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Southside Speedway
Southside Speedway was a short track used for stock car auto racing located South of Richmond, Virginia in Chesterfield County. On December 11, 2020, the track announced it would be closing permanently after the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 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 later took place, which saw the return of the Legends and Pro Six divisions.
Lin O’Neal, the former #1 race car driver at the track in Grand stock division who had been banned by the previous private owners, has now purchased the raceway from the County of Chesterfield and plans to re-open it to its former beauty.[citation needed] As of March 2025, plans are in place to rebuild.
Southside Speedway, known as Royall 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 on April 15, 1959 with Modifieds as the feature division. For a few years, it was used as a part of NASCAR's early circuit. The first NASCAR Cup Series 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.
Throughout the track's history, there has often been one or two single divisions that brought the fans to the track, and several other novelty divisions that have been used by drivers as a stepping stone to the more prominent divisions. Usually, the more prominent division has been any variety of late model cars or modifieds, and its immediate predecessor division has been the Grand Stock class, or something similar, such as Pure Stocks.
During the 1970s, three names emerged that would plant the seed for future generations of competition at Southside Speedway. Ray Hendrick, Cal Johnson and Ted Hairfield were older drivers whose sons and grandsons have become competitive forces throughout the decades.
Ray Hendrick raced his burgundy Modified car during the 1960s and 1970s, and quickly planted the seed for the Hendrick dynasty. In 1974 and 1975, he placed 8th and 9th respectively in the National Late Model Sportsman Points, which would later become known as the Busch Grand National Series. At Martinsville Speedway, Ray Hendrick is 1st in all-time wins after he won 20 collective races between 1963 and 1975. He sits atop this list of great drivers including Richard Petty and Geoff Bodine. Ray Hendrick is best known for his philosophy of racing anywhere and everywhere. He participated in 17 NASCAR Winston Cup races, of which he captured six career top fives. Cancer claimed Ray Hendrick's life on September 28, 1990.
Later down the road, his son Roy Hendrick would enter the Late Model Stock Car division in a Pontiac whose paint scheme would become identical to his father's modified car. These cars were burgundy, whose white number 11 was encased in a white circle with a wing coming from the side. Roy Hendrick also made a name for himself and neighboring short tracks that feature Late Model-type racing including Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia and South Boston Speedway. Roy Hendrick dominated Southside Speedway for years, because of which he is commonly referred to as "Rapid" Roy Hendrick. Because of his and his father's reign at these tracks, the "Flying Eleven" logo has become as common among the Virginia short track circuit as Dale Earnhardt's number three has become an iconic symbol among the NASCAR circuit. Over the past few years, Roy's son, Brandon Hendrick has peeked his head into the Late Model Sportsman and Modified divisions. Brandon currently races the number 55 car in Southside Speedway's Late Model Sportsman division. Roy Hendrick currently races the number 39 car in the Late Model Sportsman division at Southside Speedway. Also Roy Hendrick has of late mentored a driver named Mark Simpson #36 driving a car in the Grand Stock division maintained by Roy and won in only his 6th race and has finished 2nd in points in 2009 and 3rd in 2010 and has numerous heat and feature wins and also won the 2008 Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Speedway, in keeping with the Hendrick tradition.
During the mid to late 1980s, the three prominent divisions at Southside Speedway were the Late Model Stock Cars, Grand Stocks and Mini Stocks. The elite of Southside Speedway's limelight through the 1980s was shared by the rivalry between Wayne Patterson and Roy Hendrick, but Bugs Hairfield, Roger Sawyer, David Blankenship and Eddie Johnson was always in competition, and passed the track championship around throughout the decade. On Saturdays in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the track would often feature an enduro race that would include upwards of 80 cars racing in a 100-lap melee. These races were incredibly hard to keep up with, as the track was constantly completely congested with cars. The track would also feature a number of other divisions on certain occasions, including Modifieds, Pure Stocks, Factory Stocks, Go-Karts, and many others.
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Southside Speedway
Southside Speedway was a short track used for stock car auto racing located South of Richmond, Virginia in Chesterfield County. On December 11, 2020, the track announced it would be closing permanently after the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 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 later took place, which saw the return of the Legends and Pro Six divisions.
Lin O’Neal, the former #1 race car driver at the track in Grand stock division who had been banned by the previous private owners, has now purchased the raceway from the County of Chesterfield and plans to re-open it to its former beauty.[citation needed] As of March 2025, plans are in place to rebuild.
Southside Speedway, known as Royall 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 on April 15, 1959 with Modifieds as the feature division. For a few years, it was used as a part of NASCAR's early circuit. The first NASCAR Cup Series 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.
Throughout the track's history, there has often been one or two single divisions that brought the fans to the track, and several other novelty divisions that have been used by drivers as a stepping stone to the more prominent divisions. Usually, the more prominent division has been any variety of late model cars or modifieds, and its immediate predecessor division has been the Grand Stock class, or something similar, such as Pure Stocks.
During the 1970s, three names emerged that would plant the seed for future generations of competition at Southside Speedway. Ray Hendrick, Cal Johnson and Ted Hairfield were older drivers whose sons and grandsons have become competitive forces throughout the decades.
Ray Hendrick raced his burgundy Modified car during the 1960s and 1970s, and quickly planted the seed for the Hendrick dynasty. In 1974 and 1975, he placed 8th and 9th respectively in the National Late Model Sportsman Points, which would later become known as the Busch Grand National Series. At Martinsville Speedway, Ray Hendrick is 1st in all-time wins after he won 20 collective races between 1963 and 1975. He sits atop this list of great drivers including Richard Petty and Geoff Bodine. Ray Hendrick is best known for his philosophy of racing anywhere and everywhere. He participated in 17 NASCAR Winston Cup races, of which he captured six career top fives. Cancer claimed Ray Hendrick's life on September 28, 1990.
Later down the road, his son Roy Hendrick would enter the Late Model Stock Car division in a Pontiac whose paint scheme would become identical to his father's modified car. These cars were burgundy, whose white number 11 was encased in a white circle with a wing coming from the side. Roy Hendrick also made a name for himself and neighboring short tracks that feature Late Model-type racing including Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia and South Boston Speedway. Roy Hendrick dominated Southside Speedway for years, because of which he is commonly referred to as "Rapid" Roy Hendrick. Because of his and his father's reign at these tracks, the "Flying Eleven" logo has become as common among the Virginia short track circuit as Dale Earnhardt's number three has become an iconic symbol among the NASCAR circuit. Over the past few years, Roy's son, Brandon Hendrick has peeked his head into the Late Model Sportsman and Modified divisions. Brandon currently races the number 55 car in Southside Speedway's Late Model Sportsman division. Roy Hendrick currently races the number 39 car in the Late Model Sportsman division at Southside Speedway. Also Roy Hendrick has of late mentored a driver named Mark Simpson #36 driving a car in the Grand Stock division maintained by Roy and won in only his 6th race and has finished 2nd in points in 2009 and 3rd in 2010 and has numerous heat and feature wins and also won the 2008 Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Speedway, in keeping with the Hendrick tradition.
During the mid to late 1980s, the three prominent divisions at Southside Speedway were the Late Model Stock Cars, Grand Stocks and Mini Stocks. The elite of Southside Speedway's limelight through the 1980s was shared by the rivalry between Wayne Patterson and Roy Hendrick, but Bugs Hairfield, Roger Sawyer, David Blankenship and Eddie Johnson was always in competition, and passed the track championship around throughout the decade. On Saturdays in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the track would often feature an enduro race that would include upwards of 80 cars racing in a 100-lap melee. These races were incredibly hard to keep up with, as the track was constantly completely congested with cars. The track would also feature a number of other divisions on certain occasions, including Modifieds, Pure Stocks, Factory Stocks, Go-Karts, and many others.