Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds
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| Location | 575 Fairgrounds Road, Spartanburg, South Carolina |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°57′34″N 81°57′17″W / 34.9595254°N 81.9547757°W[1] |
| Operator | Joe Littlejohn (1939–1966) |
| Opened | 1939 |
| Website | piedmontinterstatefair |
| oval | |
| Surface | dirt |
| Length | 0.5 miles |
| Turns | 4 |
| Race lap record | 70.644 mph[2] (Dick Hutcherson[2], , 1965, NASCAR Grand National) |
Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds is a defunct half mile (0.8 km) dirt oval near Spartanburg, South Carolina.[3] The track held NASCAR Grand National races in the 1950s and 1960s.
An October 1908 program was found for a horse trotting and racing event at the fair.[4] The first car racing event was held at the track in 1939 and it was promoted by Joe Littlejohn; he promoted events at the track until 1966.[2]
Littlejohn was one of 35 people who attended Bill France Sr.'s 1947 meeting which led to the formation of NASCAR;[2] Piedmont was a major hub in NASCAR's first two decades.[2] It held 22 Grand National Series races between 1953 and 1966 as well as two NASCAR Convertible Series races (1956 and 1957).[3] Afterward the NASCAR races ended, the track held races during the fair in (North America) autumn.[4] The track was regraded in 2002 for a legends race to benefit a local racing museum; by 2005 the idea of a museum was scrapped.[2] According to the local visitor's bureau website (in 2017), the track hasn't held a regular schedule of races for many years (although some of the racing surface remains visible).[4]