Fort Covington International Speedway
{{Short description|Defunct motorsport venue in Fort Covington, New York}}
{{Infobox motorsport venue
| name = Fort Covington International Speedway
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| location = Fort Covington, New York
| coordinates = {{coord|44.9892|-74.5063|type:landmark_region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
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| owner = Pat Hotte Enterprises
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| opened = 1953
| closed = 1975
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| layout1 = Oval
| surface = Clay
| length_km = .8
| length_mi = .5
| turns = 4
| banking = Semi-banked
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Fort Covington International Speedway was a {{convert|0.5|mi|km|adj=on}} dirt oval raceway located just 1.5 miles from the Canada–United States border with New York State and 3.5 miles from the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne territory.
Overview
In spring of 1953, R. S. Lomber, Dennis Mahoney, and Lawrence VerSchneider began transforming an abandoned fairgrounds oval into a stock car racing facility.{{cite news|title=Fort Covington Speedway becoming Stock Car mecca of North Country|url=https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=tmo19530921-01.1.4&srpos=3&e=------195-en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22Fort+Covington+Speedway%22----1953-----|page=4|date=September 21, 1953|newspaper=The Massena Observer|location=NY|via=NYS Historic Newspapers|accessdate=March 27, 2025}} The track opened on August 8, 1953, to about 30 competitors and a standing room only crowd.{{cite news|title=Huge crowd packs grand opening of speedway Sunday|url=https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=fcs19530813-01.1.1&srpos=24&e=------195-en-20--21--txt-txIN-%22Fort+Covington+International+Speedway%22----1953-----|page=1|date=August 13, 1953|newspaper=The Fort Covington Sun|location=NY|via=NYS Historic Newspapers|accessdate=March 27, 2025}}
In 1956, driver Bud Reid was involved in a serious on track incident, and the heroic actions of fellow driver Rod Ritchie led to Ritchie receiving NASCAR's "John Naughton Memorial Sportsmanship Trophy".{{cite news|title=Rod Ritchie wins Naughton Trophy for heroic act|url=https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=pp19570110-01.1.16&srpos=3&e=------195-en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22rod+ritchie%22----1957-----|page=16|date=January 10, 1957|newspaper=Press-Republican|location=Plattsburg NY|via=NYS Historic Newspapers|accessdate=March 27, 2025}}
In 1966, ownership transferred to Pat Hotte. Hotte was also the promoter of the Maxwell Fairgrounds and Iroquois Speedway in Ontario, Canada, and later added the Saranac Lake Speedway in New York and Cornwall Motor Speedway in Ontario, Canada, to his portfolio.{{cite news|title=Stock Car races slated|url=https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=caf19660526-01.1.25&srpos=1&e=------196-en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22pat+hotte%22----1966-----|page=1|date=May 26, 1966|newspaper= Courier and Freeman|location=Potsdam NY|via=NYS Historic Newspapers|accessdate=March 27, 2025}}{{cite news|last=Goetz|first=Bob|title=Green flag is up|url=https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=ade19680719-01.1.5&srpos=4&e=------196-en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22Saranac+lake+speedway%22----1968-----|date=July 19, 1968|newspaper=Adirondack Daily Enterprise|location=Saranac Lake NY|via=NYS Historic Newspapers|accessdate=March 26, 2025}}{{cite news|title=Olin Villnave wins Sunday Stock Car; next race Thursday|url=https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=tmo19730607-01.1.21&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN----------|page=21|date=June 7, 1973|newspaper=The Massena Observer|location=NY|via=NYS Historic Newspapers|accessdate=March 27, 2025}}
Operations ceased after the 1974 racing season due to Hotte's illness and subsequent passing.{{cite news|last=Bromlin|first= Nancy|title=For Your Information|url=https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=caf19750506-01.1.15&srpos=1&e=------197-en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22Pat+Hotte%22----1975-----|page=15|date=May 6, 1975|newspaper= Courier and Freeman|location=Potsdam NY|via=NYS Historic Newspapers|accessdate=March 27, 2025}}{{cite web|title=Fort Covington Speedway|url=http://www.speedwayandroadracehistory.com/fort-covington-speedway.html|website=speedwayandroadracehistory|accessdate=March 27, 2025}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.catamountstadium.com/fortcovingtonspeedway.html Fort Covington Speedway]
Category:Motorsport venues in New York (state)
Category:Sports venues in Franklin County, New York