Terre Haute Action Track

Turns 1 and 2 at the Action Track at the 2008 Hulman Classic
Location	Honey Creek Township, Vigo County, nearTerre Haute, Indiana, United States
Coordinates	39.4203, -87.4209
Owner	Vigo County Fair Assoc
Operator	Track Enterprises/Bob Sargent
Broke ground	1949
Opened	1952
Closed	1988-1989, 2007
Former names	The Action Track
Major events	USAC National Midget Series: Hut Hundred (until 2009) USAC National Sprint Car Championship:Tony Hulman Classic, Don Smith Classic USAC Silver Crown Series: Sumar Classic
Surface	Dirt
Length	0.50 mi (0.8 km)
Turns	4

Terre Haute Action Track (alsoThe Action Track) is a half-miledirt racetrack located at theVigo County, Indiana, fairgrounds onU.S. Route 41 along the south side ofTerre Haute, Indiana. The track hosts annualUnited States Automobile Club (USAC)midget car,sprint car and Silver Crown events. Notable drivers that have competed at the track includeA. J. Foyt,Jeff Gordon,Parnelli Jones, andTony Stewart.^[1] The track has held events sanctioned by USAC, its predecessorAmerican Automobile Association (AAA), and theWorld of Outlaws.^[2]

The track opened on June 15, 1952.^[3] It closed for a short period beginning in 1987 and reopened in 1990.^[3] It closed again in May 2007 for the rest of the season after it lost its race card because it broke a local curfew.^[4] The promoter had to stop the event early.^[2] As of the start of the 2008 season,Rich Vogler's 13 feature wins is the most in track history.^[5]

The track was promoted by Don Smith in the 1960s.^[4] By 2008, the track had been run by a series of promoters and attendance dwindled.^[2] Most sanctioning bodies holding events at the track dropped it from their schedule and only a few events were held in recent years.^[2] The track lost itsUnited States Automobile Club (USAC) events in mid-2007.^[4] In 2008, the DHK Promotions LLC group took over running the track.^[4] DHK Promotions was named for its founders: then-retiredMajor League Baseball playerBrian Dorsett, then-active (later retired)Indy Racing League driverDavey Hamilton and then-active (later retired)Indianapolis 500 radio announcerMike King.^[4]

In 2009 DHK Promotions added a new partner, changed its name to Action Promotions LLC and announced a schedule of six special events that took place at the historic half-mile clay oval starting Saturday, May 2.^{[citation needed]}

Chris Novotney, a Wabash Valley native who grew up attending sprint car races at the famed track, spent 2008 overseeing the reconstruction of the track surface and the installation of a new track drainage system. Novotney joins Brian Dorsett, Davey Hamilton and Mike King in the group that is now known as Action Promotions, LLC.^{[citation needed]}

Since 2012, the track is operated by Terre Haute Motorsports, a partnership between Bob Sargent and Reece O'Connor.^{[citation needed]}

As of 2018, the track was still under the operation of Track Enterprises and company owner Bob Sargent. Adam Mackey, who is a co-promoter at the facility, announced a more extensive schedule for the 2018 season which features 10 events, significantly more than in recent years.^{[citation needed]}

In 2023. Bill Rose of BR Promotions became the next Promoter to help keep the facility alive; otherwise no promoter would have been in charge for the 2023 race season.

Track events are no longer broadcast as Crossroads Communications is no longer affiliated with the Track.^{[citation needed]} In 2009WTHI Hi-99 became the official track station, though the races were not broadcast.^{[citation needed]}

The track held the majormidget car racing event since 1954.^[6] Event winners includeAJ Foyt,Tony Bettenhausen, Don Branson,Tony Stewart, and 1990 winnerJeff Gordon.^[6]Rich Vogler won the event eight times, including six in the seven years between 1983 and 1989.^[6] Al Herman won the first event in 1954.^[6] In 2009 the event was not held and in 2010, it moved to theTri-State Speedway inHaubstadt, Indiana. TheIndiana State Fairgrounds inIndianapolis, Indiana hosted the race in 1987. The 1989 race was held at theLawrenceburg Speedway. In 1988, 2000 and 2001, theLincoln Park Speedway inPutnamville, Indiana hosted the race.

Winners

Results References:^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

One ofUSAC non-wingsprint car racing's biggest races had its inaugural running at the Terre Haute Action Track in 1971. Named the Hulman Classic in honor ofIndianapolis Motor Speedway ownerTony Hulman (who was still alive at the time), the race falls during the week of the Indianapolis 500. In its inaugural year, the race paid a total purse of $28,538 ($221,600 today) and was televised on ABC's Wide World of Sports, becoming the first televised sprint car race in history.^[13] In its early years, it was not uncommon for drivers to race both the Hulman Classic and the Indianapolis 500 in the same week.^[14] As of May 2017, the Hulman Classic was USAC's longest annually-contested event, and had been held at the Terre Haute Action Track every year except for a brief interruption from 1988 to 1991, when the event was held atIndianapolis Raceway Park.^[15]

Winners

TheUSAC Silver Crown Series first visited Terre Haute in 1980. The series returned in 1995, with the race named Sumar Classic 100, after the local-based 1950s USAC racing team Sumar Racing. Trademark Sumar Classic Owned by BR Promotions.

Winners

Wikimedia Commons has media related toTerre Haute Action Track.

• Official website

39°25′13″N87°25′15″W / 39.420315°N 87.420884°W /39.420315; -87.420884

• Motorsport venues in Indiana
• Buildings and structures in Terre Haute, Indiana
• Tourist attractions in Terre Haute, Indiana
• Midget car racing

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