Parramatta City Raceway
| Location | 21 Wentworth St, Granville, NSW |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°49′55″S 151°01′31″E / 33.83191°S 151.02529°ECoordinates: 33°49′55″S 151°01′31″E / 33.83191°S 151.02529°E |
| Capacity | 10,000 |
| Broke ground | 1976 |
| Opened | 1977 |
| Former names | Parramatta Speedway Parramatta City Raceway Sydney Speedway |
| Major events |
World Series Sprintcars Australian Sprintcar Championship Australian Speedcar Championship Australian Super Sedan Championship Australian Late Model Championship National Super Sedan Series World of Outlaws NSW Sprintcar Championship |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Clay |
| Length | 0.285 mi (0.460 km) |
| Lap record | 0:11.564 (Cody Darrah, , 2011, 410 Sprintcar) |
Valvoline Raceway (formerly known as Parramatta Speedway, Parramatta City Raceway and Sydney Speedway) is a Dirt track racing venue located on the site of the Granville Showgrounds in Sydney
Speedway racing had taken place at the Granville Showgrounds during the 1930s with races using the existing ½ mile Harness racing track. However, with speedway already established at the Sydney Showground Speedway and Sydney Sports Ground, as well as racing at the nearby Cumberland Oval, racing at Granville was short lived.
The new 460 metres (500 yards) long clay surfaced oval was the brainchild of former Sydney driver Sid Hopping who wanted to give Sydney a track purpose built for the new, faster breed of American style Sprintcars. Sydney's two other tracks at the time, the Showground and the Liverpool Speedway, did run sprintcars, though the Showground was deemed too narrow while Liverpool had changed from dirt to bitumen in 1974 which suited the sedans, but not no much the Super Modifieds (later to become sprintcars) and Speedcars.
The clay track at the Granville Showgrounds was laid out and first practices took place in January 1977 to test out the track. Hopping and his partner Bert Wilder ran meetings on Friday nights so as not to compete with the Showground or Liverpool which raced on Saturday nights. From its opening, the new speedway became known as the premier sprintcar track in Australia, a title it still enjoys (as of 2015). With its wide open spaces (the track itself has no actual safety fence with the old trotting track forming a barrier between the track and the outside safety fence) and short straights, Parramatta City Raceway was home to some of the countries best drivers including multiple Australian Champions Garry Rush, George and Brooke Tatnell, Bob Tunks and Skip Jackson, as well as other top drivers including Bob "The Streak" Blacklaw, former motocross star Stephen Gall and John Walsh calling the speedway 'home'.
Since its opening, the speedway has hosted the Australian Sprintcar Championship on six occasions (1978, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2008, 2017), as well as the Australian Speedcar Championship (1988, 1994, 2006) and the Australian Super Sedan Championship (2003). It also hosted rounds of David Tapp's Australian Speedway Masters Series for Solos (in a rare visit to the track) and in 2004 became the first speedway outside of North or Central America to host the famed World of Outlaws sprintcar series which featured some of America's best taking on the locals. The winner of the event was Outlaws 'King' and regular visitor to both Australia and Parramatta, Steve Kinser. Valvoline Raceway has also been the venue for the Australian Sprintcar Grand Prix since its inception in 1979 as well as hosting the Australian Speedcar Grand Prix in 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2011. In 2015, the track hosted the Speed Energy Formula Off-Road truck racing series, a support event for the Ultimate Sprintcar Championship;Sheldon Creed went on to win the first (and only) Formula Off-Road race held at Valvoline Raceway.
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