Canadian Race Track Database
Kingston SpeedwayKingston, ON
Status
Closed
Years in Operation: 1951-1976
Name History:
Track Configurations:
3/8 mile clay oval (1951-57)
1/4 mile clay oval (1958-1976)
Notes:
The original owner and the builder of the track was Rod Cutway
Track was built on Alf Compton's land - he was Cutway's father-in-law
Some unofficial races were held in late 1951 on a roughed-out version of the track
Final construction took place in the spring of 1952 with the first official race day being on June 28, 1952
Tony Blake was the first feature winner on June 28, 1952
Originally there were no lights
The 1952 season started with racing on Saturday afternoon - lights were added and racing switched to Friday night beginning on July 25, 1952
1952 - Spectator Kenneth Deyo was killed on Oct 3, 1952 when a car hit the wooden guardrails, causing them to scatter, hitting Deyo who was standing at the edge of the track
1955 - Lights were upgraded and new grandstands built
1956 - Grandstands were extended and lights were completely replaced
1957 - Wwitched from Friday night to Thursday night
1958 - Track was shortened from 3/8 to 1/4 mile by reducing the straights
1959 - More grandstands added
1961 - Corner banking was added - the track had previousy been flat
1963 - A newspaper article stated that most drivers had about $600-$700 in their car and the nightly purse was $800
1968 - Maximum engine size was increased from 250 CI to 310 CI
1968 - Corners were widened and banking was increased
1968 - A near riot broke out on Sept 20 when the drivers went on strike for more money in a 50-lap feature
- The crowd blamed track owner Bud Gibson and turned on him, demanding a refund
- Police were called and Gibson was escorted from the property
- The issues were resolved and the 50-lapper was re-run at the end of September but another issue with one driver caused Gibson to close the season early
1970 - Ran mini-stocks on a few nights
1971 - Lighting on the backstraight was upgraded and new spectator washrooms were built, straights were widened and turn 2 reshaped
1971 - Mini-stocks were dropped
1972 - Mini-stocks were back
1974 - Sportsman featured paid $325 to win, $125 to Late Models and $50 for Mini-Stocks
1974 - Late Model engines went from 310 CI to 352 CI
1974 - New owner Bob Kennedy named Walt Pennock as track manager and promoter
1974 - Canteen was replaced and grandstands completely rebuilt
1977 - Earl Bilow announced in January that the track would open, but in March he changed his mind due to the costs - within a few weeks the track property was covered in old cars from the auto wrecker next door, also owned by Bilow
A lot of Americans ran here as part of a circuit that included Watertown Speedway and other tracks in New York
The track regularly hosted snowmobile racing in the winter
The site is now a quarry
Ownership history:
1951-54 Rod Cutway
1955 Lawrence Craven/ Arthur Terry/ Jack Keill
1956-65 Lawrence Craven
1966 Bud & Fred Gibson
1967-70 Bud Gibson - Fred sold his share to Bud in early 1967
1970 Phil Quintin/ Len Corcoran/ Hugh Bennett/ Dr.Gerry Wager/ Ken Cadieux - purchased in June
1971 Fred Gibson/ Bob Martin - purchased in late 1970, took possession in early 1971
1972-73 Fred Gibson
1974 Bob Kennedy - purchased in late January
1975 Earl Bilow
1976 Earl Bilow (leased to Jim Sarazin & Doug Emmons)
