Moyock, North Carolina
Encyclopedia
Moyock is an unincorporated community in Currituck County, North Carolina
.
state line. The community sits at the end of the Chesapeake Expressway toll road
, and is only a short drive from downtown Norfolk, Virginia
. Because of this, Moyock has begun to witness an increase in residential development as an emerging commuter town
for Hampton Roads
.
The track was a 0.25 mile oval.
The Cavalier Kennel Club, mainly drawing their gamblers and spectators from what are today the cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk and Franklin, Virginia, operated in Moyock in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The track's primary market was the thousands of service men (mostly United States Navy personnel) that were stationed in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area.
Once again anti-gambling forces prevailed and the track was shuttered for good shortly after the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the North Carolina State Legislature's anti-dog racing law in 1954.
The Cavalier Kennel Club's unique claim to greyhound racing fame is that it was where Paul Hartwell invented the greyhound letter rating system, which stood as the standard for all greyhound racing until the Composite Speed Rating was instituted in 2009.
Beginning in 1962 Dog Track Speedway was a 0.25 oval dirt track. It was paved and lengthened to 0.333 mile in 1964.
It hosted seven NASCAR
races from 1962–1966. The Moyock 300 was held there from 1964–1965, and the Tidewater 300 was held there in 1965.
As with the Cavalier Kennel Club, the Dog Track Speedway drew their spectators primarily from the nearby cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth and Chesapeake, Virginia.
Ned Jarrett
won the most races at the track with two wins in 1962 and 1964. He ran there six times and finished all six races. He drove Ford's every time. His total winnings at the Dog Track Speedway were $4,631.
"The King" Richard Petty
also raced there six times driving Plymouth's in all six races. Despite being on The Pole twice (1965 & 1966), his best finishes there were two 3rd.'s. Unlike Jarrett, Petty only finished three of his races there. His total winnings at the Dog Track Speedway were $1,700.
The final NASCAR race was run there on Sunday, May 29, 1966. It was 301 laps (99.9 miles), and was won by David Pearson in a 1964 Dodge, with an average speed of 61.913 miles per hour. He won $1,000.
The track was closed later in 1966 due to declining attendance, poor revenues and bigger and faster tracks being built.
The track was located a half-mile south of the Virginia-North Carolina state-line on Highway 168, and the entry road still exists. The light towers that once surrounded the track and pit area are still there, and are visible from the highway. Some of the racing surface still exists and there is evidence of the old flag stand.
which is home to Blackwater.
Currituck County, North Carolina
-National protected areas:*Currituck National Wildlife Refuge*Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 23,547 people, 6,902 households, and 5,204 families residing in the county. The population density was 70 people per square mile . There were...
.
Geography
It is located on NC 168 just south of the VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
state line. The community sits at the end of the Chesapeake Expressway toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
, and is only a short drive from downtown Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. Because of this, Moyock has begun to witness an increase in residential development as an emerging commuter town
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
for Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
.
Driving distances
Areas north of the N.C. state line are a short to medium distance away. Moyock is the closest of all North Carolina locales to these following places:- To the DelmarvaDelmarva PeninsulaThe Delmarva Peninsula is a large peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by most of Delaware and portions of Maryland and Virginia...
at Fisherman IslandFisherman IslandFisherman Island is the southernmost island on the Delmarva Peninsula chain of barrier islands. Located at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, the island is subject to great changes in its landscape from waves and runoff...
before the CBBTChesapeake Bay Bridge-TunnelThe Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a long fixed link crossing the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and connecting the Delmarva Peninsula's Eastern Shore of Virginia with Virginia Beach and the metropolitan area of Hampton Roads, Virginia...
Toll Booth is 47 miles away. This is approximately a 35 to 45 minute drive.
- To the Mason-Dixon line at Selbyville, DelawareSelbyville, DelawareAs of the census of 2000, there were 1,645 people, 615 households, and 439 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,176.9 people per square mile . There were 664 housing units at an average density of 475.1 per square mile...
is 160 miles at approximately 2.5 to 3 hours of driving.
- To the New Jersey state line is 198 miles to the nautical state line between DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
and New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
along the Delaware BayDelaware BayDelaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
of approximately 3.5 to 4 hours of driving not including the Cape May-Lewes FerryCape May-Lewes FerryThe Cape May – Lewes Ferry is a ferry system that traverses a 17-mile crossing of the Delaware Bay to connect Cape May, New Jersey with Lewes, Delaware. The ferry doubles as a section of U.S. Route 9.-The system:...
(CMLF). This is the closest distance that North Carolina is to the NortheastNortheastern United StatesThe Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
. The first municipality at the end of the CMLF is North Cape May, Cape May County which is another 10 nautical miles on the ferry after the nautical state line.
Greyhound Racing in Moyock
Originally located in Princess Anne County, Virginia (now Virginia Beach, Virginia) in the 1930s, when anti-gambling forces forced it's shutdown, the Cavalier Kennel Club moved their greyhound racing operations to a half-mile south of the Virginia-North Carolina state-line and 15-miles north of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, to 220 Caratoke (HWY 168) Highway, Moyock, North Carolina.The track was a 0.25 mile oval.
The Cavalier Kennel Club, mainly drawing their gamblers and spectators from what are today the cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk and Franklin, Virginia, operated in Moyock in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The track's primary market was the thousands of service men (mostly United States Navy personnel) that were stationed in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area.
Once again anti-gambling forces prevailed and the track was shuttered for good shortly after the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the North Carolina State Legislature's anti-dog racing law in 1954.
The Cavalier Kennel Club's unique claim to greyhound racing fame is that it was where Paul Hartwell invented the greyhound letter rating system, which stood as the standard for all greyhound racing until the Composite Speed Rating was instituted in 2009.
NASCAR in Moyock
Moyock had an auto racing track called Dog Track Speedway. The track was built on the former site of The Cavalier Kennel Club dog racing track where greyhounds were raced in the late 1940s and early 1950s.Beginning in 1962 Dog Track Speedway was a 0.25 oval dirt track. It was paved and lengthened to 0.333 mile in 1964.
It hosted seven NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
races from 1962–1966. The Moyock 300 was held there from 1964–1965, and the Tidewater 300 was held there in 1965.
As with the Cavalier Kennel Club, the Dog Track Speedway drew their spectators primarily from the nearby cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth and Chesapeake, Virginia.
Ned Jarrett
Ned Jarrett
Ned Jarrett is a retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR champion.Jarrett was best known for his calm demeanor, and he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett", yet he was an intense competitor when he put his two hands on the steering wheel of a NASCAR Grand National stock car...
won the most races at the track with two wins in 1962 and 1964. He ran there six times and finished all six races. He drove Ford's every time. His total winnings at the Dog Track Speedway were $4,631.
"The King" Richard Petty
Richard Petty
Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
also raced there six times driving Plymouth's in all six races. Despite being on The Pole twice (1965 & 1966), his best finishes there were two 3rd.'s. Unlike Jarrett, Petty only finished three of his races there. His total winnings at the Dog Track Speedway were $1,700.
The final NASCAR race was run there on Sunday, May 29, 1966. It was 301 laps (99.9 miles), and was won by David Pearson in a 1964 Dodge, with an average speed of 61.913 miles per hour. He won $1,000.
The track was closed later in 1966 due to declining attendance, poor revenues and bigger and faster tracks being built.
The track was located a half-mile south of the Virginia-North Carolina state-line on Highway 168, and the entry road still exists. The light towers that once surrounded the track and pit area are still there, and are visible from the highway. Some of the racing surface still exists and there is evidence of the old flag stand.
International business
Moyock is the corporate headquarters of Xe Services LLCBlackwater Worldwide
Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...
which is home to Blackwater.