Columbus Motor Speedway

Former racetrack in Ohio, U.S.

Columbus Motor SpeedwayLocation| 1841 Williams Rd
Columbus, Ohio, 43207

|

Time zone| UTC−05:00 (UTC−04:00 DST)
Coordinates| 39°53′11″N 82°56′36″W﻿ / ﻿39.88639°N 82.94333°W﻿ / 39.88639; -82.94333
Capacity| 5,000
Owner| Nuckles family
Operator| Nuckles family
Broke ground| 1945
Opened| 1946
Closed| 2016
Major events| NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
NAPA 150 (2011–2016)
NASCAR Midwest Series (2004)
ARCA Hooters Super Car Series (1982, 1993)
Website| www.columbusspeedway.com
Oval (1946–2016)
Surface| Asphalt
Length| 0.536 km (0.333 miles)
Turns| 2
Banking| Turns: 8°
Figure 8
Surface| Asphalt
Turns| 2
Banking| Turns: 8°

The Columbus Motor Speedway (CMS) was a 0.333 mi (0.536 km) asphalt oval and figure-eight racing track located south of Columbus, Ohio, within the town limits of Obetz.[1]

## History

[edit]

In 1945, John Nuckles and Robert Roseberry purchased 50 acres (200,000 m2) of land for site of the future race track. The track opened in 1946 as a dirt track for motorcycles. In 1950 the track was given lighting and in 1957, the track was paved for the first time as car racing, specifically stock car racing, became more popular. Robert Roseberry sold his portion to John Nuckles after the paving was complete. The track was run by the Nuckles for many years, and was owned and operated by the Nuckles family. Among the drivers to make their names at the CMS are Neal Sceva, Dick Freeman, Benny Parsons, and Ralph O'Day. Among those killed at Columbus Motor speedway is Bessie E. Amos.

A portion of the track, viewed shortly after closing.

The track was one of three tracks in Ohio to be granted a NASCAR sanctioning agreement.[1] It hosted Whelen All-American Series (formerly the Dodge Weekly Racing Series) races sanctioned by NASCAR. It also hosted many exhibition events, which were some of the most popular attractions, including trailer races, school bus figure-eight races, demolition derbies, "roll over" contests, monster truck stunt rallies, "powder-puff" races, and NASCAR "legends" races which featured famous Cup Series drivers. Due to the relatively high compensation required to secure Cup driver participation in the NASCAR "legends" races, said events were discontinued before the track was closed. In late 2016, the Nuckles Family decided to sell the track to Obetz. The Fortress Obetz now sits where the speedway was.

The speedway hosted a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event (the NAPA 150) from 2011 through 2016. The winners of the races were notable NASCAR drivers, like Bubba Wallace, Cale Conley, Daniel Suárez, Sergio Peña, Rico Abreu and Justin Haley. Also at Columbus Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Midwest Series ran a race in 2004, which was won by Justin Diercks.

The ARCA Racing Series also ran two races at the track, one in 1982 and the other in 1993.

The track closed at the end of the 2016 season; the village of Obetz purchased the land from the Nuckles family in order to improve facilities for the Columbus Crew SC and a local rugby team.[2]

## 2009 platform collapse

[edit]

The race track made national headlines on April 11, 2009, when the concrete platform that supported the announcer's box collapsed shortly after the gate opened.[1] One person was temporarily stuck in the rubble and six people suffered minor injuries at the season-opening event.[1] Local rescue workers were called to the scene and the events were canceled for the evening. After the incident, the platform was repaired and reinforced.

## Sources

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Gray, Kathy Lynn (April 11, 2009). "6 injured, 1 trapped in collapse at Columbus Motor Speedway". Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
2. ^ Billing, Greg (August 13, 2016). "Columbus Motor Speedway opens final season". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved October 15, 2020.

* Columbus Motor Speedway[permanent dead link] at cityguide, Retrieved June 23, 2007
* Columbus Motor Speedway at na-motorsports.com, Retrieved June 23, 2007

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Columbus Motor Speedway race results at Racing-Reference

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ARCA Menards Series East and West track venues

East|

| Current (2025)|

* Pensacola
* Rockingham
* Nashville Fairgrounds
* Flat Rock
* Dover
* Indianapolis (IRP)
* Iowa
* Bristol

|

Former|

* Adirondack
* Beech Ridge
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West|

| Current (2025)|

* Kern County
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|

Former|

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ARCA Menards Series race venues (1953–present)

Current (2025)|

| Paved ovals|

* Daytona
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* Elko
* Dover
* Indianapolis (IRP)
* Iowa
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|

Dirt ovals|

* Springfield
* DuQuoin

Road courses|

* Lime Rock
* Watkins Glen

Former|

| Paved ovals|

* Anderson
* Atlanta
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* Barberton
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* Cincinnati
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* Powell
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* Shelby County
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* Trenton
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* Winchester

|

Dirt ovals|

* 411
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* Lancaster (NY)
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* Langhorne
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* Oglethorpe
* Paragon
* Pennsboro
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* Pine Grove
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* Richmond
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* Sedalia
* Selinsgrove
* Sharon
* Syracuse
* Tampa
* Taylor County
* Terre Haute
* Toledo (Fort Miami)
* Toledo (Raceway Park)
* Trumbull County
* Wauseon
* Wellington
* Williams Grove

Road courses|

* Daytona (Road Course)
* Des Moines
* Gateway (Road Course)
* Meadowdale
* Mid-Ohio
* New Jersey
* Palm Beach
* Road America
* Topeka
* Virginia

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ASA National Tour race venues (1973–2004)

Ovals (over 1 mile)|

* Atlanta
* Charlotte
* Chicago
* Dover
* Gateway
* Michigan
* Milwaukee
* Pikes Peak
* Sparta

Ovals (under 1 mile)|

* Anderson
* Auburn
* Berlin
* Birmingham
* Bradenton
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* Calgary
* Cayuga
* Cedar Rapids
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* Columbus
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* West Chester
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Road Courses|

* Brainerd
* Mosport
* Topeka

Indoor ovals|

* Pontiac

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NASCAR Elite Division Midwest Series race venues (1998–2006)

Ovals|

* Cicero
* Clio
* Colorado National
* Columbus
* Dells
* Elko
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* Greenville Pickens
* Grundy County
* Hawkeye Downs
* Kalamazoo
* Kaukauna
* Kentucky
* LaCrosse
* Lake Geneva
* Lakeside
* Lebanon I-44
* Madison
* Mansfield
* Milwaukee
* Nashville
* Odessa
* Pikes Peak
* Rockford
* Sauk Centre
* Shakopee

Road Courses|

* Brainerd
* Road America
* Topeka

* v
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USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Championship race venues

Current|

| Dirt ovals|

* Bloomington
* Bridgeport
* Eldora
* Gas City
* Grandview
* Granite City
* Greenwood
* Haubstadt
* Knoxville
* Kokomo
* Lakeside
* Lawrenceburg
* Ocala
* Queen Creek
* Perris
* Pevely
* Plymouth
* Port Royal
* Putnamville
* Susquehanna
* Terre Haute
* Weedsport

|

Former|

| Dirt ovals|

* Abbottstown
* Angell Park
* Atomic
* Attica
* Avilla
* Beaver Dam
* Big Diamond
* Boswell
* Brownstown
* Butler
* Calistoga
* Cameron
* Canandaigua
* Canyon
* Cedar Lake
* Charlotte
* Comtrax
* Deer Creek
* Dodge City
* Eagle
* East Bay
* Farmer City
* Flora
* Florence
* Fremont
* Grain Valley
* Hales Corners
* Hagerstown
* Hanford
* Hartford
* Huset's
* Indianapolis (ISF)
* Jackson
* Joliet
* Junction
* Kentucky Lake
* Lake Odessa
* Lake Ozark
* Las Vegas
* Lernerville
* Limaland
* Little Rock
* Manzanita
* Mercer
* Montpelier
* New Egypt
* Oskaloosa
* Paragon
* Path Valley
* Portsmouth
* Randolph County
* Red Hill
* Richmond (KY)
* Riverside
* Santa Fe
* Sedalia
* Sharon
* Superior
* Tampa
* Tucson
* Tulare
* Tulsa
* Wheatland
* Williams Grove
* Wilmot
* Woodstock

|

Paved ovals|

* Anderson
* Berlin
* Cayuga
* Columbus
* Concord
* Hawkeye Downs
* Illiana
* Indianapolis (IRP)
* Iowa
* Kalamazoo
* Lanier
* Lebanon
* Louisville
* Madison
* Mansfield
* Memphis
* Milwaukee
* Mosport
* Nashville
* Nazareth
* Odessa
* Orlando
* Phoenix
* Pikes Peak
* Richmond (VA)
* Salem
* Shady Bowl
* South Boston
* Toledo
* Winchester

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