Flat Rock Speedway

History

Construction of Flat Rock Speedway began in 1952, but financial difficulties caused the original investors to withdraw. Sheldon Hayes of the Cadillac Asphalt Company completed the track in 1953, using 70 tons of a rubber-and-asphalt mixture to create a rubberized asphalt surface, the first of its kind for a race track. The speedway opened on August 14, after a one-week delay from the planned August 7 opening due to a raccoon drowning in the drainage system and subsequent rain flooding the track.

Dick Good won the first track championship in the Hardtop division, which was renamed the Late Model class in 1954. That year, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. became the track's promoter and attracted drivers such as Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly, and Lee Petty. France left the position in 1956. Motor City Speedway promoter Andy Barto served as Flat Rock's promoter until stepping down in March 1956, replaced by Hayes, who was track president, so Barto could focus on Motor City; Barto returned as general manager in 1959.

In 1953, the Midwest Association for Race Cars (MARC) began racing at the track, with J. H. Petty winning the first races—consecutive 100-lap events on September 11. Late models were introduced in 1962. Without NASCAR support, the track struggled in the late 1950s. In 1960, new general manager Joan Simmons created a points system and increased competitor numbers, boosting attendance by 81 percent. Marcum later renamed his sanctioning body the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), whose Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series raced at Flat Rock until 2000; Frank Kimmel won the final ARCA premier series race there. Simmons remained general manager until 1970. In 1999, Drager purchased Toledo Speedway, making it a sister track. Flat Rock's marketing division Marcum Productions assumed the same role at Toledo, and Scott Schultz served as general manager for both tracks.