| City/Town: • Oklahoma City |
| Location Class: • Commercial |
| Built: • 1954 | Abandoned: • 2010 |
| Status: • Demolished |
| Photojournalist: • AbandonedOK Team • Billy Dixon |
Construction of the giant Oklahoma State Fair Speedway was completed in 1954. The speedway became a sizeable part of fair-goers activities for over half a century. In 1961, late model stock car racing began on the half-mile oval track. That same year the State Fair Grandstand was chosen as a filming location for the musical Rodgers and Hammerstein. Then on October 20th Century Fox Film Corp traveled to the track to shoot a racing sequence for the movie State Fair included below. Residents of Oklahoma City were invited to watch filming and help fill the grandstands.
Over the years star racers have taken their turn on the dirt track such as AJ Fort, Johny Parsons, Steve Kinser and Ernie Derr just to name a few. It was also home to the ASCS National Tour‘s Spring Nationals and many ASCS Sooner Regional races. The stadium having a large capacity made it the perfect place to host many events and concerts such as Garth Brooks and Clint Black.
The 2010 racing season at the speedway was canceled after problems with electrical wiring in the stands were discovered, causing city officials to raise concerns about public safety. The grandstands also weren’t up to par with accessibility standards. Rather than spend the lump sum of money on bringing the track up to code it was then decided that the track would be demolished. This caused a great deal of protest from fans who had grown up on the track. A petition was created to try and convince Oklahoma City and the State Fair Board to spare the speedway.
The petition states; The Oklahoma State Fair Speeedway is in danger of having held it’s last race after 55 years of racing. The fair board and the city council want it demolished for new improvements at the Fairgrounds as part of the MAPS3 proposal. A proposal that made no mention that the track would be a target if passed. The excuses that being used are just that. Excuses. Please as a fan of the track please digitally sign the petition, so we can in numbers show the city and the fair board what this place means to us not only here in the metro, but across the state and around the country.
Demolition of the aging racetrack began in August of 2010 after petitioning fans’ cries went unheard. Fans snuck onto the site to collect bricks, dirt, chairs, and anything they could get their hands on to remember the beloved racetrack. Work was delayed for a short period of time when the construction crew found asbestos inside some of the piping that is part of the grandstands. Eventually, they did come down and now memories and pictures are all that remain.
Article by AOK Photojournalist Emily Cowan.
Gallery Below
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Very sad to read what became of the speedway. My father was stationed at Tinker and the entire family went every Friday night to watch our favorite driver, Benny Taylor. I had hoped to visit OKC one more time an attend a race… guess that will just forever be a dream. Thanks for the memories OKSFS… they’re some of my best.
I was very disappointed when I retired from the army in 2014 and moved back home and the track I grew up at was gone.
Over three generations of my family raced on this track in the late 70s the the 90s. We were heartbroken when it was demolished along with all of the memories.
I have not been to the state fair since they “gentrified” it.
Oklahoma City could not afford to spend the money to get the State Fair speedway up to date, but they spent Millions of dollars on the down River Park. The city needs to build a new Race Track for the STATE OF OKLAHOMA. The President needs to be fired and replaced as soon as possible.
Just saw this web site– my dad and I used to drive from Enid on many a Friday night to watch Harold Leep, Evard Humphries, Wayne Cox, and a bunch of other talented drivers fly around the Fairgrounds track . Great American entertainment. Tearing down these tracks is just part of the changing demographics in our country. Back then lots of driveways had a stock car parked on them, and many families involved in the racing. Now– video games and sim racing are about all the younger people need to satisfy their "need for speed".
Huge piece of history (Ann Margaret made a movie here!) GONE for no reason other than it has nothing to do with horse shows or horse-trailers (ironically, it once had a horse track outside the half-mile track). I will never attend the State Fair of Oklahoma again! I grew up watching the races, and dreamed of driving a Sprint on the half-mile myself. Short-sighted doesn't even begin to cover the hostility the Fair Board has against ANYTHING not horse show or horse-trailer parking space. They even got rid of the horse wagons that were on display (an old acquaintance of mine painted them in the mid-late 60's), so I consider it a personal attack on my hopes and dreams, as well as my favorite entertainment venue in all of OKC. Even All-Sports Stadium hosted Beach Boy concerts, gone for horse-trailer parking space. HORRIBLE, HATEFUL people on the Board. SHAME!
I have two Oklahoma City race track magazines from the early 80s and one at outlaw book from the early 80s if anybody's interested let me know call Pete 405-413-6730
The track was used in the filming of the 1962 (release) of "State Fair" featuring Pat Boone. That version was set at the Texas State Fair, which lacked (still does) a race track. The race scenes were shot sometime in the summer of 1960 … Because of a call for extras in the newspaper, I happened to be in the crowd while while they filmed. It seems the track and stands must have been built some time before that, possibly in 1958 or '59.
Hello, I attended SFS every Friday Night from 1992 until the last year it was open in 2009. I a copy of every Racing Program and Thousands of pictures of the cars that ran at the Speedway and other local tracks. I really miss SFS, it is something else to OKC is intranced with OKC Thunder that they wouldn't let the race fans have their track, or build a new one like they promised, also they have also let the hockey and Indoor arena footnall teams go, how much longer will we have the Soccer teams. I thought Mayor Cornett was a Sports Enthusiast, but it is obvious he is not. When they were going to build Texas Motor Speedway back in the Mid-90's they were wanting to build it here in the OKC area, but our wonderful city leaders turned them down. There is so much more to OKC than just the Thunder, and when Durant and Westbrook are gone and the team is not as good as they are now, the city will not have anything else to fall back on. Not only has the State of Oklahoma lost SFS, but they also lost Tulsa Speedway in 2003, to politics. I just want to know if anybody is interested in the programs and pictures.
I also spent my youth and young adulthood at the SFS from 1975 until it closed I would love to see the pictures you have, my father was an OKC Police officer he worked the SFS and he would also take us to the tracks all over to watch the races. One time we even went to Montana and watched some races that was a blast. I really wish someone with a lot of money would build another track here in the OKC area. Wishful thinking until then.
My house is about five minutes from the state fair speedway and from the time I was three to the time I was eight every single Friday night you could hear them racing around that track and it annoyed the crap out of my mom and dad but it was none the less part of my childhood, I'm now 15 and I find myself actually missing the sound of roaring engines on Fridays , another part of our states history is gone and will be missed , ps. The reason I said from the time I was three is because that's when I moved in with my grandparents and their house was five minutes away.
They could have saved the speedway, but the City leaders and the State Fair manager wanted more space for paid parking. The fair managers have destroyed the State Fair ,took out the monorail taken out the 4-H buildings, maid the booth space rentals so high a lot of vendors forgot participating here. I’ve been to the Tulsa fair since 2010 and it’s a lot better fair then OKC. The Tulsa fair should be the Okla. State Fair.
We lost Wedge wood, spring lake, Grnd standsg, all of our drive inns, except winchester… All in the name of $$$. We have no history left.
It is a shame that they did this. I went and watched the races there back in the 1980's and 90's, and watched some concerts there. I heard that the race track down in Lexington have been torned down as well. So, there is no oval track racing in central Oklahoma. Next closes is Meeker, but do not know if it is still there anymore. The majority of tracks left is on the east side of Oklahoma.
I read that the Jennins where trying to save the track. I guess no luck on their part.
It's such a shame that OKC's civic leaders have turned their backs on the accomplishments of previous generations, that they do not recognize what has been provided for them today. To destroy that time in our history and deny future generations of that same experience is appalling. Since history does repeat itself, I sincerely hope those responsible will have to endure the lessons of hindsight someday so that we who have been devastated by their actions will be able to pinpoint these events as their road to failure. So much gained and so much more lost, they truly are clueless.
I agree Mike hell we lost the NFR cause of money
Even though I am glad they saved Nashville, and the fact The Oklahoma Chili Bowl is the Winter if not World Open Wheel Rose of today, but, what bothers me is the apathy of some of the realization Oklahoma City and Oklahoma was spooled of its Sports History in the Summer. It still has better Open Wheel than Indiana even, but the mismanagement that was purposeful and orchestrated would genuinely be missed once the Westerners and Northerners go back to their home regions and the Thunder get placated and relocated.
I worked at the fairgrounds for the food service for about a year and a half during the mid 80's, and spent a lot of time at the grand stands working the races. I have a lot of good memories from working out there.
One thing I remember doing took place after a week and weekend of horse shows, gun shows, antique shows, races, etc. It was regular practice for food service would to put all all their receipts from the weeks worth of events in bank bags, and put the bags in milk crates. We then took the milk crates full of cash, put them in the back of a pickup truck and drove them across the fairgrounds to the state fair offices which were located in north end of the speedway grand stands, where I would receive a receipt for the total amount to take back to food service. On one such trip, after I got my receipt, I looked at it and realized that I just drove across the fairgrounds …. with $87,000 …. In the back of a pickup!.
The grandstands were built solid. I remember talk back then that city leaders wanted the track gone. Anything that was wrong could have been taken care of. It was all an orchestrated excuse to shut the place down so they can cater to the horse industry.
When I was a young boy in the 80's, I had a friend of the family that worked for the bigfoot monster truck crew.
He got me in the day before the event and I was able to ride in the bigfoot monster truck! man i will never forget that. Its a shame they tore this landmark down. 🙁
For the majority youth (2yo>23yo), I went to sleep every Friday night to the sound of the cars running at SFS. It was music to my young ears, and helped start me on my life-long love of auto racing.
It was my great pleasure to watch many (and meet a few) of the racing heros of the day run Modifieds, Supers, and Sprinters there. It was also my pleasure to meet Bud Carson, and to work onhis son's (Shane) sprint car. IMHO, bulldozing the track was a politicaly-motivated (and short-sighted) move, done to apease the track's neighbors and to limit the City's liability should a fan or May Ave motorist get hurt by a crashing race car. It's a loss comparible to that of Ascot and Manzinita speedways. SFS -like Ascot and Manzi- will never be replaced, and never equaled.
miss it alot
The only reason that facility could have been described as "aging" is the intentional, purposeful lack of maintenance performed in recent years by the Fair Board. At the time it was destroyed, SFS was still one of the very best dirt tracks in the entire country. The money needed to refurbish SFS was absurdly trivial.. With some vision and support, the track could have easily been used as a platform for major national races that could have brought millions of dollars to OKC, as we have seen happen with the Chili Bowl in the Tulsa Fairgrounds Expo Center.
OKC is steadily becoming a more cosmopolitan place, but that process was in no way threatened by the existence of the speedway. The Fair Board and OKC government have no accountability for their decisions; in this case the result was the terrible waste of a great public resource.
I agree Mike hell we lost the NFR cause of money
I wholeheartedly agree with you. A good many years ago I raced on that track and several others and as always impressed with the track. I have long since moved to Texas but always looked forward to coming home to go to the track while there. I was soooo sad to see it torn down.
this place is no longer there
Why do they always leave the drink machines? Are they just too large to move or something?
Nice to see they spent more to tear it down than it would have taken to fix it. They havent done anything with the land since the grandstands have been tore down, what a joke. Micky (jerk) Cornett is showing his intelligance level again with the 2 hundered some million to be blown on a new convention center, who the hell elected this guy, I am glad he is on devon energy and chesapekes under the table payroll cause he is going to need it when all his dirty politics come out, and he is without a job like we are without a speedway!
I agree, after the report of the Tower not beaing able to work last year & we haven't heard anything since then, makes me very doubful of it's future 🙁 I too loved the monorail, was a nice way to see everything
My dad raced Super Modifieds on 1/2 mile here in the late 60s-mid 70s (#40). Man, what memories…Thanks for taking these–almost got me misty-eyed!
Was your dad's race car nicknamed "The Purple Bomb"? Out of Purcell?
Or, was it yellow, with your dad/driver knowing almost every chevy part interchangeability known?
My memory is fading. His name Collins, or something like that? I, along with Woody Woodard, was the track announcer in either '75 or '76. Woody had the Supers. While I had the modifieds and jalopies. Unless one of us had to be gone, then whoever was there, did it all for that night. Seems it was '76.
Such great memories for me also!
Dan Gallion
Lest we forget Hall Of Famer’s, Track
Manager/Promoter, MAR-CAR Owner Bud Carson ( Shane’s Father ) & Track PR Director/Announcer, Jack Miller ( Blessed to have such A Perfect Mentor ) ! ( Thanks for The HOF Memories & R.I.P. Gentlemen !! )
Lot of memories there. Great racing, good people, loooong nights! Sad to see it go. Got my first win there, met Michael Waltrip, Kenny Wallace, and Jeremy Mayfield there…….a piece of history is gone.
Well they finally torn down the raceways to turn it into parking lot.
Spent many Friday nights during the 60's..Quarter and half mile dirt track stock cars. What a blast! Thanks for the memories…
Although I was not a racing fan, I thought it was a horrendous shame that the city manufactured reasons to shutter the raceway out of nothing more than snobbery. They've ruined the fairgrounds, and it will never be the same.
Sadly, some people never, ever Learn.
I have spent every year of my life at that track and I am 30 years old now and I am so sad to see it look that way. I feel as if a piece of me is gone. I hope everything the mayor and his greedy crew do in the future fails and pieces of thier life and existance is ripped away from them.
Those people are completely & utterley Clueless and could not ever possibly grasp what OKC Farigrounds Speedway meant to Generations upon Generations of Okie Racing Fans…we have Grown some Motor Sports Champions in OK…. NASCAR Christopher Bell being the latest in a very long line of OK Motor Sport Champions !! ( Tulsa Speedway on the Tulsa State Fairgrounds included also )
I did get your photos…thank so much for taking these. Sad to see it go. Thanks for sharing.
What a grand ol' gal she was…quite a shame to let her fall apart.
too bad the "powers that be" want to scrap all the building with any history
especially in this case, they want a new entrance to the fair ??
seam to me they need to make it in the shape of a very large cow/horse pile
before too long thats all the fair will be, a big barnyard
Too much TRUTH there…. look at all the grand, olde, Historic Buildings within just the past half century that ended up so “Mysteriously” Burning-Down ! No Juice & No Squatters…. How does such happen….?
wow, you guys did a great job.
just dont know what the city was thinking that place had to be making the some $$$$
It was an ‘Offensive Eyesore’ and did NOT make the ‘important people’ any $$$$$$$’s !!