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19-509: In the early 1950s Stanley Dudzinski carved a one-third mile oval into a berry patch to practice driving his race car. He and his wife Irene further developed the facility and in 1955 the gates were opened for the first competitive event. Glenn Donnelly (originally with Ken Ermiger) purchased the race track in 1970, increasing the clay oval to 3/8 mile, and creating the flagship for the Super DIRTcar Series . In 2004, Donnelly sold

38-452: A $ 10,000 bid was awarded to build a dirt track suitable for auto racing on the perimeter of the harness track. The first auto race at the track was held in 1903, and won by Barney Oldfield in his "Baby Bullet". Oldfield averaged more than 60 mph in a lap around the mile. Syracuse was one of the several tracks one mile in length that made up the AAA national championship . From 1925 to 1971

57-506: A 100-mile-per-hour lap in 1970. The track and grandstands were torn down in 2016 by state government officials with the plan to modernize facilities. The Syracuse Mile hosted harness racing from its opening until 2005. The Hambletonian Stakes were held from 1926 through 1929. In the early 1970s, a new 16,000-seat grandstand was built as part of an unsuccessful attempt to bring back the Hambletonian Stakes. In 1900,

76-604: A Labor Day a tradition that lasted until 2002. Floyd, New York driver Cliff Kotary reigned as State Fair Champion for six straight years (1960-1965). In 1955 the first of three races for what is now referred to as the NASCAR Cup Series at the fairgrounds. Tim Flock, Buck Baker and Gwyn Staley were victorious in the three events held from 55-57. NASCAR's Convertible Stock Series also competed in 56 and 57. Curtis Turner and Possum Jones were victorious in those events. In 1972, Glenn Donnelly began promoting races at

95-821: The New York State Fairgrounds Racetrack in Syracuse, New York . The series became a true points championship in 1974 that also awarded a points fund. Will Cagle won the first points championship in 1974 over two-time Super DIRT Week champion Buzzie Reutimann. The series and Super Dirt Week grew in popularity along with corporate title sponsors & television coverage throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Past series title sponsors include Schaefer Beer (1972–1975 and 1978), CRC Industries (1979–1985), Sun Country Cooler (1986), U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company (1987–1998) and Advance Auto Parts (1999–2008). The series briefly included asphalt races on

114-671: The New York State Fairgrounds Racetrack . The premiere event for the series is the Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux 200, a part of NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week which is currently held at the Oswego Speedway in Oswego, New York . The race features one of the biggest purses in dirt modified racing with the purse paying $ 50,000 to the winner. The race is currently broadcast by [1] (live video), DIRTVision.com (live radio) & MavTV (delayed television). The race

133-538: The Northeastern United States and Canada along with select dates in Florida and North Carolina . The cars feature big block V8 engines (up to 467 c.i.) that develops over 750 hp and a center-steer style chassis that weighs at least 2,500 lb with driver included. The series was founded in 1972 by Glenn Donnelly as a series of qualifier races for the inaugural Super Dirt Week at

152-531: The World of Outlaws World Finals at Charlotte Motor Speedway . Beginning with the 1980 season points earned in the Super DIRTcar Series were credited toward crowning an overall Mr. DIRTcar champion. Over the years, a variety of formulas have been used, and included bonus points for feature wins and/or seasonal standings at weekly home tracks. In 2000, the two series were merged. Beginning in 2011,

171-615: The Fairgrounds Board contracted with former Indianapolis driver Ira Vail to promote auto racing. With Vail's promotion, drivers such as Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Al Unser competed for wins during one of the Indianapolis 500's golden era's, putting the Syracuse Mile in the national spotlight. On Labor Day 1949 the sportsman modified stock cars took to the track. The New York State Fair Championship then became

190-593: The Mr. DIRTcar championship was separated and decided only on a driver's best 16 finishes at their weekly home track. In 2019 the contest garnered a title sponsor and was renamed the Hoosier Racing Tire Weekly Championship . In 1983, the Mr. Dirt 320 Modified Championship trail was created. These small block modifieds emerged from NASCAR's Sportsman division , which had been revamped in 1968. Many Northeast race tracks continued to run

209-602: The Mr. DIRTcar title. New York State Fairgrounds Racetrack The Syracuse Mile was a 1-mile (1.6 km) dirt oval raceway located at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse , New York . Originally built for harness racing in 1826, the first auto race was run in 1903, making it the second oldest auto racing facility in United States history. The racetrack was also nicknamed "The Moody Mile" after driver Wes Moody turned

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228-418: The championship trail from 1988 to 1992 at tracks such as Cayuga , Flemington , Nazareth , Oswego , Sanair and Thompson . The series was acquired by World Racing Group (then Boundless Motorsports) in 2003. The crown jewel event of the series, Super Dirt Week had to changed venues for the first time in 2016 to a dirt-covered Oswego Speedway in Oswego, New York following the demise & razing of

247-628: The fairgrounds adding to the Labor Day event with races on the Fourth of July and Columbus Day weekend. The October race became Super DIRT Week , and continued at the Fairgrounds until 2015. Buzzie Reutimann beat NASCAR Hall of Famer Jerry Cook for the 1972 Championship. Brett Hearn of Kinnelon, New Jersey , became the all-time win leader at the "Moody Mile," after claiming 6 Super Dirt Week main event victories and 6 "358 Modified" triumphs,

266-486: The final coming in 2014. The first event was scheduled over three days, from September 29, through October 1, 1972. Inspection and qualifying races were conducted on Friday and Saturday, and the Championship race was held on Sunday. The Syracuse Mile remained the featured racetrack until 2015. In 2015, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a sweeping redesign of the fairgrounds that included taking out what

285-560: The old class, and the new series allowed these racers from the St. Lawrence Valley to compete against their counterparts in the Hudson Valley and Twin Tiers regions of Pennsylvania and New York. In 1985 the 358 cubic inch engine was introduced to the class, and later separate championships were created for the traveling series and the weekly home track competition, with the later keeping

304-747: The race track to the World Racing Group for $ 4.3 million. Since 2014, the speedway has been owned by Al Heinke, partner in Heinke Baldwin Racing , and previously a partner with Skip Barber at Lime Rock Park . In the early-1980s the venue started hosting major concerts by some of the biggest bands in rock music, including Aerosmith , Santana , Stevie Nicks , The Beach Boys , Peter Frampton , Neil Young , Guns N' Roses , Kiss , Metallica , Bryan Adams , Ozzy Osbourne , Van Halen , Heart , Alice Cooper , Foreigner , Mötley Crüe , and Def Leppard , REO Speedwagon . For concerts

323-403: The track has attracted crowds as large as 12,000. 43°3′34.17″N 76°32′48.36″W  /  43.0594917°N 76.5467667°W  / 43.0594917; -76.5467667 Super DIRTcar Series The Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds is a North American big block modified touring series currently promoted by World Racing Group . The series primarily races on dirt ovals in

342-534: Was originally held at the New York State Fairgrounds Mile in Syracuse until the track was razed in 2016. Previous broadcasters of Super DIRT Week include CBS Sports Network , Empire Sports Network, ESPN , SPEED & TNN . Other major events currently on the Super DIRTcar Series schedule include DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park , Hall of Fame 100 at Weedsport Speedway , Mr. DIRT Track USA at Lebanon Valley Speedway and

361-502: Was the 16,000-seat grandstand and mile-long dirt track. The last stock car race was held that year on Columbus day weekend. The Super DIRT Week events were moved to a temporary dirt track at Oswego Speedway until construction of a new venue was completed. The proposed CNYRP or Central New York Raceway Park was cancelled and the property was repurposed when Micron Technology agreed in October 2022 to invest up to $ 100 billion to build

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