 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Stafford Motor Speedway" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Stafford | |
|---|---|
| Location | Stafford Springs, Connecticut |
| Coordinates | 41°57′19.08″N72°19′13.44″W / 41.9553000°N 72.3204000°W /41.9553000; -72.3204000 |
| Capacity | 10,000 |
| Operator | Mark Arute |
| Broke ground | 1868 |
| Opened | 1870 |
| Former names | Stafford Motor Speedway (1979–2022) Stafford Springs Motor Speedway (1959–1978) Stafford Springs Speedway (1946–1958) Stafford Springs Agricultural Park (1870–1945) |
| Major events | Future: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (1985–1987, 1989–2021, 2026) Former: Camping World SRX Tour (2021–2023) NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Stafford 150 (1987, 1991, 1993–2008, 2016) NASCAR North Tour (1979–1982, 1985) |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Paved |
| Length | 0.500 mi (0.805 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | Turns 1-2: 7° Turns 3-4: 8.5° |
Stafford Speedway (formerly known asStafford Motor Speedway andStafford Springs Motor Speedway) is a1⁄2 mi (0.80 km) paved oval located inStafford Springs, Connecticut. Stafford Speedway holds weekly racing every Friday night May through September. This track is known as the home of the SK Modifieds and drivers such asRyan Preece andTed Christopher. The track hosts weekly events throughout the season previously including 3NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events yearly. Stafford Motor Speedway is the track that had hosted the second most ever races in the modern era of theNASCAR Whelen Modified Tour with 135 races from 1985 to 2021.
The speedway also had hosted 5NASCAR North Tour events from 1979 until 1985 and 30NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races, between 1987 and2016.
Stafford Motor Speedway was the site of the first everSuperstar Racing Experience event on June 12, 2021. The main event was won by track regularDoug Coby.
In December 2020, the track announced that it would end its 60-year affiliation withNASCAR, "due to a conflict regarding ownership of streaming and broadcast rights of weekly racing events".[1] Stafford began live streaming onFloRacing in 2021.[2]
Originally known as the Stafford Springs Agricultural Park,[3] the facility was used as a half-mile horse racing facility up to the end of World War II when it switched to automobile racing.[4] The facility became aNASCAR track in 1959 as a dirt track, under the ownership of Rockville auto dealer Mal Barlow, Barlow paved the track in 1967. It was purchased by the Arute brothers, Chuck andJack Arute in 1970. Jack's son Mark Arute continues to own and manage the track with his wife Lisa, and two sons Paul and David.[5]
