Every track, past, present, and future, has a story to tell–a storied history with some legendary moments and legendary winners. Since its inception in 1949, 179 unique speedways and tracks have been featured on the NASCAR circuit across its many distinctive series. Today, only 53 of those still remain on the schedule across all of NASCAR’s divisions, while the others often waste away. Some get sold to real estate developers. They get turned into condos or a Walmart or a parking lot or a shopping mall. Others get left to ruin, a painful reminder of their former glory. And some get torn down in order to build a new short track, but never reach beyond the blueprint and/or good idea phase of planning.
For the fifth entry in our Forgotten Speedways series, we’re going to head down to south Florida in Bay Lake near Orlando. Home to the Walt Disney World Resort, the small town of Bay Lake has been one of the marquee tourist destinations for a big part of the last several decades. But did you know that Disney World was once home to an official IndyCar and NASCAR racetrack? Yep! Walt Disney World Speedway opened in 1995 and stuck around for 20 years before finally biting the dust in 2015. The track has a storied history from its inception to its closure. So, let’s get into it. Now presenting the Happiest Speedway on Earth, the Walt Disney World Speedway.
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The Walt Disney Company in partnership with Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation broke ground for the speedway on June 6, 1995. Just shy of six months later, on November 28, the newly built Walt Disney World Speedway opened. But you might ask yourself, “why would Indianapolis Motor Speedway want to build a racetrack in Orlando, Florida in the first place?” Well, that was largely due to the IndyCar split. At the time, the sanctioning body of the IndyCar Series was Championship Auto Racing Teams, or CART. However, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway owned the rights to the Indianapolis 500. Due to various disputes and the rising cost of IndyCar Racing, Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s then-president, Tony George decided to start the Indy Racing League, an all-oval alternative series to CART.
As part of this new venture, George was looking for more ovals to race on. He struck a deal with Walt Disney World to construct a new racing facility on their property with the intention of the track hosting the annual Indy 200 at Walt Disney World. IndyCar raced at the track from 1996-2000. But NASCAR came into the fold in 1997 with its NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. That race was called the Chevy Trucks Challenge. The Truck race distance was set for 200 laps, though in 1998, the race was 204 laps due to one of the earliest examples of the green-white-checkered rule.
The Truck Series only raced at the track twice. Both years, the Chevy Truck Challenge served as the series season-opener, taking place the weekend of January 19th and 18th. Following the 1998 season, the Trucks did not return to the track. This was said to be due to the 10-week break between the season opener and the second race on the schedule, Tucson Raceway Park in early March. IndyCar continued to race there through the 2000 season. Following that, the track was considered inactive. However, the track was kept in raceable shape due to it being the host of the Richard Petty Driving Experience. The track also served as a test track until its permanent closure on August 9, 2015. Ownership of the track never changed hands.
The track was built on a shoestring budget, so amenities were very limited. The only permanent fixtures of the facility were the track itself, the concrete retaining wall, and the catch fence. Bleachers, concessions, and restrooms were added temporarily as needed for any given event. In the infield of the track, three linked ponds formed a Micky Mouse head. This body of water was referred to as “Lake Mickey”.
The shape of the track was a tri-oval, similar to that of Phoenix Raceway. The surface of the track was asphalt and the length measured in at exactly one mile. Officially, the track had three turns, all banked at different degrees. Turn 1 was banked at 10 degrees, Turn 2 at 8.5 degrees, and Turn 3 at 7 degrees. The finish line was located shortly after the dog leg on the frontstretch.
The longest tenured series to race at the track was, of course, the IndyCar series. Racing there from 1996 to 2000, they held five races at the track. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the only NASCAR-sanctioned series to race at the track. Two races were held there in 1997 and 1998, respectively. The USAC Formula Ford 2000 was run at the track from 1996 to 1998. Then, the USAC Silver Crown Series, initially as a support race to the Trucks, held events at the facility in 1998, 1999, and 2000.
On the IndyCar side, the biggest name driver to win at the track was Tony Stewart, having done so in his 1998 campaign. For the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Joe Ruttman for Roush Racing and Ron Hornaday for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated won the two races at the track. USAC winners include Sam Schmidt, Mike Bliss, and Brian Tyler.
Despite losing sanctioned professional racing following the 2000 season, the track remained operable until 2015. It was the host of several events, including the Walt Disney World Marathon and the Richard Petty Driver Experience. Following its closure, the track was demolished. Today, it serves as a parking lot outside of Magic Kingdom. The Tomorrowland Speedway ride in the theme park, however, is still fully operational.
That does it for Walt Disney World Speedway. Do you remember this track? Do you wish it was still around? Let us know what you think! And stay tuned. Up next in Forgotten Speedways is USA International Speedway!
