Grundy County Speedway

Years of operation:  1971 to present

Location:  on Illinois Route 47, one-mile north of Interstate 80, Morris, Ill.

Notes:  part of the new Grundy County Fairgrounds facility, track opened on Sunday afternoon, May 30, 1971, replacing the old Mazon Speed Bowl…Ray Freeman of Crete, Ill. made a clean sweep of the late model stock car racing program, winning the feature race, a heat race, the trophy dash and setting fast time.  Freeman and his 1969 Camaro defeated Lee Schuler, Bob Roper, George Hill and Tom Jones in the main event…switched to Friday nights a few weeks later and has become known as the “Friday Night Racin’ Place”…scene of first ARTGO Racing late model special on Sunday afternoon, September 7, 1975—Wisconsin’s Tom Reffner winner of 59-lap Wayne Carter Classic. Event held in honor of Wayne Carter who brought racing to the Grundy County Fair 59 years prior. Reffner and his AMC Javelin defeated Bob Roper, Joe Shear, Tom Musgrave and Dick Trickle, who was driving Ted Musgrave’s Mustang…the 1/3 mile banked paved track was a regular stop on the ARTGO tour over the years with such notables as Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby and Davey Allison, along with Mark Martin, competing…Martin hold the all-time qualifying mark for late model stock cars—14.683 seconds.