Saranac Lake Speedway
{{Short description|Defunct motorsport venue in Saranac Lake, New York}}
{{Infobox motorsport venue
| name = Saranac Lake Speedway
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| location = Saranac Lake, New York
| coordinates = {{coord|44.3503|-74.1341|type:landmark_region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
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| owner = Aaron and Pearl Hoyt
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| opened = 1959
| closed = 1968
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| layout1 = Oval
| surface = Clay
| length_km = .8
| length_mi = .5
| turns = 4
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Saranac Lake Speedway was a {{convert|0.5|mi|km|adj=on}} dirt oval raceway in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. It was a home track of 1960 national NASCAR Sportsman Division co-champion Dick Nephew, who also captured the speedway's title that same year.{{cite news|title=Racing great Dick Nephew honored|url= https://www.pressrepublican.com/sports/local_sports/racing-great-dick-nephew-honored/article_022cf592-f278-5264-8abc-7b0a7337e455.html|date=June 3, 2008|newspaper=Press-Republican|location=Plattsburg NY|accessdate=March 26, 2025}}
Overview
In 1959 Aaron and Pearl Hoyt, owners of the local Chrysler dealership in Saranac Lake, New York, set out to convert the old potato field along their Trudeau Road farm into a one-half mile clay-topped speedway.{{cite news|last=Riley|first=Howard|title= History of the Saranac Lake Speedway |url=https://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/opinion/columns/you-know-what-local-history-by-howard-riley/2017/05/history-of-the-saranac-lake-speedway/|date=May 20, 2017|newspaper=Adirondack Daily Enterprise|location=Saranac Lake NY|accessdate=March 26, 2025}} The venue drew fans and competitors from Canada, Vermont, and Northern New York.{{cite news |title=Championship race at Saranac Lake Speedway|url= https://infoweb1.newsbank.com/maximus/cache/0/snippets/bitonal_tiff_g4/176AD44AF34F13FE/17697C4A7B8EC7FF/sn_highlight_FFFF00_17697C4A7B8EC7FF_2267_7241_532_76_27_230_230.png|date=August 15, 1963|newspaper=Watertown Daily Times|location=NY |via=NNY360 Archives|access-date=March 26, 2025}}
The track operated for its first season and part of a second on Sunday afternoons, switching to Friday nights in August 1960. After the 1967 racing schedule was by ravaged by weather conditions, Pat Hotte, who promoted two other tracks, Fort Covington, New York, and Maxville Speedway in Ontario, Canada, operated the facility for a year before it closed permanently.{{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}}
References
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External links
- [http://www.catamountstadium.com/saranaclake_speedway.htm Saranac Lake Speedway]
Category:Motorsport venues in New York (state)
Category:Sports venues in Franklin County, New York