Turns 1 and 2 at the Action Track at the 2008 Hulman Classic |
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Location | Honey Creek Township, Vigo County, near Terre Haute, Indiana, United States |
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Time zone | EST/EDT (-0500/-0400) |
Coordinates | 39.420315, -87.420884 |
Owner | Brian Dorsett, Davey Hamilton, Chris Novotney and Mike King |
Broke ground | 1949 |
Opened | 1952 |
Closed | 1988-1989, 2007 |
Former names | The Action Track |
Major events | USAC Hut Hundred midget car race USAC Tony Hulman sprint car race USAC Silver Crown |
Surface | dirt |
Length | 0.5 mi (0.8 km) |
Turns | 2 |
Lap record | 16.487 seconds (Danny Lasoski[1], , 1999, World of Outlaws) |
Terre Haute Action Track (also The Action Track) is a half mile dirt track located at the Vigo County, Indiana fairgrounds on U.S. Route 41 along the south side of Terre Haute, Indiana. The track hosts annual United States Automobile Club (USAC) midget car, sprint car and Silver Crown events. Notable drivers that have competed at the track include A. J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon, Parnelli Jones, and Tony Stewart.[2] The track has held events sanctioned by USAC, its predecessor American Automobile Association (AAA), and the World of Outlaws.[3]
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The track opened on June 15, 1952.[4] It closed for a short period beginning in 1987 and reopened in 1990.[4] It closed again in May 2007 for the rest of the season after it lost its race card because it broke a local curfew.[5] The promoter had to stop the event early.[3] As of the start of the 2008 season, Rich Vogler's 13 feature wins is the most in track history.[6]
The track was promoted by Don Smith in the 1960s.[5] The track was more recently run by a series of promoters and attendance dwindled.[3] Most sanctioning bodies holding events at the track dropped it from their schedule and only a few events were held in recent years.[3] The track lost its United States Automobile Club (USAC) events in mid-2007.[5] In 2008, the DHK Promotions LLC group took over running the track.[5] DHK Promotions is owned by former Major League Baseball player Brian Dorsett, Indy Racing League driver Davey Hamilton and Indianapolis 500 radio announcer Mike King.[5]
In 2009 DHK Promotions has added a new partner, changed its name to Action Promotions, LLC and is announcing a schedule of six special events that will take place at the historic half-mile clay oval starting Saturday, May 2.
Chris Novotney, a Wabash Valley native who grew up attending sprint car races at the famed track, spent 2008 overseeing the reconstruction of the track surface and the installation of a new track drainage system. Novotney joins Brian Dorsett, Davey Hamilton and Mike King in the group that is now known as Action Promotions, LLC.
Events are no longer broadcast as Crossroads Communications are no longer affiliated with the Track. For 2009 Hi99 WTHI became the official track station, though the races are not broadcast anymore.
The track has held the major midget car racing event since 1954.[7] The 54th Hut Hundred was held in 2006.[7] Event winners include Jay Drake, Tracy Hines, Mike Hess, Dave Darland, and 2005 winner Johnny Rodriguez.[7] Rich Vogler won the event eight times, including six in the seven years between 1983 and 1989.[7] Al Herman won the first event in 1954.[7]
Results References:[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
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