Raceway Park (Illinois)
Encyclopedia
Raceway Park was 1/4 mile stock car race
track located in Blue Island, Illinois
, on 130th Street & Ashland Avenue between Western Avenue and Halsted Avenue, used for stock car races from the mid 1930's until the year 2000. In all advertisement it was billed as being located in Blue Island, IL. but was really located right across the border in the town of Calumet Park.
made dog racing illegal. Harry Malone then led a group promoting the track as a midget car
track. Raceway finally opened for competitive racing on September 24, 1938. The winner of the first race was Harry McQuinn, who eventually went on to compete in the Indianapolis 500
. The track had changed management many times during the early 1940s. Art Folz and Wally Zale assumed the management position in 1940, but their management reign was cut short when Zale was killed in a car-train wreck in 1942. Then, World War II stopped all racing in America
for the time being. Rudy Nichels started promoting the track after the war, but he reached only limited success. Track was demolished in the early 2000's and is now the site of the of a shopping center named the Raceway Park Center that houses an Ultra Foods, AJ Wright and Aldi Food Store among other businesses
to asphalt
. In the same year an 80-race season took place. During its prime, races were held Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The track soon took on the nickname "World's Busiest Track". The track became so popular that the Jenin brothers entertained the thought of racing 7 days a week, so they could handle the massive crowds.
track championship awards before retiring in 1979. Bob
Pronger raced in the Daytona 500
and won the Raceway Park late-model championship in 1961 and 1969 and compiled 148 career wins at Raceway. - Short track Racing Magazine January 1994- Article by Rick Dal Corrobo. In Memory of Rick Dal Corrobo.
Racing
A sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time...
track located in Blue Island, Illinois
Blue Island, Illinois
Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois. The population was 22,556 at the 2010 census. Blue Island was established in the 1830s as a way station for settlers traveling on the Vincennes Trace, and the settlement prospered because it was conveniently situated a day's journey outside of Chicago...
, on 130th Street & Ashland Avenue between Western Avenue and Halsted Avenue, used for stock car races from the mid 1930's until the year 2000. In all advertisement it was billed as being located in Blue Island, IL. but was really located right across the border in the town of Calumet Park.
History
Raceway Park had originally been created as a dog racing track, but in the early 1930s the state of IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
made dog racing illegal. Harry Malone then led a group promoting the track as a midget car
Čar
Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...
track. Raceway finally opened for competitive racing on September 24, 1938. The winner of the first race was Harry McQuinn, who eventually went on to compete in the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
. The track had changed management many times during the early 1940s. Art Folz and Wally Zale assumed the management position in 1940, but their management reign was cut short when Zale was killed in a car-train wreck in 1942. Then, World War II stopped all racing in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for the time being. Rudy Nichels started promoting the track after the war, but he reached only limited success. Track was demolished in the early 2000's and is now the site of the of a shopping center named the Raceway Park Center that houses an Ultra Foods, AJ Wright and Aldi Food Store among other businesses
The Jenin Brothers
Pete and Nick Jenin purchased the land in 1947, and immediately made drastic changes. The Jenin's slightly banked the oval, erected grandstands and concessions, and purchased more land for more parking. In 1951 the track was changed from clayClay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
to asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
. In the same year an 80-race season took place. During its prime, races were held Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The track soon took on the nickname "World's Busiest Track". The track became so popular that the Jenin brothers entertained the thought of racing 7 days a week, so they could handle the massive crowds.
The end of the Jenin Brothers partnership
In 1952 Nick Jenin sold his share of the track to Jimmy Derrico. Derrico accompanied Pete Jenin in the ownership of the oval until 1968. The track was then leased to N. Perry Luster of National Racing Affiliates Insurance fame. In 1970 Peter Jenin became the sole promoter of the track. During Jenins second term as track promoter the track was repaved, the pits were expanded, a digital scoreboard was erected, and a bandstand was also erected. In 1980 Jenin wanted to spend more time on his other business, so he joined a 5- man promotional team. But the pact was voided in 1982 and Jenin once again became the sole owner of the track.The Koehler and Pronger Era
Bud Koehler racked up 490 career wins at Raceway Park and 11 late modelLate model
A "late model car" is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. The term is broadly used in car racing, and often appears in common use, as in "The officer was driving an unmarked, late model sedan."There is no precise...
track championship awards before retiring in 1979. Bob
Pronger raced in the Daytona 500
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....
and won the Raceway Park late-model championship in 1961 and 1969 and compiled 148 career wins at Raceway. - Short track Racing Magazine January 1994- Article by Rick Dal Corrobo. In Memory of Rick Dal Corrobo.
Midgets
- 1939 Ted Duncan
- 1940 Ted Duncan
- 1941 Tony BettenhausenTony BettenhausenMelvin E. "Tony" Bettenhausen was an American racing driver, who won the National Championship in 1951 and 1958....
- 1942 Tony Bettenhausen
- 1945 Tony Bettenhausen
- 1946 Mike O'Halloran
- 1947 Tony Bettenhausen
- 1948 Ray Richards
- 1949 Bud Koehler
- 1950 Eddie RussoEddie RussoEddie Russo is a retired American racecar driver.Russo won the midget car racing track championship Raceway Park in Chicago in 1950. Russo raced in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series in the 1952-1957 and 1960 seasons, with 21 career starts, including 3 times in the Indianapolis 500...
- 1951 Bud Koehler
- 1952 Bud Koehler
- 1959 Bob Tattersall
- 1960 Russ Sweedler
- 1961 Mel KenyonMel KenyonMel Kenyon is a former midget car driver. He is known as the "King of the Midgets", "Miraculous Mel", and "Champion of Midget Auto Racing." The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America says "Many consider him to be midget car racing's greatest driver ever." -Racing career:He attended his first auto...
- 1971 Tom Steiner
- 1977 Bob Richards
- 1982 Mack McClelland
- 1987 John Warren
- 1988 John Warren
- 1989 Steve Thinnes
Novices
- 1957 Augie Wolf
- 1958 Bill Heyser
- 1959 Ed Kilpatrick
- 1960 Rich Miller
- 1966 Wayne Adams Jr.
- 1967 Jerry Welch
6-Cylinders
- 1968 Johnny Buben
- 1969 Vern Mullennix
- 1971 Mel McKeever
- 1972 George Abbott
- 1973 Guy Carnagey
- 1974 Tom Nielsen
- 1975 Al Stutchel
- 1976 Bruce O'Dell
Mini-Stocks
- 1970 Dave Decker
- 1971 Dave Decker
- 1975 Klaus Wever
- 1976 Bob Reiter
- 1984 Alberto Cabrera
- 1985 Alberto Cabrera
- 1986 Alberto Cabrera
- 1987 Ben Slachta
- 1988 Russ Foust
- 1989 Dave Botkin
Spectator
- 1982 Jim Gilbert
- 1983 Ron Deutsch
- 1984 Ron Deutsch
- 1985 John Rastovsky
- 1986 Bob Wall
- 1987 Bob Wall
- 1988 Randy Gifford
- 1989 Chuck Janko
- 1990 John Brolick
- 1991 Scott Cicuto
Semi-Pros
- 1993 Mike Carpenter
- 1994 Joe Jones
- 1995 Joe O'Connor
- 1996 Mark Olejniczak
- 1997 Bob Cagle
- 1998 Louie Pasderetz
- 1999 John Senerchia
- 2000 Bill Neering
Late Model
- 1949 Bud Koehler
- 1950 Hal Ruyle
- 1951 Bill Van Allen
- 1952 Bud Koehler
- 1953 Bryant Tucker
- 1954 Bud Koehler
- 1955 Tom Cox
- 1956 Bob Button
- 1957 Bud Koehler
- 1958 Bill Van Allen
- 1959 Bob Williams
- 1960 Harry Simonsen
- 1961 Bob Pronger
- 1962 Ray Young
- 1963 Bill Cornwall
- 1964 Bud Koehler
- 1965 Ted Janecyk
- 1966 Bud Koehler
- 1967 Bud Koehler
- 1968 Jerry Kemperman
- 1969 Bob Pronger
- 1970 George Hill
- 1971 Ray Freeman
- 1972 Bud Koehler
- 1973 Ray Young
- 1974 Bud Koehler
- 1975 Bud Koehler
- 1976 Bud Koehler
- 1977 Larry Middleton
- 1978 Larry Middleton
- 1979 Dave Weltmeyer
- 1980 Dave Weltmeyer
- 1981 Bob Weltmeyer
- 1982 Bob Weltmeyer
- 1983 Dave Weltmeyer
- 1984 Pat Echlin
- 1985 Wayne Para
- 1986 Mike Pockrus
- 1987 Jim Johnson
- 1988 Mike White
- 1989 Joe Witkowski
- 1990 Joe Witkowski
- 1991 Pat Echlin
- 1992 Pat Echlin
- 1993 Pat Echlin
- 1994 John Brolick
- 1995 Kevin Reidy
- 1996 Gary Raven
- 1997 John Brolick
- 1998 Gary Raven
- 1999 Kevin Reidy
- 2000 Kevin Reidy
Hobby Stocks
- 1973 Jack Thomas
- 1974 Dave Urewicz
- 1975 Burt Weitemeyer
- 1976 Jerry Clark
- 1977 Al Ponton
- 1978 Barbara Bosak
- 1979 Don Helwig
- 1980 Mike Varner
- 1981 Scott Sterkowitz
- 1982 Craig Johnson
- 1985 Dennis Ponton
- 1986 Bob Copley
- 1987 John Hargus
- 1988 Hank Pugh
- 1989 Tony Meier
- 1990 Mike Tobuch
- 1991 Mike Tobuch
Street Stocks
- 1992 Don Kritenbrink
- 1993 Rob Delinsky
- 1994 Ron Haney
- 1995 Mike Szekley
- 1996 Guy Baumann
- 1997 Russ Vankuiken
- 1998 D.J. Helwig
- 1999 Ryan Dix
- 2000 Scott Gardner
Enduros
- 1992 Peter Hernandez
- 1993 Alan Powell
- 1994 Pat O'Rourke
- 1995 Keith Volkman
- 1996 Don Ackerman, Car #27, Homewood, IL
- 1997 Mike Buder
- 1998 Kent DeGraff
- 1999 Frank Flory, Car #8, Homewood, IL
- 2000 Eddie Wolf