Southside Speedway
| The Toughest Short Track in the South | |
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| Location | Midlothian, Virginia |
| Coordinates | 37°27′03″N 77°37′45″W / 37.450929°N 77.629130°WCoordinates: 37°27′03″N 77°37′45″W / 37.450929°N 77.629130°W |
| Capacity | ~6,000 |
| Owner | J.M. Wilkinson |
| Operator | Sue Clements Patsy Stargardt |
| Opened | April 15, 1959 |
| Former names | Royall Speedway Wack-A-Mole Speedway |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 0.33 mi (0.53 km) |
| Turns | 10° |
| Banking | 12° |
Southside Speedway (also known as "The Toughest Short Track in the South") is a short track used for auto racing located just South of Richmond, Virginia in Chesterfield County. It is a .333-mile (0.536 km) asphalt oval owned and operated by Sue Clements and Patsy Stargardt. The track originally canceled the 2011 racing season after announcing that owner Sue Clements was battling health problems. However, a shortened 11-week 2011 season took place, which saw the return of the Legends and Pro Six divisions.
Southside Speedway, which used to be known as Royall Speedway and Wack-A-Mole Speedway in the early 1950s, first opened in 1949 and hosted midget races. The track was built by Nelson Royall, who leased the land from the Wilkerson family. It reopened in April 15, 1959 with as the feature division. For a few years, it was used as a part of NASCAR's early circuit. The first NASCAR race on Southside speedway happened on August 18, 1961. At that time, the track was a 1/4 mile dirt oval. At 58.86 miles per hour (94.73 km/h), Junior Johnson took the pole for the 150-lap race in his 1960 Pontiac. He led every lap of the race that took about 45 minutes to race. By the next year, Southside Speedway had become a 1/3 mile asphalt oval. At 71.45 miles per hour (114.99 km/h), Rex White took the pole, but would duck out on lap 134 with engine trouble, which would lead Jimmy Pardue to win the 200-lap feature in his 1962 Pontiac. Richard Petty would finish third in that race. Later that season, Rex White's bad luck would continue. After leading 276 laps of a 300 lap feature, he would lose his lead to Cliff Stewart, who would win the event in his 1962 Pontiac. The last main circuit race recorded at Southside Speedway was on May 19, 1963, in which Ned Jarrett would lead the most laps and win the 300-lap feature in his 1963 Ford. Since this time, Southside Speedway has been used to house several NASCAR syndicated feature series, in which the track has seen great names such as Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison turn left at the 1/3 mile track.
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