Langhorne Speedway
| "The 'Horne" "The Big Left Turn" "The Track That Ate the Heroes" "Puke Hollow" (Turn #2) |
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| Location | Middletown Township, Bucks County, near Langhorne, Pennsylvania |
| Capacity | Approximately 60,000 |
| Owner |
National Motor Racing Association (1926–1929) Ralph "Pappy" Hankinson (1930–1941) Earl "Lucky" Teter (1941–1942) John Babcock (1946–1950) Irv Fried and Al Gerber (1951–1971) |
| Operator | Langhorne Speedway |
| Opened | 1926 |
| Closed | 1971 |
| Former names | New Philadelphia/Philadelphia Speedway (1926–c. 1930) |
| Major events |
AAA Championship Car Langhorne 100 (1930–1955) USAC Championship Car Langhorne 100 (1956-1970) NASCAR Grand National (1949–1957) Langhorne National Open (1951–1971) |
| Circle | |
| Length | 1.6 km (1.0 mi) |
| Banking | minimal |
| Designated | 2006 |
Langhorne Speedway was an automobile racetrack in Middletown Township, Bucks County, near the borough of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Philadelphia.
According to the book Langhorne! No Man's Land by L. Spencer Riggs: "With all other courses up to that time being fairground horse tracks, Langhorne was the first [one-]mile dirt track built specifically for cars" (p. 5). High-profile American racing clubs like the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), American Automobile Association (AAA), and United States Auto Club (USAC) made Langhorne one of the stops on their national circuits. These events included AMA-sanctioned National Championship Motorcycle races between 1935 and 1956, AAA-sanctioned Championship Car races between 1930 and 1955, and USAC-sanctioned Championship Car races from 1956 to 1970. The USAC races featured (and were won by) notable racers such as A. J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Gordon Johncock, Lloyd Ruby, and Eddie Sachs. Langhorne was also featured prominently in NASCAR's early years and hosted at least one NASCAR-sanctioned race every year from 1949 to 1957.
The speedway was built by a group of Philadelphia racing enthusiasts known as the National Motor Racing Association (NMRA) and the first race was held on June 12, 1926 (scheduled for May 31 but postponed by rain). Freddie Winnai of Philadelphia qualified in 42.40 seconds, a new world's record for a one-mile (1.6 km) track, and went on to win the 50-lap main event.
The NMRA operated Langhorne through the 1929 season, staging 100-lap events on Labor Days and occasional shorter races. Difficulties in track preparation, management disputes, and poor attendance drove the speedway to the brink of bankruptcy until noted promoter Ralph "Pappy" Hankinson took over in 1930. "Pappy" brought in AAA Championship 100-lap races and continued to stage shorter Sprint car racing on the circular track. One of the first in the northeastern U.S. was held at Langhorne in 1940; Roy Hall of Atlanta, Georgia was victor in the 200-lap event.
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