The Speedway City racetrack complex
began life as Speedway Park back in 1979
- the same year as the stadium's
predecessor, Rowley Park, closed its
gates for the final time. Rowley Park
operated for 30 years from 1949 but this
famed speedway track was running on
borrowed time by the mid-1970s. Its
facilities were becoming dilapidated,
and Rowley's close proximity to housing
developments meant that a replacement
venue was becoming a high priority. The
Racing Drivers Association which
conducted racing at Rowley Park, began
considering several sites for a new
racetrack, including parcels of land at
Globe Derby and near Grand Junction
Road. The decision was finally made to
purchase a large block of land at
Virginia, adjacent to Adelaide
International Raceway with plenty of
room for car parks and a large pit area
- both these features being in short
supply at the famous brickpit.
A licence extension was granted for
racing to continue at Rowley Park for a
further couple of years in 1977, after
the local Council could see that work
was underway for the new stadium at
Virginia, and Rowley's final show was
held on April
5th 1979.
The grandstand
seating was transferred from Brompton to
Virginia, but most of the other
infrastructure was brand new, including
an impressive two-storey administration
complex boasting media room, officials
centre, sponsors room, and VIP bar.
After an enormous amount of effort
involving contractors with speedway
connections, and also volunteer labour
from RDA members, Speedway Park opened
its gates on November 2, 1979 with a
crowd of over 7000 on hand to welcome a
new chapter in Adelaide's oval track
history.
The RDA conducted racing at this venue
initially, with Jim Niemann installed as
manager for the first season, carrying
over his duties from Rowley Park, before
he left to continue a career in retail
electronics. One of the highlights of
this debut season was the running of the
1979/80 National Sprintcar
Title, which
although hampered by unkind weather,
eventually saw Steve Brazier
win the non-stop 40-lap final to defend the
title he had won at Warrnambool the
previous year.
Graeme Lewis was appointed manager at
Virginia in 1980 and oversaw the
successful early years when large crowds
ventured out weekly to this northern
location, witnessing some fantastic
racing from a variety of sections, both
bikes and cars.
A Board of Management
for the RDA was formed just before the
start of the 1983/84 season, with Gary
Hoffman heading a four-man team that
included Sam Matheson, Colin Zytveld and
Graham West.
John Hughes, the
founder of World
Series Sprintcars and
NASR (National Association of Speedway
Racing), became
manager
in October 1984, and the RDA leased out the
stadium to a private promotion team -
MJS Racing Promotions, headed by local
entrepreneur Mike Powell. Malcolm Cribb
eventually became manager under Mike
Powell in October
1987, after John Hughes left to take
up his involvement in World Series
Sprintcars. Mal Cribb helped oversee some extensive
improvements to Speedway Park, including
a greatly increased pit area with
concrete pads for competitors, large pit
office, on-site methanol bowser and
car-washing facilities. This upgrade
helped consolidate the racetrack's
reputation as one of the best
purpose-built speedway venues in the
world, a view echoed by the many
overseas competitors who raced there
during the 80s and 90s.
One of the highlights for MJS was
conducting the 1988 Australian Sprintcar
Titles, won by George Tatnell.
The RDA had been involved again in
running Speedway Park
once MJS departed the scene in December
1988, with Peter Dodd at the helm, and
then in December 1989 Ken Argent was
appointed Manager until the end of March
1990. In April 1990 the Speedway
Management Board was formed with a four-man
team headed by Sel
Harley, the others
being Stan Miller,
Tom Tomlinson and
Phil Herreen. Graeme Lewis returned as
Manager,
overseeing racing in
the early 1990s until the track
was sold by the RDA in
June 1996.
Speedway Park was put up for tender, the
successful bidders being
Speedcar driver
Bob Sincock and former Rowley promotions
girl Wendy Turner. This livewire pair
formed a company (Speedway City Pty Ltd)
and renamed the venue. Speedway City was
born and is already preparing to gear up
for its thirteenth season at Virginia -
potentially one of the most successful,
with the running of the 2008
Australian Sprintcar
Nationals as a
definite highlight.
During its 29 year history, Speedway
Park/Speedway City has hosted some
phenomenal racing and seen several
national titles decided. The stadium is
about to embark on another chapter as we
approach the
2008/2009 season - it will be the start
of the 30th racing season at Virginia.
Speedway City -
"The Fastest Dirt
Track In South Australia!!"
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