Visiting Occoneechee Speedway: One of NASCAR's First Tracks | S1ap on Location: Episode 4

[@Tpanther775]

Lights were put up for the football games they had. Football games were held their for local high school until mid 1970's. After that the track was abandon. Never had any night races there.

[@RyanGribble]

Good info. That totally makes sense too.

[@jamieround2072]

I WONDER IF ANY ONE WATCHING THIS HAS ANY OLD BUT GOOD OR DECENT OLD TIME VIDEO OF KIDS IN THE LATE'ER 60'S OR THREW THE 70'S PLAYING FOOTBALL HERE THAT COULD ADD CLIP'S ALONG W/ OR ADD TO THIS VIDEO....... to show the surrounding area's..............

[@DrMurdercock]

@@jamieround2072 Contact the town hall, they may be able to help you

[@DrMurdercock]

@@jamieround2072 kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2PVkqmKaJumpLM this video shows the area circa 50s/60s

[@whatincarnation95]

The actual Occoneechee tribe was smaller than the crowds at these races (the tribe had a population of 1160 people)

[@jamieround2072]

wow very cool any of them still alive any generation of them left......???

[@tnkl_4254]

@@jamieround2072 my assumption is yes, I couldn't find numbers but north Carolina's government recognizes the tribe and they live in Alamance and Ornage County

[@terrarium1280]

was??? who got rid of them?

[@luciusvorenus9445]

Slap needs to interview the King and some of the other legends that ran on these forgotten tracks.

[@nelsona779]

I was thinking the same thing

[@floorsinbower8612]

It's hard to get intouch with those guys

[@johngancarcik5682]

​@floorsinbower8612 didn't jr have a lost speedway episode here?

[@LadyAnuB]

This is a great way to preserve an old speedway, turn it into a recreational path. You can get those people interested in racing history and those that want to walk or use other forms of conveyance to see a path.

[@maxmccullough8548]

They should do an autocross event

[@WiggysanWiggysan]

Nice that its now a nature trail. At least the history can be seen & enjoyed. Top video *SS* . Done it again Pal. Got a fella from the UK watching a NASCAR video !!

[@ScouseMendoza]

more Brits here than you think pal

[@WiggysanWiggysan]

@@ScouseMendoza Yup, Slap has really done well.

[@frazerguest2864]

Sheffield here fellas.

[@WiggysanWiggysan]

@@frazerguest2864 Leeds.

[@ljphoenix4341]

watchin all the way from New Zealand 🇳🇿

[@LucyFaygo32]

Pikes Peak would be cool to see in this series.

[@BARB_BLOX]

It's abandoned?

[@jackarmstrong7285]

PPIR?

[@SonicBoone56]

Pikes Peak isn't abandoned though. The road course is still being used as a driving school.

[@TomBoi]

its not abandoned. It's still used as a test track.

[@jackarmstrong7285]

Go karts, drifting, and time attack are all still prevalent at PPIR. I raced there over the summer actually

[@ash7700]

I attended my first NASCAR races at this speedway, back when it was called Orange Speedway and Hillsborough was spelled Hillsboro. As someone has already pointed out, the lights were installed not for racing but for football games. After racing ceased there, I attended several hunter/jumper horse shows there as well. Worth noting, there were no guard rails used at this speedway, despite it being one of the fastest tracks on the NASCAR circuit. That worried me as a kid, but I never saw anyone wind up in Cates Creek, which runs parallel with the back stretch. However, I did see Big John Sears flip his Ford Galaxy into "fish pond" that Occoneechee used as a source for the water used to recondition the red clay track for racing.

[@HPayne62]

I've actually got an idea for the name of the series: S1ap's Speedway Stories

[@BigBlack81]

That's good. That works nicely.

[@brad2799]

DaleJrFan_62 Yeah but what if he goes to a circuit like Riverside if there’s anything left of that? Think of it.

[@RyanGribble]

I'm kind of fond of S1ap on location

[@berat2323]

Occoneechee is such a hard word to spell isn't it

[@S1apShoes]

In all my research I became pretty well versed in how it's spelled 😂

[@berat2323]

@@S1apShoes 😂😂😂

[@mikespencer9913]

Not if you were ever involved in Boy Scouts around here. A big chunk of central NC centered around Raleigh is the Occoneechee Council

[@MaxwellCWong]

Yeah, I think I know how to spell Ohkanichi now.

[@johngancarcik5682]

@@MaxwellCWong close

[@KATZMANISGOD]

Slap single handily got me back into NASCAR. I’m such a history buff so I love these on location videos. Good work man.

[@brad2799]

Amazing video Slap. is there a link to the Occoneechee song, anyone? I’m looking for songs like these to listen to.

[@S1apShoes]

I don't know the name of the song, but I did find it here as background music for some 1951 film reel footage of the track: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2PVkqmKaJumpLM

[@brad2799]

S1apSh0es Thanks.

[@ronframe387]

Check out the link, it's great!

[@jamieround2072]

@Thomas Apple do u have a link in so we can all go listen plzzzz

[@ZachTaylor2631]

@@jamieround2072 kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4vOiqdnnM2gaZY

[@rosschastainfan1851]

Amazing song at the beginning.

[@travishanner9970]

If I'm not mistaken, the "32 Ford coupe", is a 38 Chevrolet Special Deluxe!! But, WHO CARES!!! GREAT VIDEO!!! THANKS, SLAP, FOR KEEPING THE HISTORY ALIVE!!!

[@gorin2178]

Honestly, i need to say that this channel is single hand making me a fan of nascar. Or at least the old nascar... It has so many good histories. As a Brazilian, i never had a major contact with the sport besides some times when some sports jornal talk about something that happened. So I'm really glad to find this channel and learn so much about it, from someone who really really loves nascar.

[@carlosedwardos]

Please do a video about bringing back Rockingham, similar to the one you did about North Wilkesboro! ---> also, Texas World Speedway would be a great subject for a video.

[@SonicBoone56]

I agree. Texas World Speedway is my favorite track in North America. Road course was awesome despite me never getting to see it or drive it in person. But it's fun as hell in rFactor. Too bad the outfield has been torn down. The land owner seems to want the track to reopen and delay demolishing the entire thing until all the land is being used for housing. But the town people there seem very much against ever reopening any part of the track which is a damn shame cuz the SCCA guys loved that place.

[@Shinigamiusmc]

TWS has been bulldozed for housing

[@ericfording3556]

He can still do it after all Air Base and Raliegh hardly exist and he's done those. Only problem is that its too far from where he lives.

[@Shinigamiusmc]

Eric Fording I don’t think any part of TWS is left to find, it’s completely razed and a housing development was put up in its place, I’d love to hear about it though

[@ericfording3556]

@@Shinigamiusmc I guess Google Maps is just really lazy then because they still show TWS.

[@claytonscheiber3493]

I'm not much of a NASCAR fan. But the history interests me. Great videos man. I look forward to these.

[@jerryshepherd1645]

Yes I loved every minute of the video great to know about this track. Great time and racing and the driver were awesome guys. Thank you buddy for the video

[@zerodos_02]

Very very cool they turned this into a walking trail. Amazingly creative way to honor the track and put it to a good public use. Neat track I never heard of before. Almost sounds like a Barney Hall in the song but he was young back then so I'm probably just hearing what I want to hear lol. Great work again Slap!

[@josephsutterby5968]

The original Watkins Glen Road course through the town which was the first road race in America after the war, would be a great location to visit.

[@kmcwhq]

I live 20 miles from there. Slap would have plenty of good content for a video like that.

[@josephsutterby5968]

I live there as well

[@deskirchhofer972]

Another great video! I love seeing these old tracks expectially in as good condition as this!

[@noUGames]

So cool, I watched this video when you first uploaded it but I recently moved to Charlotte from Vegas. Today I drove up 2 hours to visit here, only knowing it because of this video. Walked it a few times & really cool to walk the track. Even on a Tuesday, there was a ton of people walking it with their kids & dogs.

[@stripeykenworth8047]

I've been there and the coupe is actually a 1940 Chevrolet, which is sort of an odd choice since they were six cylinder cars. The other is a mid 50s Dodge that still has the engine and transmission in it! Edit: with the headlights removed the 40 Chevy looks a lot like a 38 Ford, but the dashboard gives it away. Also if you ever make it back look behind the ticket box, there's a giant pile of old bottles and things from when they raced there!

[@hendo337]

I'm sure they would have swapped a V8 in there. The only competitive I6 was the 308ci Hornet.

[@TheNickCrank]

just in your video you can tell that cars went off track and towards the river. if you look at 10:05 you can see the bark missing on at least 2 trees where something had hit them many years before but are still standing.

[@evansorensen]

Nick Crank good spotting! I didn’t even notice that the first time

[@kinger41]

So cool that this place is reserved as a nature trail so you can actually legally visit the track and walk around it.

[@labrd41]

The '32 / '38 Ford coupe is actually a Chevrolet. At 8:28 those cars in the still shot are Fords. Note the vertical "B" pillar. Chevrolets of that era have a "B" pillar that's angled forward. Fords had a Deluxe model, Chevrolets had Special Deluxe.

[@Pearley1961]

It's actually a '40 Chevrolet Special Deluxe

[@labrd41]

@@Pearley1961 Wasn't sure of the year.

[@specialfriend578]

That’s incredible only 3 dislikes. But 3 is a staggering number for a quality video like this. Who would dislike this quality of a video?

[@JaredGti07]

You have to be a real man to rip it full throttle around this track much respect to the old timers that flew down that straight at probably 120 plus

[@wormuel]

Omg this is so cool! I live in Hillsborough and I sometimes take walks at that trail, it’s really cool

[@dcamnc1]

I hiked this speedway a couple of years ago, it's pretty cool. It links with a nearby hiking trail.

[@shanephillips3853]

hey s1ap im really glad you made this video, i love visiting this track i usually make the trip back when i need to clear my head and spend some moments to myself. Actually where you were sitting is the sides of the grandstand where my grandfathers ashes are spread because he loved nascar and was disappointed he could never visit when we moved down due to his battle with cancer. Thanks for the video dude i use to live there when they redid the alot of the stuff there i could totally tell you about the experience it was finding out the history they uncovered.

[@WeChallenge]

Video essays are getting more and more interesting. Loved seeing the old iron on display, my dad when i was 5 had an old coupe style local dirt track car sans tow bar, they just pulled it to the local tracks with a chain. Keep em' coming. I'll keep clicking.

[@toddknaperek8225]

1. Kind of wish you went up to the main entrance which is still in tact with its outside wooden fence, a cool metal Pepsi-Cola sign, ticket offices and a couple of other cars. As well as the back gate for the cars. You can still get the feeling of pulling up and about to enter a very noisy junkyard. 2. In regards to going into the Eno River, I'm not sure if she did but NASCAR pioneer Louise Smith had some pretty spectacular crashes at this track. There's even a few iconic photographs of her posing for a picture inside her destroyed car, smiling as crews are still trying to cut her out of it. (Robinson, Crocker and Patrick have nothing on that woman) I don't think she went into the river but she came pretty close to it.

[@pt4willy]

Visited the track last weekend!

[@williamrawa7952]

Bro your voice is so soothing, you should narrate like a nature documentary or something

[@LeftyLucyRightyTyty]

Like the motel 6 guy!

[@SiVlog1989]

I've added this place to my bucket list

[@edwardyork4321]

Another ABSOLUTELY Superb Vid THANKS Slap 💚💚

[@StickPeopleAndPuff]

Theres a photo of me around 10-11 years old in 2005 or 2006 cleaning my dads '57 Chevy that was put in the local paper when the track was opened back up as a trail. I remember going to grand stands and concession stand, they hadnt been rebuilt yet and were still crumbling in the woods, man I wish I had gotten some photos of those........ I still have that paper somewhere too

[@MycontentisgoldJerryGold]

I visited Occoneechee a few years ago during one of their reunions. There was a car show in the industrial park next to the track site with 100's of show and restored/recreated race cars. The highlight was when a parade of race cars drove onto the dirt trail, lined up during some ceremonies and proceded to do laps for half an hour. The grandstand was packed for that. If you get out to New Jersey, you could do a story on Pine Brook Speedway. It was a 1/10 mile paved oval surrounded by US46, Bloomfield Ave. and the Passaic River. There is a Home Depot on the site now.

[@TheTowncat]

Where is the track located

[@MycontentisgoldJerryGold]

@@TheTowncat Hillsborough, North Carolina

[@patrickdabs]

I wish there were other channels distributing their knowledge of all the different forms of motorsport the same way you are.

[@dennis420b]

I am not a NASCAR watcher.... but I always find myself always watching your videos.

[@MatChew75]

I love hearing about these old tracks, your doing a great job...... keep it up s1aps!!!

[@ljphoenix4341]

Next video on Desoto speedway maybe? The track that Cleetus McFarland just bought. That'd be interesting. Try get in contact with him, I'm sure he'd be down to have you go out there and do history breakdown of the track. 👍

[@chloescat]

Your videos are always top notch. Thanks, man and keep on doing what you do; it's epic!

[@jhchg]

Great video. If you find yourself in Central Ohio I’d be happy to take you to the location of Powell Motor Speedway. Now grown over with houses and strip malls. But in May of 1953 Herb Thomas won a NASCAR race there.

[@Razz415]

Cool that they didnt just forget about it. Would be a nice stroll in the woods now. But to imagine guys pulling down 90 mile an hour laps is breathtaking

[@shawnhardison431]

North wilkesboro speedway is going to make its come back hopefully this year

[@shawnhardison431]

What does any one think about north wilkesboro speedway reopening

[@RC.41]

Who thumbsed down this? Ban them from viewing all future videos!

[@zikalokof1challenge414]

Wont work anyway, theyre bots or just idiot ppl, they can simply create another account and start it again

[@mattkaustickomments]

Supercool - great to see it reused as a nature trail. I wish you would have spent some time describing the 50’s race car.

[@riggsmurtaugh2749]

Hey a Slapshoes, did you see that Cleetus just bought Desoto!

[@christopherwall2121]

Something about reclaimed but not forgotten places like this always give me a slight shiver, especially those goalposts. Or maybe that's just because it's October.

[@chriskelleher349]

Smart townsfolk to recertify it as a nature trail. Sort of a NASCAR Gettysburg. Sad places like Riverside get paved over. Roosevelt Field on Long Island New York for Lindbergh take off and Vanderbilt Cup races was taken over by a mall at one point.

[@edwardndriskoll]

A1. Love these old track hunts you do bro. Keep it up

[@blakebeckywahls7585]

putting pins in the map to visit. learning a ton from you. thanks for the great episode

[@af4od02]

Great video and NASCAR history. Thanks for sharing.

[@jamieround2072]

WOW THIS IS A SUPER COOL TRACK & HISTORY OF MORE TRACK'S SO VERY GLAD U GOT IT ON VIDEO & TOLD OF SOME OF THE VERY COOL HISTORY EVEN THE COOL OLDER CAR'S U WOULD THING SOME ONE WOULD PUT SOME SORT OF TIN ROOF OVER THESE RIDES TO PROTECT 'EM A BIT........................ i always wonder where u'll go to find the next cool older track.....!!!!!! SO HOW MANY HAVE U FOUND THAT WAS JUST ABOUT FORGOTTEN ABOUT......???? & how many more u plan to go after & re-find & video..... like any goal's in finding so many.......???? WE KNOW U HAVE DEEP PASSION'S IN ALL THIS BUT WHAT U DO FOR A LIVING THERE WHEN NOT TRYING TO RE-FIND AN OLDER TRACK SOME WHERE........... & WHAT GOT U ALL FIRED UP IN GOING AFTER THESE AWESOME COOL OLDER TRACK'S ...... GUESSING ALL OR MOST OF THEM SO FAR R AROUND WHERE U LIVE & WORK & PLAY as a kid & now as an adult........ !!!!!!!! KEEP UP THE AWESOME JOB'S !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE ALL LIVE A BIT MORE THREW THESE COOL & AWESOME VIDEO'S w/ SOUND !!!!!!!!!!!!! SOME TIME'S I SWEAR U CAN ALMOST SMELL THE COOL AREA TRACK'S THREW THE VIDEO'S ................ ALMOST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@DrMurdercock]

AMAZING Production ! ty for doing what you do!

[@auroas_]

Thank you for all of this information . You have gave me so much info since i have seen your channel thank you

[@REEEEEEEEEEEE0]

I visited there earlier this month while I was in Hillsborough. Cool place

[@oscodains]

Wish they were all preserved as such.

[@SonicBoone56]

Right? It would be wonderful for towns to do stuff like this. See my comment specifically for what I mean. But some tracks are used as a flea market, a bike velodrome, walking trail, etc. And some are fortunate to at least be memorialized if they're demolished. But unfortunately most tracks are demolished and swept away from the history books and people forget. Or they're left to rot away. It's understandable if it's a huge plot of land in a competitive area to tear it down, but it wouldn't hurt to do SOMETHING to remember it. Like what happened to Carlsbad Raceway in California. Turned it all into a business park, but it was named Carlsbad Raceway Business Park. So even a nod to what was once there can do a lot to help people remember. It's not like it costs anything to do something tiny like that.

[@jojib7621]

I know it's a small and pretty insignificant track but id love to see you do a video on Powell Motor Speedway since it's so close to my hometown

[@BubbaBearGames]

There was once a track known as Asheville-Weaverville Speedway in Weaverville, NC. Sadly, according to Wikipedia, the track closed down in 1987 due to noise ordinances. The land the track was on is now home to North Buncombe High School.

[@poo1e233]

Been there once to walk around, one of the reason I started liking racing

[@Yallcheatin]

The way you go in depth about these tracks is awesome! It would be cool if you did history videos on some fan favorites still around today . Anyway i like the channel!

[@iced_coffeelvr1069]

THAT is what you do with an old race track! Preserve history not erase it.

[@youtoob5477]

I haven't cared about NASCAR since Dale died but I've just spent several hours binging your videos and I really enjoy what you're doing, keep up the good work

[@ericfording3556]

Do North Wilkesboro when you hit 100K Subs.

[@samshirel7370]

great video as always s1ap

[@CrushOfSiel]

If NASCAR was as popular today as it was in the late 90's you'd have several million subscribers. It's a damn shame.

[@chriskelleher349]

Thanks for the historic race video, too.

[@es7614]

Fascinating stuff, great job

[@katniptjw4758]

Nice. I live in Hillsborough and run round there all the time it’s a cool place 🤙🏻

[@rampage7777]

So I am guessing with this post but where I live we had a similar issue with track length, I am guessing they measured the length of the track around the outside wall, similar to how race city was built. however NASCAR measured from they inside wall and measured the bottom of the track. That is how you get the difference of 1 mile to 9/10 of a mile. Anyone who was wondering Race city in Calgary was built to 1/2 mile around the outside of the track where as NASCAR measures from the inside of the track.

[@brewcrew5854]

6000 attendees is more then some mlb parks get a night . love to go back in time for a few laps "eat my dust !"

[@j.d.b.pennamesonofharraant3367]

Chilling on a dirt road with Daisy Duke bruh

[@OrdinaryDude]

Great Keselowski sweatshirt!

[@mattswanson2302]

Another great video, thank you.

[@DennyDeliversYT]

7:35 LOOK A PARSON!!! er... A PERSON 👀

[@stevendamenace]

Great video

[@michealphillips10]

Would love to see you come up here to Langley. I wouldn’t put it past Bill Mullis (the track owner) to even be willing to do an interview about it. Keep up the awesome content you make.

[@miccrhaafetl5101]

I bet those tree's make the best pass blockers.

[@crawfordoverton1146]

Awesome find I love the history

[@martincolvill5453]

You should include Portland Speedway that was in Portland, Oregon. Home track of Greg Biffle. I announced the last pavement race before it turned to dirt then closed. Contact Fred Armstrong at MRN. He and his brother ran it for many years. He's got loads of history on it.

[@SonicBoone56]

I love when tracks are repurposed and also preserved or memorialized in one way or another. Just look at Meadowdale International Raceway becoming a biking trail, Greenwood Roadway being used as an equipment training center, Columbia Speedway being used as an event fairground, or Asheville Motor Speedway being turned into a park with the main oval now being a bicycle velodrome. Hell, Augusta International Raceway is probably the most famous one cuz the locals went out of their way to put a memorial there and preserved the road course as much as possible. Tracks don't have to be immediately demolished or left to rot away if people used a bit of creativity!

[@jasonfields2798]

I think it would be cool if you explored old NASCAR race shops

[@cpa2132]

I live in Hillsborough and my gf and I go walk there after work sometimes.

[@ezekielduvall9752]

You should do a slap on location on the freedom factory/cletus McFarlands track

[@jamiealeshire3491]

You need a Broadcasting Job man, keep up with the good content

[@aaaabababa]

God, those Old Stockcars rotting there should definity get restored! Sad to see them just rotting away.

[@fishflake1209]

Outside of Chicago, there’s an old road course called Meadowdale that has been similarly reclaimed by nature.

[@SonicBoone56]

And is now a biking a trail! I would love if S1ap delved into other racing series here in the US so he could look at old road courses. But knowing how many dirt and asphalt ovals are no longer around, I imagine he has a lot to look at.

[@GreenJeep1998]

I drive past there pretty regularly, there was an event out there last year that racer David Hobbs was doing book signings at. Kinda wanted to go to go that, but of course, the one saturday a month my office works happened to be that weekend.........😒

[@brandonjodrey2319]

Historic Race Track

[@turbo1438]

#44 is a '37 or '38 Chevy Nice video and thank you.

[@matthewgibson9232]

A suggestion from me would be Gainesville/Looper speedway here in Georgia

[@pricey4ever330]

I'd like to take a few laps around it now just for the fun of it.

[@Landmasters]

Nifty to convert a racetrack into a trail, a merging of tech and nature is always a fun combination. I'm not sure what their policy is on horses, but the track looks smooth enough for a ride, although don't quote me on that one

[@SonicBoone56]

Probably not allowed cuz they could easily hurt somebody. Hell, most of these places don't even allow bikes either unless they specifically call it a biking trail.

[@danaj4778]

That cricket

[@j.d.b.pennamesonofharraant3367]

Native Rights ...... Thanks man ... Take care of the track

[@siltstridersftw]

Metrolina speedway would be a good place to go and see.

[@ethanrmatheson]

If you ever plan on coming to Canada you should do Citidel Hill Circuit in Halifax, it hosted F2, Indycar and IMSA for a few races

[@FloydtheFlamingo]

people did up in the river. also you see that hemi 64 polara? i got to sit in that. such a great car also from henderson the region on NC

[@FloydtheFlamingo]

hear of only 2 cases of in the river

[@jbaskinger41]

How do we buy this track?

[@S1apShoes]

It's now on the register of historic places, so there probably isn't anyway to get it done

[@jbaskinger41]

S1apSh0es damn worth a try

[@DennyDeliversYT]

#SAVETHESPEEDWAY

[@SonicBoone56]

@@DennyDeliversYT what's the point? It's being preserved as a biking trail. I'd much rather it be that than see it reopen and then ultimately fail and leave a bad taste in people's mouth. At least now it legally HAS to be preserved.

[@DennyDeliversYT]

That’s true