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Memphis Motorsports Park

Memphis International Raceway
Memphis International Raceway diagram.svg
Location 5500 Victory Lane, Millington, Tennessee, 38023
Time zone GMT-6
Coordinates 35°16′58″N 89°56′51″W / 35.28278°N 89.94750°W / 35.28278; -89.94750Coordinates: 35°16′58″N 89°56′51″W / 35.28278°N 89.94750°W / 35.28278; -89.94750
Capacity 35,000 (Oval) - 25,000 (Drag Strip)
Owner IRG Sports & Entertainment
Opened 1987
Major events IHRA Nitro Jam
Summit Racing Equipment World Finals
ARCA Series
Memphis 250
D-oval
Surface Asphalt
Length .75 mi (1.2 km)
Banking Turns - 11°
Straights - 4° front, 3° back
Drag Strip
Surface Asphalt
Length .8326 mi (1.34 km)
Road Course
Surface Asphalt
Length 1.8 mi (2.9 km)

Memphis International Raceway (formerly known as Memphis Motorsports Park) is an auto racing park located across the Loosahatchie River from Memphis, Tennessee, approximately ten miles south of Millington, Tennessee. The facility opened in 1987 with a drag strip and 1.8-mile (2.9 km) road course. It includes a 3/4-mile tri-oval short track, built in 1998, which once hosted the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series, as well as an ASA Late Model Series race. The 4,400-foot (1,340 m) drag strip hosts events such as International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) World Finals and Nitro Jam, Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA), HOT ROD Power Tour, Super Chevy Show, Fun Ford Series and Mega Mopar Action Series.

Memphis International Raceway, more commonly known as MIR, was founded in 1986 by Ed Gatlin who, along with a group of investors, bought a 400-acre tract of land in northeast Shelby County, Tenn., and built a drag strip with an adjacent road course, a dirt track and go-kart track.

The entire facility was purchased by the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach in 1996, and in 1997, a ¾-mile paved tri-oval was added on the site of the old dirt track, while a new dirt track was built on the site of the former go-kart track. The name of the facility was also changed-to Memphis Motorsports Park-and the tri-oval opened on June 5, 1998.

The following month, Memphis Motorsports Park was acquired by Dover Motorsports, Inc. in connection with its purchase of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. Memphis Motorsports Park closed October 30, 2009 due to lack of finances. Its parent company, Dover Motorsports, Inc. announced that it was ceasing all operations at Memphis Motorsports Park and that it would not be promoting any events in Memphis in 2010. The Memphis facility was under an agreement of sale to Gulf Coast Entertainment but Gulf Coast was unable to secure financing. The track's Camping World Truck Series date was moved to Nashville Superspeedway and its Nationwide Series date to Gateway International Raceway, and later abandoned after a year. Dover Motorsports, Inc. auctioned off the complex on December 14, 2010 to Palm Beach International Raceway for $1.9 million.


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