OpenHistoricalMap/Projects/Ghost Tracks/US/CO

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Colorado Ghost Tracks

List of Ghost tracks in Colorado currently documented in Open Historical Map.

Lakeside Speedway

The remains of Lakeside Speedway are in the Lakeside Amusement Park on the northwest side of Denver. It operated from 1938 through 1988 except during WWII. It ceased operations in 1988 after a spectator fatality.

Sources

Traced from OSM Bing. Dates of operation from Americas Speedways[1]

Mile High Dragway

AKA Denver International Dragway, Tower Road Dragway, Rocky Mountain Dragway, Thunder Road Dragway,

Located northeast of Denver, Colorado on the same site as Second Creek Raceway.

[Mile High Dragway]

The track predates Second Creek Raceway and Rocky Mountain National Speedway; it operated from 1960 to 1977. The track closed because its shutdown area had become inadequate.

Sources

Dates from Americas Speedways[1]. Traced from OSM Bing, USGS EROS Ortho Scale, and USGS ImageryOnly Basemap imagery.

Rocky Mountain National Speedway

Located northeast of Denver, Colorado due west of Denver International Airport, just north of Second Creek Raceway.

[Rocky Mountain National Speedway]

This track operated from 1982 to 2005, when its use permit was revoked by local authorities.

Sources

Some details from Americas Speedways[1].

Second Creek Raceway

Located northeast of Denver, Colorado due west of Denver International Airport.

[Second Creek Raceway]

Second Creek Raceway was a 1.7-mile road course located near Denver in northeastern Colorado. Second Creek was adjacent to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal on the west and Rocky Mountain Speedway (a clay oval) on the north, and about a mile west of the Denver International Airport. The entire course could be seen from the stands along the front straight, which was true of very few road courses -- and had producing oil wells on the grounds, another feature uncommon among road courses.

Second Creek was built on the site of what was once the Denver Dragway, which was active in the 1960s and 1970s until increasing speeds caused the (uphill) shutoff area to become inadequate. The first race on the road course, which used part of the old drag strip for its front straight, was held in 1982. The track appears to have shut down around 2005.

Second Creek was adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Speedway.

Sources

Second Creek Raceway was traced from current OSM Bing (March 2015), while making reference to available historic maps of the circuit. The course website may still be accessed via The Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Historical information was found on NRSCCA History - Second Creek Raceway and High Plains Raceway History.

Some details from Americas Speedways[1].

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The History of America's Speedways: Past and Present, Alan Brown, 2003