Mobile International Speedway is a 1/2-mile paved oval track along U.S. Highway 90 in Irvington, Mobile County, Alabama, United States. It was built by Walter "Skip" Wetjen,[1][2][3] and opened in 1965.
| MIS | |
|---|---|
| Location | 7800 Park Blvd Irvington, Alabama 36544 |
| Coordinates | 30°30′49″N 88°13′11″W / 30.51361°N 88.21972°W |
| Capacity | 9,000 |
| Owner | Ida Fields/Eddie Shoemaker |
| Operator | Jason Smith |
| Broke ground | 1964 |
| Opened | 1965 |
| Architect | Walter "Skip" Wetjen |
| Major events |
|
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 0.5 miles (0.8 km) |
History
editDuring the golden age of stock car racing, the track held races with the likes of Gene Tapia, Wayne Niedecken Sr., Phil Wendt,[4][5][6] and other NASCAR drivers.[7] Longtime stock car driver Red Farmer won his 500th feature race at the track.[8]
From 1966 to 1968 the track hosted open-wheel racing and held the annual World 300 race for Supermodified racing, which attracted competitors that included notable drivers such as Bobby Allison,[9][10] Dale Hammac[11] and Armond Holley.[12]
In the 1980s, the track hosted races sanctioned by All Pro Stock, ASA, NASCAR Grand American, NASCAR All-American Challenge Series, and NASCAR All Pro Stock Car. They included drivers Donnie Allison, Rusty Wallace, Dave Mader III, Ronnie Sanders,[13] Mike Cope,[14] Freddy Fryar,[15] Junior Niedecken,[16] Jody Ridley[17] and others.[18][19][20]
More recently, the track has been home to a number of rising NASCAR and ARCA drivers including Rick Crawford, Kevin Swindell (a development driver for Ray Evernham),[21] Bubba Pollard (of Roush Racing: Driver X), Cale Gale and Grant Enfinger. Kevin Swindell holds the all-time track record.[22]
The ARCA Menards Series held the ARCA Mobile 200 at the track from 2012 to 2015, all of them won by local drivers: 1 win for Cale Gale and 3 for Enfinger. The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East held the Mobile 150 there in 2016. Also, the NASCAR Southeast Series hosted 9 races at Mobile International Speedway, between 1991 and 2001.
The CARS Hooters Pro Cup Series also had run three races at the facility, between 1998 and 1999.
Current races
edit- Southern Super Series
- TBA
July 15th, July 29th, Aug 12th, & Aug 26th. August 26th will be the Last race of the 2023 season.
Film and television
editOpening scenes from the 2009 film The Final Destination were shot at the track.[23]
Notes
edit- ^ "USCS News". www.uscsracing.com. Archived from the original on 2006-05-15.
- ^ National Sprint Car Hall of Fame website at http://sprintcarhof.com/article.aspx?id=178
- ^ Walter "Skip" Wetjen, promoter of local sports and World War II Vet, dies, Mobile Register, December 2, 2008, online at http://bama.live.advance.net/news/press-register/featobit.ssf?/base/news/122821293669790.xml&coll=3[permanent dead link]
- ^ Photos of Wendt and crew at http://www.genetapiaracing.com/philwendt.htm
- ^ See, http://www.racing-reference.info/driver?id=wendtph01
- ^ See Race Results for Wendt at http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/racelist2.php?uniqid=5648
- ^ See Race Results for Niedecken at http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/racelist2.php?uniqid=5665
- ^ See interview at, http://www.stockcarracing.com/featuredvehicles/scrp_0601w_charles_red_farmer/index.html Archived 2010-02-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ See photo and note at http://www.indianaopenwheel.com/showthread.php?t=8766
- ^ See photos of more Supermodifieds from Mobile International Speedway at http://www.retrorockets.org/1/Volume38.htm
- ^ See photos of Hammac at http://www.genetapiaracing.com/dale_hammac.htm
- ^ See article about Holley at http://www.genetapiaracing.com/armond_holley.htm
- ^ See race results for Sanders at http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/racelist2.php?uniqid=4373
- ^ See Race Results for Cope at http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/racelist2.php?uniqid=825
- ^ See Race Results for Fryar at http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/racelist2.php?uniqid=187
- ^ See Race REsults for Niedecken at http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/racelist2.php?uniqid=5912
- ^ See Race Results for Ridley at http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/racelist2.php?uniqid=826
- ^ See Composite Race Results at http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/racelist3.php?trackid=400
- ^ See 1982 Race Results at http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/racelist.php?year=1982
- ^ See 1983 Race Results at http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/racelist.php?year=1983
- ^ Official Web Site of Kevin Swindell, http://www.kevinswindell.com/cms.asp?Page=kevin Archived 2009-09-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Official track web site, http://www.mobilespeedway.net/trackrecords.php
- ^ See, Starling, Bill, The Final Destination shoot scenes at Mobile International Speedway, Mobile Register, August 27, 2009, found online at http://photos.al.com/mobile-press-register/2009/08/final_destination_4_shoot_scen_9.html Archived 2015-06-22 at the Wayback Machine
External links
edit- Official Speedway Website
- Mobile International Speedway archive at Racing-Reference