.9-mile dirt track in September 1947, two months before NASCAR was organized. In its earliest days, Fonty Flock and his brothers Bob and Tim dominated the track. Louise Smith became NASCAR's first female driver at the track in the fall of 1949.[4] The Occoneechee Speedway hosted stock car racing legends such as Fireball Roberts, Richard Petty, Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson. It was a crown jewel in NASCAR for most of its existence.[citation needed]
The Sunday racing schedule prompted grassroots opposition in Hillsborough, and the final race at the track, which by that time was called the Orange Speedway, was a Richard Petty victory on September 15, 1968.[5][6]
The loss of the speedway later made Bill France look for a new spot in the area to build a bigger, better, and faster track with speeds in excess of Daytona International Speedway. Eventually he looked towards South Carolina and eventually Alabama where he built the Talladega Superspeedway which opened a year later where it took Occoneechee Speedway’s date on the schedule.[citation needed]
The Occoneechee/Orange speedway, along with North Wilkesboro Speedway, is one of the inspirations for the dirt track Thomasville Speedway in the Pixar movie Cars 3 in which Petty voices the character Strip Weathers.[7]
The track was featured on the Peacock original series, Lost Speedways hosted by NASCAR Hall of Famer, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matthew Dillner.[8]
Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail
The Occoneechee Speedway site is now heavily forested with pines and sycamores. The grandstands are still visible, as is much of the mile–long oval track. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and now comprises 44 acres (180,000 m2) with over 3 miles (4.8 km) of trails.[2] A walking trail was built in 2003 that crisscrosses the clay track. A non-profit local group, The Historic Speedway Group, continues to organize volunteers to renovate historic structures and maintain the track and trails. The group has collected an impressive archive of videos, photographs, and historical information about the site.
In 2022, the site, owned by the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust, was transferred to state ownership to become part of Eno River State Park.[9]
^Jennifer Martin and Sarah Woodard, and Virginia Freeze (August 2001). "Occoneechee Speedway"(PDF). National Register of Historic Places — Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
