| Location | 1841 Williams Rd Columbus, Ohio, 43207 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°53′11″N82°56′36″W / 39.88639°N 82.94333°W /39.88639; -82.94333 |
| Capacity | 5,000 |
| Owner | Nuckles family |
| Operator | Nuckles family |
| Broke ground | 1945 |
| Opened | 1946 |
| Closed | 2016 |
| Major events | NASCAR K&N Pro Series East NAPA 150 (2011–2016) NASCAR Midwest Series (2004) ARCA Hooters Super Car Series (1982, 1993) |
| Website | www.columbusspeedway.com |
| Oval (1946–2016) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 0.536 km (0.333 mi) |
| Turns | 2 |
| Banking | Turns: 8° |
| Figure 8 | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Turns | 2 |
| Banking | Turns: 8° |
TheColumbus Motor Speedway (CMS) was a 0.333 mi (0.536 km) asphalt oval andfigure-eight racing track located south ofColumbus, Ohio, within the town limits ofObetz.[1]
In 1945,John Nuckles andRobert Roseberry purchased 50 acres (200,000 m2) of land for site of the future race track. The track opened in 1946 as a dirt track for motorcycles. In 1950 the track was given lighting and in 1957, the track was paved for the first time as car racing, specificallystock car racing, became more popular.Robert Roseberry sold his portion to John Nuckles after the paving was complete. The track was run by the Nuckles for many years, and was owned and operated by the Nuckles family. Among the drivers to make their names at the CMS areNeal Sceva,Dick Freeman,Benny Parsons, andRalph O'Day. Among those killed at Columbus Motor speedway is Bessie E. Amos.
The track was one of three tracks inOhio to be granted aNASCAR sanctioning agreement.[1] It hostedWhelen All-American Series (formerly the Dodge Weekly Racing Series) races sanctioned by NASCAR. It also hosted many exhibition events, which were some of the most popular attractions, including trailer races, school bus figure-eight races,demolition derbies, "roll over" contests,monster truck stunt rallies, "powder-puff" races, and NASCAR "legends" races which featured famousCup Series drivers. Due to the relatively high compensation required to secure Cup driver participation in the NASCAR "legends" races, said events were discontinued before the track was closed. In late 2016, the Nuckles Family decided to sell the track to Obetz. TheFortress Obetz now sits where the speedway was.
The speedway hosted aNASCAR K&N Pro Series East event (theNAPA 150) from 2011 through 2016. The winners of the races were notableNASCAR drivers, likeBubba Wallace,Cale Conley,Daniel Suárez,Sergio Peña,Rico Abreu andJustin Haley. Also at Columbus Motor Speedway, theNASCAR Midwest Series ran a race in 2004, which was won byJustin Diercks.
TheARCA Racing Series also ran two races at the track, one in 1982 and the other in 1993.
The track closed at the end of the 2016 season; the village of Obetz purchased the land from the Nuckles family in order to improve facilities for theColumbus Crew SC and a local rugby team.[2]
The race track made national headlines on April 11, 2009, when the concrete platform that supported the announcer's box collapsed shortly after the gate opened.[1] One person was temporarily stuck in the rubble and six people suffered minor injuries at the season-opening event.[1] Local rescue workers were called to the scene and the events were canceled for the evening. After the incident, the platform was repaired and reinforced.