Route 66 Raceway
LocationJoliet, Illinois, United States
Time zoneGMT-6
Opened1998
Major eventsNHRA
World of Outlaws
Dragstrip
SurfaceAsphalt
Length0.25 miles (0.40 km)
Oval
SurfaceDirt
Length0.375 miles (0.603 km)
Turns4

Route 66 Raceway is a motorsports facility located in Joliet, Illinois, United States. It consists of a 0.25-mile (0.40 km) dragstrip and a 0.375-mile (0.604 km) dirt oval racetrack (Dirt Oval 66). The facility is owned and operated by NASCAR and is located adjacent to Chicagoland Speedway.

History

The 250-acre (100 ha) facility was built in 1998, funded by nine local entrepreneurs headed by IndyCar owner Dale Coyne.[1] The inaugural season saw 90 days of racing activity between the two tracks. In 1999, ISC partnered with the founders of the facility when it purchased 930 acres (380 ha) of land adjacent to the facility to build Chicagoland Speedway.[2]

The quarter-mile, $20 million drag strip features a four-story, 38-suite complex. The 30,000-seat grandstand surrounds the start line and features 40 rows of fully backed seats.[3] In 2010, the dragstrip was repaved.[4]

Also on the facility is a now-defunct two-mile (3.2 km), 15-turn road course, a temporary one-mile (1.6 km) off-road track inside the dirt oval, and a 35-acre (14 ha) paved driving pad.

The dirt oval was shortened to a 3/8 mile facility in 2017, since then the dirt track has seen a resurgence with top-flight series such as the World of Outlaws returning to the facility.

However, in 2022 the dirt oval posted a full card of events, including concerts. Then, for no explained reason they removed the concerts and then canceled race events one-by-one about a week before the event was to take place. On-Line tickets have been sold for these events, and there have been reports of people having trouble getting refunds. As of July 27, 2022, online tickets for supposed upcoming events are now not for sale.[5]

Events

The dragstrip hosted a round of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series from 1998 to 2019, and returned in 2023. The AMA Supercross Championship raced there in 2000 on a Daytona-style course on the dragstrip.[6]

The dirt oval track has hosted the All Star Circuit of Champions in 1998, 2018, 2019 and 2021, the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series from 1998 to 2002 and later in 2005 and 2017, the World of Outlaws Late Model Series in 2017, the USAC National Sprint Car Championship and USAC National Midget Series from 2001 to 2004, and the latter again in 2019. Route 66 has also hosted American Flat Track and TORC: The Off Road Championship events, as well as monster truck shows and demolition derbies.

References

  1. ↑ "History". Route 66 Raceway. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  2. ↑ Article: Motorsports Alliance and Route 66 Raceway Announce Transaction and Land Purchase, May 5, 1999
  3. ↑ "Chicagoland's Route 66 Raceway Brings Professional Motorsports to the Midwest". Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Out With The Old...Racing Surface". October 21, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Dirt Oval 66 Sets Aggressive Return to Racing". www.onedirt.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019.
  6. ↑ "40 Years of Supercross: 2000". Race X. December 21, 2014.

41°27′51″N 88°04′30″W / 41.4641°N 88.0751°W / 41.4641; -88.0751

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