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Richard Petty Driving Experience

Walt Disney World Speedway
The Mickyard
Wdwspeedway.jpg
Location Floridian Way
Walt Disney World Resort
Bay Lake, Florida, U.S.
Time zone GMT-5
Capacity 51,000 (1996)
43,000 (1999)
30,000 (2000)
Owner The Walt Disney Company
Operator IMS Events, Inc. (former)
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts (current)
Broke ground June 6, 1995
Opened November 28, 1995
Closed August 9, 2015
Construction cost $6 million
Architect Kevin Forbes
Major events

Indy Racing League
Indy 200 (1996–2000)

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Chevy Trucks Challenge (1997–1998)
Tri-oval
Surface Asphalt
Length 1.6 km (1 mi)
Turns 3
Banking Turn 1: 10 degrees
Turn 2: 8.5 degrees
Turn 3: 7 degrees
Lap record 0:19.847 (Buddy Lazier, Hemelgarn Racing, 1996, IRL IndyCar Series)
Website disneyworld.disney.go.com/recreation/richard-petty-driving-experience/

Indy Racing League
Indy 200 (1996–2000)

Walt Disney World Speedway was a racing facility located on the grounds of the Walt Disney World resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida.

It was built in 1995 by IMS Events, Inc., a subsidiary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, and was designed primarily as a venue for the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World, an Indy Racing League event.

The circuit's primary use was as a venue for the Richard Petty Driving Experience, and the Indy Racing Experience, programs that allows fans to drive or ride in real race cars. After the 2000 racing season, it was no longer used as a track for major motorsports racing series, but was used by many racing teams from IndyCar to NASCAR as a test venue due to the warmer climate than other tracks around the United States during the off season for racing. The track closed permanently on August 9, 2015.

AutoWeek magazine and the Orlando Sentinel dubbed the track "The Mickyard" (a portmanteau of the Disney icon Mickey Mouse and Indianapolis Motor Speedway's nickname, the "Brickyard").

The track was a three-turn tri-oval, designed by Indianapolis Motor Speedway chief engineer Kevin Forbes, and the location was chosen in September 1994 by Greg Ruse of Buena Vista Construction. The track was situated on a triangular plot of land adjacent to the Magic Kingdom's parking lot near Disney's Polynesian Resort. Plans for the track were first announced on January 23, 1995. The track was designed to fit within the boundaries of the existing infrastructure, requiring minimal rerouting of existing roads.


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