Location: Bloomsburg, PA
Track: Half-mile Dirt
Total Races: 1 (1953)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bloomsburg Fairgrounds Location: Bloomsburg, PA Track: Half-mile Dirt Total Races: 1 (1953) |
|||||||
|
||||||||
| The Bloomsburg Fairgrounds were built in 1855 with a half-mile trotting track. Bloomsburg was the site of one of the largest fairs in Pennsylvania. The fair first started hosting automobile races in 1923 and soon became a popular event for midget sprint car racers. The track eventually caught NASCAR's eye. The only Grand National (now Nextel Cup) race ever competed there was on October 3, 1953. Jim Paschal sat on the pole out of a field of 21 cars in his '53 Dodge, but it was the legendary Herb Thomas coming home in victory lane, driving his "Fabulous" Hudson Hornet. Thomas won a cool $1,000 for his triumph in the 200 lap event. The Bloomsburg race was one of twelve victories Thomas would capture en route to his second and final NASCAR Grand National title. Quakertown's Mickey Rorer was the highest finishing Pennsylvanian with his eleventh place finish. The track continued to host auto races until 1985 when the cost of insurance and poor attendance forced it to close. The track was reopened in 1987, but closed again shortly after. Today, the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds play host to such events like car shows and an occasional Monster Truck ralley. | ||||||||
|
||||||||
| Herb Thomas (92) races against some competition in 1953 en route to his second Grand National title. | ||||||||