Last February, we asked for your help in finding other race tracks lost to time. And you answered: our inboxes were flooded with tips in the days that followed. We now have 10 more songs to share, each with an interesting story.
Our latest discoveries span vast road courses, small-town Saturday night circular drives, and even a gigantic highway that Google satellites captured before and during its destruction. This is one of the coolest (and perhaps saddest) Google Earth race track images to date.
We know there are more tracks waiting to be rediscovered, so keep emailing us and commenting with your tips! From the United States and Canada to tracks around the world, we want to hear from you. With that said, let’s begin our third virtual road trip to the Google racetracks.
Trail: Greenwood Road
Location: Indianola, Iowa
Coordinates: 41°15’08″N 93°29’33″W
Engine1 reader Dennis sent us this tip, and at a glance you’d think it might still be an active lead. Nestled in south-central Iowa was a 3.0-mile, 16-turn road course in the middle of nowhere. According to Racingcircuts.info, she was active from 1963 to 1967 and her distance was partly the reason for her downfall. Low spectator attendance and maintenance issues also contributed to its demise and today the site is used for heavy equipment training. But Greenwood Roadway still exists in the gaming world with titles like rFactor and Assetto Corsa.
Track: Motordrome 70 Speedway
Location: Smithton, Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°10’30″N 79°43’30″W
This half-mile oval started as a dirt track in 1972, then became a sanctioned NASCAR track in 1989. History of speed circuits and road racing reports that it was paved at that time, and according to Engine1 reader Tom who sent us the tip, spectator attendance plummeted from that point on. Google images show the track in fair condition and, looking down the street, the entrance is still clearly marked. However, Tom tells us that the track has been closed for several years and is currently used by a soundproofing company.
Track: Illiana Motor Speedway
Location: Schererville, Indiana
Coordinates: 41°28’35″N 87°25’17″W
Just 35 miles from Chicago are the half-mile remains of Illiana Motor Speedway, a track that was active for nearly 70 years as a dirt and paved oval. Motor1 reader John shared his experiences at the track as a motor racing driver, where he competed in the 1970s and 1980s. John’s son also raced at Illiana, but the circuit closed in 2016. According to the Associated Press, the town of Schererville purchased the railroad with the intention of demolishing it and redeveloping the land; as of 2021, the buildings and bleachers were removed but the asphalt was still there. Discussions about land use were underway in 2023, but the current condition of the track is unknown.
Track: Bridgehampton Raceway
Location: Sag Harbor, New York
Coordinates: 40°58’41″N 72°20’03″W
Now home to a golf course, the Bridgehampton Raceway was once a bustling 12-turn, 2.8-mile track. It officially opened in 1957 and has hosted everything from Can-Am to the World Sports Car Championship to NASCAR. A website dedicated to the track talks about Mario Andretti taking Paul Newman for hot laps in a Mustang. It closed in 1999 and although the golf course offers a general overview of the old track, we have highlighted the original layout with our image comparison tool. Swipe left or right to see what the track looked like. Thanks to Michael for showing us this special piece of motor racing history.
Track: Bluegrass Motorsports Park
Location: Napoleon, Kentucky
Coordinates: 38°45’45″N 84°47’55″W
Can a track be said to have been abandoned if it was never officially completed? This is the story of Bluegrass Motorsports Park, which began construction in 2008. There is still a Facebook page for the road course, designed by Derek Daly of Formula 1 fame. A video from GraySpeed Productions sets the course 2.5 miles away, and although it looks pretty good from Google’s perspective in the sky, the final paving was never finished. Built just as the Great Recession of 2009-2010 hit, the project reportedly lost funding. According to tipster Dave, the track is currently privately owned and not accessible to the public.
Track: Roseburg Motor Speedway
Location: Green, Oregon
Coordinates: 43°09’34″N 123°21’41″W
Even a small quarter-mile oval track that was only open briefly deserves a moment in the light. That’s what we have with Roseburg Speedway, nestled in southwest Oregon among the trees. We got this advice from Hans, who visited the track as a child to watch the races. He told us it was a dangerous place; there wasn’t much protection for spectators and a car apparently drove into the stands at one point. Hans mentions that this happened in the late 1960s, but a Facebook page claims that the oval was only opened in 1963-1964. However long it existed, its legacy lives on with the ghostly silhouette of the trees where the track once stood.
Track: Dayton Speedway
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Coordinates: 39°43’19″N 84°15’14″W
It was a little difficult to find information on this half-mile oval. A tip from Doug gave us an approximate location, and an article from Dayton Daily News filled in the rest. Opened in 1934, it was actually a little over half a mile (5/8) and was a very fast track. Famous drivers such as Richard Petty and AJ Foyt did laps there, but the circuit was closed periodically during the 1970s and permanently in 1982. Unfortunately, it became a landfill, but the sections where the former was located routes are always visible from the sky.
Track: Lynndale Farms Circuit
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin
Coordinates: 43°06’29″N 88°18’08″W
If you lived in a subdivision that was once a 2.5-mile, 13-turn road course, could you resist the urge to put the gas in the middle of all the houses? Lynndale Farms is a nice subdivision with roads that follow much of the old trail. And if you look closely at the upper right side of the image, part of that old sidewalk is still there. According to Barcboys.com, it was only open from 1963 to 1967 and closed due to a combination of poor weather in Wisconsin and noise complaints from neighbors. Thanks to John for the advice on this neat trail.
Track: Wilmot Hills Road Running Course
Location: Wilmot, Wisconsin
Coordinates: 42°29’54″N 88°11’03″W
We may have to take a trip to Wisconsin just to visit all the old tracks that once existed. In the shadow of Wilmot Mountain Ski Resort is a short 1-mile road course that lived on brightly in the 1950s and 1960s. Barcboys says it was widely used at that time for everything from flight schools to SCCA racing. It closed in 1967, but Motor1 reader Joe tells us very little has changed since then. Even the buildings are still in place.
Track: Texas World Speedway
Location: College Station, Texas
Coordinates: 30°32’15″N 96°13’11″W
It’s impossible to miss the remains of the Texas World Speedway from above. At two miles long, it was a true superspeedway that hosted NASCAR, IMSA and several other large-scale racing series. The site also had a 2.9 mile road course, but according to Racing circuits, the weather often hampered activity on the track. It has fallen into ruin; NASCAR removed it from the schedule in the 1980s, but teams occasionally used the track for testing purposes. Tipster Michael reminded us that the track closed permanently in 2017.
The land is being repurposed for housing, and as of 2024, the Texas World Speedway no longer exists. However, a striking image from Google Earth captures the track in two different eras, showing the bones of the old sidewalk mixed with piles of dirt from the renovation. It’s a sad ending for one of the few high-speed highways ever built.
Last February, we asked for your help in finding other race tracks lost to time. And you answered: our inboxes were flooded with tips in the days that followed. We now have 10 more songs to share, each with an interesting story.
Our latest discoveries span vast road courses, small-town Saturday night circular drives, and even a gigantic highway that Google satellites captured before and during its destruction. This is one of the coolest (and perhaps saddest) Google Earth race track images to date.
We know there are more tracks waiting to be rediscovered, so keep emailing us and commenting with your tips! From the United States and Canada to tracks around the world, we want to hear from you. With that said, let’s begin our third virtual road trip to the Google racetracks.
Trail: Greenwood Road
Location: Indianola, Iowa
Coordinates: 41°15’08″N 93°29’33″W
Engine1 reader Dennis sent us this tip, and at a glance you’d think it might still be an active lead. Nestled in south-central Iowa was a 3.0-mile, 16-turn road course in the middle of nowhere. According to Racingcircuts.info, she was active from 1963 to 1967 and her distance was partly the reason for her downfall. Low spectator attendance and maintenance issues also contributed to its demise and today the site is used for heavy equipment training. But Greenwood Roadway still exists in the gaming world with titles like rFactor and Assetto Corsa.
Track: Motordrome 70 Speedway
Location: Smithton, Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°10’30″N 79°43’30″W
This half-mile oval started as a dirt track in 1972, then became a sanctioned NASCAR track in 1989. History of speed circuits and road racing reports that it was paved at that time, and according to Engine1 reader Tom who sent us the tip, spectator attendance plummeted from that point on. Google images show the track in fair condition and, looking down the street, the entrance is still clearly marked. However, Tom tells us that the track has been closed for several years and is currently used by a soundproofing company.
Track: Illiana Motor Speedway
Location: Schererville, Indiana
Coordinates: 41°28’35″N 87°25’17″W
Just 35 miles from Chicago are the half-mile remains of Illiana Motor Speedway, a track that was active for nearly 70 years as a dirt and paved oval. Motor1 reader John shared his experiences at the track as a motor racing driver, where he competed in the 1970s and 1980s. John’s son also raced at Illiana, but the circuit closed in 2016. According to the Associated Press, the town of Schererville purchased the railroad with the intention of demolishing it and redeveloping the land; as of 2021, the buildings and bleachers were removed but the asphalt was still there. Discussions about land use were underway in 2023, but the current condition of the track is unknown.
Track: Bridgehampton Raceway
Location: Sag Harbor, New York
Coordinates: 40°58’41″N 72°20’03″W
Now home to a golf course, the Bridgehampton Raceway was once a bustling 12-turn, 2.8-mile track. It officially opened in 1957 and has hosted everything from Can-Am to the World Sports Car Championship to NASCAR. A website dedicated to the track talks about Mario Andretti taking Paul Newman for hot laps in a Mustang. It closed in 1999 and although the golf course offers a general overview of the old track, we have highlighted the original layout with our image comparison tool. Swipe left or right to see what the track looked like. Thanks to Michael for showing us this special piece of motor racing history.
Track: Bluegrass Motorsports Park
Location: Napoleon, Kentucky
Coordinates: 38°45’45″N 84°47’55″W
Can a track be said to have been abandoned if it was never officially completed? This is the story of Bluegrass Motorsports Park, which began construction in 2008. There is still a Facebook page for the road course, designed by Derek Daly of Formula 1 fame. A video from GraySpeed Productions sets the course 2.5 miles away, and although it looks pretty good from Google’s perspective in the sky, the final paving was never finished. Built just as the Great Recession of 2009-2010 hit, the project reportedly lost funding. According to tipster Dave, the track is currently privately owned and not accessible to the public.
Track: Roseburg Motor Speedway
Location: Green, Oregon
Coordinates: 43°09’34″N 123°21’41″W
Even a small quarter-mile oval track that was only open briefly deserves a moment in the light. That’s what we have with Roseburg Speedway, nestled in southwest Oregon among the trees. We got this advice from Hans, who visited the track as a child to watch the races. He told us it was a dangerous place; there wasn’t much protection for spectators and a car apparently drove into the stands at one point. Hans mentions that this happened in the late 1960s, but a Facebook page claims that the oval was only opened in 1963-1964. However long it existed, its legacy lives on with the ghostly silhouette of the trees where the track once stood.
Track: Dayton Speedway
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Coordinates: 39°43’19″N 84°15’14″W
It was a little difficult to find information on this half-mile oval. A tip from Doug gave us an approximate location, and an article from Dayton Daily News filled in the rest. Opened in 1934, it was actually a little over half a mile (5/8) and was a very fast track. Famous drivers such as Richard Petty and AJ Foyt did laps there, but the circuit was closed periodically during the 1970s and permanently in 1982. Unfortunately, it became a landfill, but the sections where the former was located routes are always visible from the sky.
Track: Lynndale Farms Circuit
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin
Coordinates: 43°06’29″N 88°18’08″W
If you lived in a subdivision that was once a 2.5-mile, 13-turn road course, could you resist the urge to put the gas in the middle of all the houses? Lynndale Farms is a nice subdivision with roads that follow much of the old trail. And if you look closely at the upper right side of the image, part of that old sidewalk is still there. According to Barcboys.com, it was only open from 1963 to 1967 and closed due to a combination of poor weather in Wisconsin and noise complaints from neighbors. Thanks to John for the advice on this neat trail.
Track: Wilmot Hills Road Running Course
Location: Wilmot, Wisconsin
Coordinates: 42°29’54″N 88°11’03″W
We may have to take a trip to Wisconsin just to visit all the old tracks that once existed. In the shadow of Wilmot Mountain Ski Resort is a short 1-mile road course that lived on brightly in the 1950s and 1960s. Barcboys says it was widely used at that time for everything from flight schools to SCCA racing. It closed in 1967, but Motor1 reader Joe tells us very little has changed since then. Even the buildings are still in place.
Track: Texas World Speedway
Location: College Station, Texas
Coordinates: 30°32’15″N 96°13’11″W
It’s impossible to miss the remains of the Texas World Speedway from above. At two miles long, it was a true superspeedway that hosted NASCAR, IMSA and several other large-scale racing series. The site also had a 2.9 mile road course, but according to Racing circuits, the weather often hampered activity on the track. It has fallen into ruin; NASCAR removed it from the schedule in the 1980s, but teams occasionally used the track for testing purposes. Tipster Michael reminded us that the track closed permanently in 2017.
The land is being repurposed for housing, and as of 2024, the Texas World Speedway no longer exists. However, a striking image from Google Earth captures the track in two different eras, showing the bones of the old sidewalk mixed with piles of dirt from the renovation. It’s a sad ending for one of the few high-speed highways ever built.