All American Raceway – paved oval

Prior to the 1980 racing season I didn’t record the date that I visited a racetrack.  Early in the 1980 season I turned 31 years of age.  The famous “Group of 71” are the 71 tracks I saw from my birth year through 1979.  All of the tracks I have seen since 1980 have a specific date that marks the first time I saw racing at that particular track.  In order for a track to “count” you don’t have to remember the date you saw a race.  You simply need to know for sure that you DID see a race.

For most of the “Group of 71” I have a very distinct memory of each of those visits.  However, that situation does not apply to the All American Raceway.  My one-line comment, that I note for every track I visit was “Bomber class with two drivers” for the All American Raceway.  That’s not much of a remembrance is it?

I would have seen this track somewhere in the 1975-78 range based upon it’s rank (#63) and the tracks that surround it.  The track has changed its name to the “All American Speedway” but still puts on racing shows to this day.  That’s a pretty good statement that they are still in business almost 40 years after my visit.  Probably less than 10-20% of all tracks operating in the 70s are in business today.

However, the track’s current website has a tab titled “Save the Speedway” so its future is not guaranteed.  The facility has been plagued by noise issues and the dilapidation of the facilities over 50 years of racing.  The track no longer operates weekly although they still race quite a bit.  They begin their season in early April and race through mid-October.  During the season they take seven weekends off.  The website, like most modern racing websites, does not offer any historical information on the track.

The “History of American Speedways” authored by Alan Brown tells me the track raced on dirt from 1954-1970.  From 1970 until now the track has been an asphalt 1/4-mile oval track.  The most common evolution is for a track to begin on dirt and move to asphalt.  Some tracks go the other way but not that many.

The track is located in Roseville, California.  With a population of more than 130,000 Roseville is a good-sized city.  Roseville is also the largest city in Placer County.  The Placer County Fair is held on the grounds of the All American Speedway.  It gets toasty up in Roseville.  The average high temperature from May through September runs about 90-95 degrees.

You might have remembrances about the All American Raceway.  If so, please feel free to share in the comments section below.  If you have any photos from back in the day, send them to me at Ranlay@yahoo.com.  I’ll try to include them here.