Fonda Speedway

Fonda Speedway in the Mohawk Valley of upstate New York is known as the Track of Champions, and its half-mile dirt oval has been hosting racing since 1953. Four Cup Series races were held at Fonda between 1955 and 1968, bringing NASCAR to a track that had already established itself as one of the premier dirt racing venues in the Northeast. The flat half-mile tested drivers on a surface that was entirely different from the red clay of the Carolina bullrings, with the Mohawk Valley dirt producing a racing surface that went from heavy and grippy to dry and dusty as events progressed. Fonda was a Saturday night institution in New York, drawing fans from across the region who came to watch Modified and sportsman competitors battle under the lights. The Cup Series visits elevated the profile of a track that needed no introduction in the Northeast, and the fields mixed Southern touring professionals with talented local drivers who knew every rut and ridge on the Fonda surface. The Track of Champions earned its nickname through decades of producing winners who went on to bigger stages.

Written by Richard R. Glover, NASCAR Reference