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South
79 Speedway - 1964 By
J.R. Hughes |
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Although the Black Hills Speedway, aptly named for it's proximity of the Black Hills of South Dakota, celebrates it's 50th birthday this year, only a handful of those in attendance starting this May will recall when the track was quiet for two years in the 1960's. A disagreement with track management
forced the drivers to form an association to build their own track on which to
race. While the old speedway
became a pasture once again, a new smaller facility arose from a pasture field
a few miles south of Rapid City on Highway 79. The name chosen may have lacked
imagination, but it identified it's self on two fronts: it was a speedway, and
on South 79. The track lived for two short seasons,
before John and Martha Oulman purchased the old racetrack and lured the
drivers back for the 1966 season. Racing was pretty much a day time affair
at the 3/8 mile South 79, and the spectators found seating limited to finding
a grassy spot on the elevated front stretch pitch before the tall catch fence. With daytime racing came an age-old
problem for dirt tracks: the surface became super dry quickly, and the dust
would often limit the view of both the spectators and participants.
Officials eventually got the dust problem somewhat under control, and
the 1964 season ended on a high note. |
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