So on Thursday i was looking around the net for something to do over the weekend and came across this exibit at a local historical society.Not only did this look like something cool to go see,it was only about 5 minutes from my house.It was ending the next day(sorry i'm a bit too late)so i hurried by to check it out on Friday.My dad used to tell me the stories about the "World's Fastest Dirt Mile"track that used to be where a local mall now stands.There was a go cart track there when i was younger,but the Oakland Speedway track was torn down in 1955(way before my time).I'm sure many of you guys remember or have heard about this place...Here's the info from the historical society website... Start Your Engines! For auto racing fans, the phrase "Gentlemen .Start Your Engines!" is the signal that you are about to hear a group of highly tuned engines roar to life and watch some skillful drivers compete against each other. Whether you were watching a race 80 years ago or getting ready for one tomorrow, the excitement of wondering who is going to win the race remains the same. That thrill of anticipation for both racecar drivers and spectators has not diminished since the first auto race held in this country in 1895. In the Hayward area, auto racing was, and still is, a part of our history. The area was once home to two different types of race tracks: the Oakland Speedway and the Hayward Quarter Midget Racing Association. Many racecar drivers grew up in the area, competing on those tracks. Several current drivers in a variety of different racing divisions make their homes here. Manufacturers who build race cars or parts for race cars operate in this area too. This summer's exhibition, Start Your Engines, explores this history of auto racing in the Hayward area. In 1931, a one-mile dirt oval racetrack was built at Hesperian Boulevard and East 14th Street between San Leandro and Hayward. From 1931 to 1941, some of the biggest names in auto racing as well as many local drivers came to the "World's Fastest Dirt Mile" to test their skills against one another in all types of race cars. During World War II, a fire in the track's grandstands, coupled with rationing of fuel and rubber, which effectively prohibited auto racing in the country, caused the Speedway to close. But in 1946, construction began on a new racetrack, this one called the Oakland Stadium (although many people still called it the Oakland Speedway). This new track was a paved, 5/8 mile oval with a 1/4 mile oval built within the larger loop. Between 1946 and 1955, a wide variety of races were run on the track. Stock cars, roadsters, hardtops, midgets-you name it, they raced there. And, like the original Speedway, racecar drivers came from far and wide to compete. Local boys such as Indy 500 winner Bob Sweikert, Earl Motter, and Freddie Agabashian won many races at the Stadium. The track even hosted several officially sanctioned NASCAR races in the early 1950s. Unfortunately for race fans, the Stadium sat on prime real estate. The property owners sold the land to a developer who tore the Stadium down in 1955 to make way for Bayfair Mall. The cars and drivers who had raced at the speedway, and the thousands of fans who had watched the numerous races, were forced to move to other tracks in surrounding communities. Auto racing in the Hayward area did not go away after the Speedway was torn down though. By the late 1950s, Hayward had a quarter midget race track. Quarter midgets are one-quarter the size of a midget race car and are raced by children between the ages of 5 to 16. Quarter midget cars are real race cars with standard suspension and small, high-powered motors that can reach speeds, in today's competitions, of up to 45 mph depending on the class of the car. The Hayward Quarter Midget Association's track was located near Kennedy Park from the late 1950s to 1975, when it was moved to a spot behind Russell School on Winton Ave. until the early 1980s. Kids and their parents came from all over the Bay Area to compete at the track. Attendance at just one race at the Hayward track exceeded a thousand. These are just two of the stories highlighted in Start Your Engines. The exhibit is full of images, artifacts, and interactive games to help visitors learn that there is a lot more to the sport than just turning left an a lot of auto racing history in the Hayward area. Here's some pics i took at the exibit...
Only had a prime of 9-10 years or so and then started to fade already by 41? That's kind of sad in itself. Then there was another that only lasted 10 years. Look at all that empty space around the first one. Sure as hell doesn't look like any part of Oakland I recognize today. Cool stuff.
They also had a couple of Midgets(old and new)displayed alongside some drivers suits and other stuff...
My grandfather raced a car there in the pre war days. Did they show any pics of the asphault track? The corners looked like a car would roll over they were so steep.
Heres a link to a site that sells the books about the Oakland Speedway.(scroll all the way to the bottom of the page)They are actually broken up into 2 book.The first book is from 1931-1941 and the second is from 1946-1955...enjoy http://www.coastal181.com/nlm-working-April-2005/shorttrack-2.htm
I guess that little thing called World War 2 had a way of putting a damper on things.And it doesn't look like Oakland because it was actually in San Leandro..the site of Bayfair Mall nowadays....
Oh, but still doesn't look like San Leandro either. Never could figure out where Oakland met San Leandro, or San Leandro met Hayward or Hayward met...... Everything around here just all blends together any more. Sad.
Very cool!!, thanks for sharing. The photo of the roadsters on the track, looking like a starting lap is awesome!! History is so hip!!~Sololobo
Yeah,there was an album of pictures that you could flip thru with more of the same.The glossy pictures were in some glossy plastic photo album,which made it a nightmare to get a clear pic in the bright gallery.I'm sure the same pics are in the 2 books though,so once i get them in the mail,i'll scan them and add to this post..
Bummed I missed the show I was there last week end too. Those books are awsome a friend of mine did the cover art. Thanks for the pics
Since it's related to Jive Bombers post on the Jalopy Journal today,heres an exibit from a local history museum I posted a few years back....
I seen this exhibit before, they have a pretty good set up. I guess the track was somewhere near where Bayfair mall is today..
Yeah,The track was behind the mall,right where the movie theatre is today.The Stadium Club,is a bar across the street that still stands..Wonder how it got its name!
At one time there were two back to back drive-in movie theaters there also. I think one was named the "Oakland" and one was named the "Stadium". Spent many Friday nights there back in the '60's.
I'm really enjoying this thread. I remember driving past the racetrack with my parents in the early '50s and hearing the race cars. The only use my father had for a car was transportation so we never attended. It seems we were on E 14th st. or is it Mission there? I was unaware their is a theater there now. I'll have a beer at the Stadium bar next time I'm down. I and my now wife then girlfriend attended a lot of movies at the drive in theaters there in the early '60s. Then would drive the strip on E 14th st. from Prings on 150th to the Coke bottling plant in Hayward. Gary
Thank you soooo much for the pictures and post, my dad ran the "Oakland mile" back in the day w/ Rajo Jack and Bud Rose... His sprint car the "DOUGLAS Hal SPECIAL" was #2 and had others #B12 and #19, I think.. He had a speed/machine shop in S.F. Cal. 1929-1977, sure do miss the smell of dirt and fuel now....
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