Southside Speedway

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Southside Speedway

Facility Statistics
Location	12800 Genito Road Midlothian, VA 23112
Promoter	Sue W. Clements
Dimensions
Shape	Oval
Distance	.33 mile
Banking/Turns	12°
Banking/Straights	10°

Southside Speedway (Affectionately dubbed "The Toughest Track in the South") is a short track used for stock car auto racing located just South of Richmond, Virginia in Chesterfield County. It is a .33 mile asphalt oval, and features a slight bank in the turns, but not enough to notice it with the naked eye. The track is run by Sue Clements, and is entering the 2007 season on April 6th. The current track champions are Chris Dodson (Late Model Sportsman), Thomas Stinson (Modifieds), Chris Hott (Grand Stock), J.B. Poats (Pro-Six), Kevin Yeatts (Legends), Dwayne Bryant (U-Car), and Larry Lamb (Street Stock)

[edit] History

Southside Speedway first opened on July 11th, 1959 with Modifieds as the feature division. Throughout the track's history, there has often been one or two single divisions that brought the fans to the track, and several other novelty divisions that have been used by drivers as a stepping stone to the more prominent divisions. Usually, the more prominent division has been any variety of Late Model cars or Modifieds, and it's immediate predecessor division has been the Grand Stock class, or something similar.

During the 70s, three names emerged that would plant the seed for future generations of competition at Southside Speedway. Ray Hendrick, Cal Johnson and Ted Hairfield were older drivers whose sons and grandsons have become competitive forces throughout the decades.

During the mid to late 80s, the three prominent divisions at Southside Speedway were the Late Model Stock Cars, Grand Stocks and Mini Stocks. The elite of Southside Speedway's limelight through the 80s was shared by the rivalry between Wayne Patterson and Roy Hendrick, but Bug's Hairfield, Roger Sawyer, David Blankenship and Eddie Johnson was always in competition, and passed the track championship around throughout the decade. On Saturdays in the late 80s and early 90s, the track would often feature an Enduro Race that would include upwards of 80 cars racing in a 100-lap melee. These races were incredibly hard to keep up with, as the track was constantly completely congested with cars. The track would also feature a number of other divisions on certain occasions, including Modifieds, Pure Stocks, Factory Stocks, Go-Karts, and many others.

Sometime during the early 90s, Southside Speedway created an Enduro-type division that would race every week with the rest of the Friday night racing activity. Originally, these cars were called Street Stocks, but the name was changed the next year or two years later to "Southside Chargers."

Wayne Patterson lost his sponsorship with Pabst Blue Ribbon during the late 80s, giving way for Roy Hendrick to dominate the Late Model Stock Cars throughout the early 90s. The battle for second was almost always fought between Bug's Hairfield, Eddie Johnson and Shane Lockhart. This continued until Wayne Patterson made his return during the mid 90s and resurged the Hendrick / Patterson rivalry. During the mid-90s, Shane Lockart was the dominant force, and Eddie Johnson fell into the limelight during the late 90s.

In the early 2000s, a face appeared out of the Go-Kart ranks that would become an icon in the world of stock car racing. Denny Hamlin first started racing in the Mini Stock division at Southside Speedway in 1997. Within the next 5 years, he would see his share of wins and track records at Southside Speedway, as well as in neighboring tracks in South Hamption, Langley and South Boston. After racing in the Craftsman Truck Series and the Busch series, Denny Hamlin was adopted by Joe Gibbs and ran his first full-time Nextel Cup season in 2005. The following year, he swept both races at Pocono International Raceway, earned the Nextel Cup Rookie of the Year title, and qualified for the Chase for the Championship. It should also be noted that Curtis Markham, former Southside Speedway track champion, is currently Denny Hamlin's spotter.

During the mid 2000s, Southside Speedway vastly expanded its horizons by offering 8 divisions of racing. The two main attractions, the Late Model Sportsman division and the Modified division, typically alternate between their respected Friday nights to run 100-lap feature events. Chris Dodson is currently the defending track champion in the Late Model Sportsman division and Thomas Stinson is the current Modified defending track Champion. To keep the three family traditions going, Brandon Hendrick and Chris Hairfield, grandsons of Ray Hendrick and Ted Hairfield and sons of Roy Hendrick and Bug's Hairfield, have become contenders in the Late Model Sportsman division. Chris Johnson, grandson of Cal Johnson and son of Eddie Johnson, also raced in the MACKA Champ Kart division during the 2005 season.