Shangri-La Speedway
The speedway hosted one NASCAR Cup Series event in 1952 and the race was won by Tim Flock.
In August of 1991, longtime NASCAR independent driver J.D. McDuffie won a celebrity race at the track. This occurred just one day prior to his fatal racing accident in the Bud at the Glen at Watkins Glen International.
Track history
Shangri-La Speedway was opened in 1946 by Bill Owen, who planned and built the track with help of family members. It was closed in 1956 due to neglect and small crowds but then briefly re-opened in 1959 by a group of area drag racers; after a few events it closed in the same year. It was again re-opened in 1962 by Fran Gitchell and operated by the Zacharias family from 2002 until 2005 when it was shut down to allow gravel mining from the property. Nothing remains of the track itself, and the grandstands and buildings were demolished.
A replacement track in nearby Tioga Center, known as Shangri-La II Motor Speedway, opened in 2009 and closed after an abbreviated 2015 season.
Photo gallery
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Start of final races in 2005
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TIOGA Motorsports Park sign.
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TIOGA Motorsports Park buildings.
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Shangri-La Speedway (former parking area).
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Shangri-La Speedway (outside area).
Weekly featured division and sanctioning body
- 1946–48: ESRA (Eastern States Racing Association) Sprints
- 1949: ESRA Sprints and unsanctioned Stock Cars
- 1950–56: unsanctioned Stock Cars
- 1959: NASCAR drag racing
- 1962–64: unsanctioned Supermodifieds and Modifieds
- 1965–72: unsanctioned Modifieds
- 1973–75: NASCAR National Modified
- 1976–78: NEARA (Northeast Auto Racing Association) Modifieds
- 1979–2000: NASCAR National Modified
- 2001–2005: unsanctioned Modifieds
Visits by major touring series
- 1946–48: AAA Championship Cars, AAA Sprint Cars
- 1952: NASCAR Grand National Series
- 1970: All-Star Racing League
- 1979–91: ISMA (International SuperModified Association) Supermodifieds
- 1987–88: American Indycar Series
- 1987–88, 1995–97: NASCAR Busch North Series
- 1985–89, 1994: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
Track regulars who went on to Cup racing
References
- "Through the Years at Shangri-La: The Final Chapter". Monnat, Michael E. Gater Racing News, August 26, 2005.
- Bourcier, Bones. RICHIE!: The Fast Life and Times of NASCAR's Greatest Modified Driver (1st ed., 2004). Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA: Coastal 181. ISBN 0-9709854-6-0.
- Mark Southcott, NYRaceZone.com