November 30, 2010
By Allen Madding
In 1952, Longview Speedway, a quarter-mile flat dirt track existed on the outskirts of Manassas, Virginia. Al Gore purchased the track and the 22-acre parcel of land it sat on and reconstructed the race track to be a three-eighths mile asphalt oval. Gore renamed the track “Old Dominion Speedway”.
Open cockpit “roadsters” initially took to the track and were later replaced by modifieds. The modifieds were eventually replaced with stock cars and the track became the home to the Northern Virginia Stock Car Club.
On April 25, 1958, the NASCAR Grand National Division (later renamed the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series) came to Old Dominion Speedway for the first time holding a 150-lap event. 25 cars competed and Frankie Schneider won in his No. 62 Chevrolet after leading 106 laps. For his efforts, he collected $600.
The NASCAR Grand National cars would not compete at Old Dominion again until May, 18, 1963 when 16 cars competed in the 300 lap event. Richard Petty would capture the win driving the No. 41 Petty Enterprises Plymouth while Jim Paschal finished third driving the No. 43. Petty collected $1,000 for the win.
When the NASCAR Grand National division returned on July 8, 1964, Ned Jarrett won the Old Dominion 400 in Bundy Long’s No. 11 Ford after leading 359 laps and he collected $1,100 in front of a crowd of 5,560 fans.
Jarrett won again in September 1964 at Old Dominion leading 424 laps in the 500 lap event collecting $1,500 with the NASCAR Grand National division.
Junior Johnson took the checkered flag and $1,100 after leading 396 laps of the 400 lap NASCAR Grand National division event at Old Dominion on July 8, 1965 driving his No. 26 Ford.
Richard Petty won the 400 lap NASCAR Grand National division event in September 1965 driving the No. 43 Plymouth leading only the last lap and capturing the $1,300 prize.
Elmo Langley, who would later drive the pace car for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, won the final NASCAR Grand National event held at Old Dominion Speedway on July 7, 1966 driving the No. 64 Ford after leading 231 laps in the 400 lap event collecting $1,100.
Old Dominion continued to host the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Series (later renamed the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series) which competed at the track until 1980.
Since then the track continues to host weekly stock car racing including Mini Stocks, Grand Stocks, Speedway Sportsman, and Late Model divisions. Old Dominion also continues to host the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
The Speedway also contains a 1/8th mile concrete drag strip which stays busy most Friday nights hosting the Southern Bracket Racing Association (SBRA). It is reported that Old Dominion is the oldest drag strip on the east coast with drag racing events dating back to the Longview dirt track days. Al Gore constructed the first purpose-built asphalt drag strip east of the Mississippi River at Old Dominion in 1953.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
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