OpenHistoricalMap/Projects/Ghost Tracks/US/CT

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Connecticut Ghost Tracks

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

Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

Located northeast of Thompson, Connecticut. Also known as Thompson International Speedway.

[Thompson Speedway Historic Circuits]

Thompson has been in operation since 1940 and the original 5/8 mile oval is still in service. A 1/4 mile oval inside the larger oval no longer exists and there are no traces of it. Thompson was the site of the first Post WWII road race on a closed circuit in the United States, in 1951, and in addition to the current road racing circuit has operated 4 previous circuits, which have left some traces. All four older road courses are represented in OHM, along with the 1/4 mile oval. The current oval is included to allow the various circuits to be completely represented.

Sources

Thompson was initially traced from current OSM Bing (March 2015). Not all of the previous racing surfaces were visible and so a 1963 Aerial and a 1955 USGS topo map were used to supplement. An outline of the various track layouts may be found in Ghost Tracks[1]. According to America's Speedways[2], a drag strip operated briefly in the 1950s; apparently the strip ran from somewhere in turn 1 to the start finish line on the 5/8 mile oval. Terry O'Neil's excellent The Golden Years of Thompson Speedway & Raceway [3] provided significant additional material.

References

  1. Ghost Tracks, Pete Hylton, Legacy Ink, 2007
  2. The History of America's Speedways: Past and Present, Alan Brown, 2003
  3. The Golden Years of Thompson Speedway & Raceway, Terry O'Neil, 2018