Walmart
Walmart Inc. is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, grocery stores. Headquartered in Bentonville, the company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated on October 31, 1969, it owns and operates Sam's Club retail warehouses. As of January 31, 2019, Walmart has 11,348 stores and clubs in 27 countries, operating under 55 different names; the company operates under the name Walmart in the United States and Canada, as Walmart de México y Centroamérica in Mexico and Central America, as Asda in the United Kingdom, as the Seiyu Group in Japan, as Best Price in India. It has wholly owned operations in Argentina, Chile and South Africa. Since August 2018, Walmart only holds a minority stake in Walmart Brasil, with 20% of the company's shares, private equity firm Advent International holding 80% ownership of the company. Walmart is the world's largest company by revenue—over US$500 billion, according to Fortune Global 500 list in 2018—as well as the largest private employer in the world with 2.2 million employees.
It is a publicly traded family-owned business. Sam Walton's heirs own over 50 percent of Walmart through their holding company, Walton Enterprises, through their individual holdings. Walmart was the largest U. S. grocery retailer in 2019, 65 percent of Walmart's US$510.329 billion sales came from U. S. operations. The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. By 1988, Walmart was the most profitable retailer in the U. S. and by October 1989, it had become the largest in terms of revenue. Geographically limited to the South and lower Midwest, by the early 1990s, the company had stores from coast to coast: Sam's Club opened in New Jersey in November 1989 and the first California outlet opened in Lancaster in July 1990. A Walmart in York, Pennsylvania opened in October 1990: the first main store in the Northeast. Walmart's investments outside North America have seen mixed results: its operations and subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, South America, China are successful, whereas its ventures in Germany and South Korea failed.
In 1945, businessman and former J. C. Penney employee Sam Walton bought a branch of the Ben Franklin stores from the Butler Brothers, his primary focus was selling products at low prices to get higher-volume sales at a lower profit margin, portraying it as a crusade for the consumer. He experienced setbacks because the lease price and branch purchase were unusually high, but he was able to find lower-cost suppliers than those used by other stores and was able to undercut his competitors on pricing. Sales increased 45% in his first year of ownership to US$105,000 in revenue, which increased to $140,000 the next year and $175,000 the year after that. Within the fifth year, the store was generating $250,000 in revenue; when the lease for the location expired, Walton was unable to reach an agreement for renewal, so he opened up a new store at 105 N. Main Street in Bentonville, naming it "Walton's Five and Dime"; that store is now the Walmart Museum. On July 2, 1962, Walton opened the first Walmart Discount City store at 719 W. Walnut Street in Rogers, Arkansas.
The building is now occupied by a hardware store and an antique mall, while the company's "Store #1" has since relocated to a larger discount store and now expanded to a Supercenter several blocks west at 2110 W. Walnut Street. Within its first five years, the company expanded to 24 stores across Arkansas and reached US$12.6 million in sales. In 1968, it opened its first stores outside Arkansas, in Sikeston and Claremore, Oklahoma; the company was incorporated as Wal-Mart, Inc. on October 31, 1969, changed its name to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in 1970. The same year, the company opened a home office and first distribution center in Bentonville, Arkansas, it had 38 stores operating with 1,500 sales of $44.2 million. It began trading stock as a publicly held company on October 1, 1970, was soon listed on the New York Stock Exchange; the first stock split occurred in May 1971 at a price of $47 per share. By this time, Walmart was operating in five states: Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma; as the company moved into Texas in 1975, there were 125 stores with 7,500 employees and total sales of $340.3 million.
In the 1980s, Walmart continued to grow and by the company's 25th anniversary in 1987, there were 1,198 stores with sales of $15.9 billion and 200,000 associates. This year marked the completion of the company's satellite network, a $24 million investment linking all operating units with the Bentonville office via two-way voice and data transmission and one-way video communication. At the time, the company was the largest private satellite network, allowing the corporate office to track inventory and sales and to communicate to stores. In 1988, Walton was replaced by David Glass. Walton remained as Chairman of the Board. With the contribution of its superstores, the company surpassed Toys "R" Us in toy sales in 1998. While it was the third-largest retailer in the United States, Walmart was more profitable than rivals Kmart and Sears by the late 1980s. By 1990, it became the largest U. S. retailer by revenue. Prior to the summer of 1990, Walmart had no presence on the West Coast or in the Northeast, but in July and October that year, it opened its first stores in California and Pennsylvania, respectively.
By the mid-1990s, it was far and away the most powerful retailer in the U. S. and expanded into Mexico in 1991 and Canada in 1994
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing With Felix Sabates, Inc. Doing business as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams or Chip Ganassi Racing, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the FIA World Endurance Championship, it was founded in 1990 by businessman and former race driver Chip Ganassi, from the assets of Patrick Racing to compete in the CART IndyCar World Series. After winning four consecutive CART championships from 1996–1999 with drivers Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya, in 2000 Ganassi became the first CART organization to return to the Indianapolis 500 after the open wheel "Split" between CART and the Indy Racing League in 1996. A dominant victory with Montoya would foresee the teams permanent switch to the IRL, where further championships would be won with Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti, including another four straight from 2008–2011; the team fields the Nos. 10 Dallara-Hondas for Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist.
In 2001, Ganassi bought a majority stake in Felix Sabates' Team SABCO NASCAR team, which had operated since 1989, marking his entry into that championship and inheriting that organizations history, while partnering to compete in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. In 2009, Ganassi partnered with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. owner Teresa Earnhardt to merge their NASCAR operations into Ganassi's shop and run independently as Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. The NASCAR team dropped the Earnhardt name in 2014, Ganassi revealed that Teresa was never involved with the team. Rob Kauffman, chairman of the Race Team Alliance, purchased a stake in the team in 2015; the NASCAR program has fielded full-time entries for notable drivers including Kyle Petty, Joe Nemechek, Sterling Marlin, Jimmy Spencer, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray. They run the Nos. 1 and 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s for Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson in a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports. Together, they have won 12 Open Wheel titles, 5 Grand-Am Road Racing championships, wins in the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and a 24 Hours of Le Mans class win.
Their class victory in the 2018 24 Hours of Daytona marked their 200th professional racing victory. 9 Scott Dixon, PNC Bank 10 Felix Rosenqvist, NTT Data Eddie Cheever Arie Luyendyk Robby Gordon Didier Theys Michael Andretti Maurício Gugelmin Bryan Herta Mike Groff Jimmy Vasser Alex Zanardi Juan Pablo Montoya Nicolas Minassian Memo Gidley Tony Stewart Bruno Junqueira Jeff Ward Kenny Bräck Scott Dixon Tomas Scheckter Tony Renna Darren Manning Jaques Lazier Giorgio Pantano Ryan Briscoe Dan Wheldon Dario Franchitti Graham Rahal Charlie Kimball Alex Tagliani Tony Kanaan Sage Karam Sebastian Saavedra Max Chilton Ed Jones Felix Rosenqvist In 1989, Chip Ganassi, who had driven in the IndyCar World Series but had his career cut short due to a career-ending crash at Michigan in 1984, joined Pat Patrick as co-owner for Emerson Fittipaldi's Marlboro IndyCar team. Patrick had announced he was going to retire at the end of the year, the team would go to Ganassi; the team won the IndyCar Championship. By season's end, Patrick had second thoughts.
Instead of retracting the sale of the team to Ganassi, he went ahead with the deal as planned, instead restarted his team by taking over the upstart Alfa Romeo IndyCar effort for 1990. Fittipaldi took the Marlboro sponsorship to Team Penske, an arrangement, pre-planned.. Ganassi took over the remaining assets of the team, renamed it Chip Ganassi Racing, he signed former Formula One driver Eddie Cheever and raced full-time in the IndyCar World series with Target as primary sponsor. In 1992 Ganassi expanded to a two-car effort for the Indy 500, adding Arie Luyendyk for the Indy-only entry. Ganassi debuted rookie Robby Gordon in selected events. For 1993, Luyendyk replaced Cheever full-time. Luyendyk won the pole position for the Indy 500 and finished second to Fittipaldi, Ganassi's former driver in his partnership with Patrick. For 1994, Michael Andretti joined the team after returning from his failed transition to Formula One in 1993, he scored Ganassi's first IndyCar victory at Surfers Paradise.
Target continued to sponsor Ganassi's operation through the decade, by the mid part of the decade, the team had risen to the top of the series. The most impressive was Juan Pablo Montoya winning the championship in his rookie season in 1999, they won four consecutive series championships, with Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, Montoya in 1999, becoming the first car owner to win four consecutive CART championships. In 2000, Ganassi became the first CART team to break ranks and return to race in the Indianapolis 500, part of the rival Indy Racing League; the team saw instant success. Montoya became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and the Michigan 500 in the same year since Rick Mears in 1991. However, he was unable to duplicate his championship success of 1999. Vasser's performance dwindled, as his lone victory at Houston
Oval track racing
Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit automobile racing, contested on an oval-shaped track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction universally left. Oval tracks are dedicated motorsport circuits, used predominantly in the United States, they have banked turns and some, despite the name, are not oval, can have unique variances in shape. Major forms of oval track racing include stock car racing, open-wheel racing, sprint car racing, modified car racing, midget car racing and dirt track motorcycles. Oval track racing is the predominant form of auto racing in the United States. According to the 2013 National Speedway Directory, the total number of oval tracks, drag strips and road courses in the United States is 1,262, with 901 of those being oval tracks and 683 of those being dirt tracks. Among the most famous oval tracks in North America are the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway. Notable ovals in other countries include Rafaela in Argentina, Mexico City in Mexico, Motegi in Japan, Lausitzring in Germany, the Calder Park Thunderdome in Australia and Rockingham in the United Kingdom, Monza in Italy, Montlhéry in France.
Pack racing is a phenomenon found on high-banked superspeedways. It occurs when the vehicles racing are cornering at their limit of aerodynamic drag, but within their limit of traction; this allows drivers to race around the track at wide open throttle. Since the vehicles are within their limit of traction, drafting through corners will not hinder a vehicle's performance; as cars running together are faster than cars running individually, all cars in the field will draft each other in one large pack. In stock car racing this is referred to as "restrictor plate racing" because NASCAR mandates that each car on its two longest high-banked ovals and Daytona, use an air restrictor to reduce horsepower; the results of pack racing may vary. As drivers are forced to race in a confined space, overtaking is common as vehicles may travel two and three abreast; this forces drivers to use strong mental discipline in negotiating traffic. There are drawbacks, however. Should an accident occur at the front of the pack, the results could block the track in a short amount of time.
This leaves drivers at the back of the pack with little time to little room to maneuver. The results are catastrophic as numerous cars may be destroyed in a single accident; this type of accident is called "The Big One". Oval track racing requires different tactics than road racing. While the driver doesn't have to shift gears nearly as brake as or as or deal with turns of various radii in both directions as in road racing, drivers are still challenged by negotiating the track. Where there is one preferred line around a road course, there are many different lines which can work on an oval track; the preferred line depends on many factors including track conditions, car set-up, traffic. The oval track driver must choose. On a short track in a 25 lap feature race, a driver might not run any two laps with the same line. Both types of racing place physical demands on the driver. A driver in an IndyCar race at Richmond International Raceway may be subject to as many lateral g-forces as a Formula One driver at Istanbul Park.
Weather plays a different role in each discipline. Road racing offers a variety of slow corners that allow the use of rain tires. Paved oval tracks don't run with a wet track surface. Dirt ovals will sometimes support a light rain; some tracks have "shine" rules requiring races to be run in rain. Safety has been a point of difference between the two. While a road course has abundant run-off areas, gravel traps, tire barriers, oval tracks have a concrete retaining wall separating the track from the fans. Innovations have been made to change this, however; the SAFER barrier was created to provide a less dangerous alternative to a traditional concrete wall. The barrier can be retrofitted onto an existing wall or may take the place of a concrete wall completely. Oval tracks are classified based upon their size and shape, their size can range from only a few hundred feet to over two and a half miles. Track surfaces can be dirt, asphalt, or a combination of concrete and asphalt; some ovals in the early twentieth century had wood surfaces.
The definitions used to differentiate track sizes have changed over the years. While some tracks use terms such as "speedway" or "superspeedway" in their name, they may not meet the specific definitions used in this article. A typical oval track consists of two parallel straights, connected by two 180° turns. Although most ovals have only two radii curves, they are advertised and labeled as four 90° turns. A short track is an oval track less than one mile long, with the majority being 0.5 miles or shorter. Drivers seeking careers in oval track racing serve their apprenticeship on short tracks before moving up to series which compete on larger tracks. Due to their short length and fast action, these tracks are nicknamed "bullrings". Professional-level NASCAR races on short tracks use a 500-lap or 400-lap distance. Short tracks in many cases have lights installed and host night races. Synonymous with the name, a 1-mile oval is a common length for oval track racing; the exact measurements, can vary by as much as a tenth of a mile and still fall into this category.
Most mile ov
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has colloquially become a term for the entire north-central region of the state, from south of Sandusky to the north of Columbus; the track opened as a 2.4 mile road circuit run clockwise. The back portion of the track allows speeds approaching 180 mph. A separate starting line is located on the backstretch to allow for safer rolling starts; the regular start / finish line is located on the pit straight. In 1990 the track underwent a refurbishment. A new retaining wall was built, the entire track was resurfaced and concrete was paved in the apexes of the turns to prevent asphalt deterioration. In addition, a straightaway was paved through the chicane, allowing for two different track layouts, the original 2.4-mile circuit and a new 13-turn, 2.258 mile circuit. In 1990, the CART series began utilizing the 2.258-mile layout. In 2006 a second major refurbishment saw several improvements.
The entire circuit was repaved and the concrete patches in the turn apexes were removed. A new motorcycle "short course" was created by connecting turn one with the backstretch and another motorcycle oval was created by connecting the chicane straight with the backstretch; the additional layouts allow simultaneous use of the multiple course, for instructional and competitive uses. The improvements included a motocross facility, that has since been closed. There is grandstand seating for 10,000 spectators and three observation mounds alongside the track raise the capacity to over 75,000; the track was opened in 1962 by Les Griebling and several Mansfield-area businessmen as a location for weekend sports car racing. In 1982 Mid-Ohio was purchased by Jim Trueman, a renowned road racer and the founder of Red Roof Inns. Trueman added permanent grandstands, amphitheater-style seating, garages with spectator balconies, a five-story media and hospitality center, underground tunnels and an updated paddock area.
In addition, a tall, three-sided scoreboard tower was constructed in the infield, strategically placed such that it was visible from nearly all spectator areas around the track. Trueman's daughter, Michelle Trueman Gajoch, was named the president in 1989 and saw day-to-day operations of the circuit. In 1990 the track underwent a refurbishment. A new retaining wall was built, the entire track was resurfaced and concrete was paved in the apexes of the turns to prevent asphalt deterioration. In addition, a straightaway was paved through the chicane, allowing for two different track layouts, the original 2.4-mile circuit and a new 13-turn, 2.258 mile circuit. In 2006 the track again underwent extensive renovation; the track and pit lane were resurfaced and connectors were added to the track's famed Keyhole section to allow for three separate road course configurations. Completed was the removal of concrete patches from the track, the relocation of the wall and guardrail at Turn 1, the expansion of gravel traps at the exits of Turn 1 and the keyhole, the replacement of all remaining old-style catch fencing and the standardization of curbing throughout the circuit.
These changes have resulted in a faster, more competitive and attractive facility for drivers and race fans. The sports car course operates from April through to November each year. During this time the facility is host to a number of nationally sanctioned race weekends, all of which are open to the public. Mid-Ohio has hosted "closed course" events for kart racing events since the late 1960s sanctioned by I. K. F. & W. K. A. and run by the Dart kart Club, with up to 400 entries participating. Karts use the full track with the chicane. Additionally, on-site motor home and tent camping spaces are available. On March 2, 2011 it was announced that the track had been purchased from Truesports by Green Savoree Racing Promotions, which promotes other IndyCar races, ending Truesports' 29 years of ownership. On November 13, 2012, NASCAR announced that the track would hold the Mid-Ohio Challenge in the 2013 season. Acura Sports Car Challenge At Mid Ohio May 4–6 Vintage Grand Prix of Mid Ohio June 22–24 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days July 6–8 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio July 27–29 B&L Transport 170 August 10–11 Founded in 1993, The Mid-Ohio School offers licensed drivers and motorcycle riders programs in defensive driving, high performance driving and performance track riding programs.
Students in each course partake in classroom and private group drills. Participants test their newly-refined skills in the controlled environment of the facility's Vehicle Dynamics Center and on the track; the Mid-Ohio School is AAA Approved and recognized as a recent recipient of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Partners for Safety award. 18 programs are available to drivers and riders of all ages and ability levels from defensive driving programs for teens and adults, on-track high performance courses for the automotive enthusiasts to current and aspiring racers. There have been over 50,000 graduates from the Mid-Ohio School, including 18,500 teenagers and 13,300 motorcycle riders. Honda Indy 200 944 Cup Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – official site of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Map and circuit history at RacingCircuits.info Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course race results at Racing-Reference The Mid-Ohio School – official site of The Mid-Ohio School 1tail Resource Database: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Chip Ganassi
Floyd "Chip" Ganassi Jr. is an American businessman, former racing driver, current team owner and member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. He has been involved with the North American auto racing scene for over 30 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners ever, he is the only team owner in history to have won the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and most the 24 Hours of Le Mans - six of the biggest races in the world. He is the owner and CEO of Chip Ganassi Racing which operates teams in the IndyCar Series, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, in the World Endurance Championship. Overall, he runs 14 cars with 18 drivers across six different touring series. Ganassi attended the Bob Bondurant Driving School in 1977, he won his first auto race in a Formula Ford at the age of 18. He began his CART racing career in 1982 upon graduating from Duquesne.
Though a broken camshaft kept him from completing his first CART race at Phoenix, Ganassi qualified with the fastest speed, 197 mph, competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times, with a best finish of 8th in 1983. He was voted the Most Improved Driver in 1983, took 9th position in the CART standing. During that season, he took Patrick Racing’s Wildcat onto the podium twice, the first at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas again at Laguna Seca; the following season, he would go on and finish a career best second in to 1984 Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland, his career was cut short in his next race, by a big crash that injured him at Michigan. Although he returned to race in CART and IMSA in 1986. Ganassi achieved his top sportscar result in the 1986 Kodak Copies 500 at Watkins Glen that taking the Camel Light class victory, with his race partner, Bob Earl, he recorded a seventh-place finish a month early in the Löwenbräu Classic, at Road America, assisted by David Sears. Both times driving for Spice Engineering, in one for their Spice-Pontiac SE86CL.
In what was to be his last international race outing, Ganassi was entered into the 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans, as a member of the Kouros Racing. One of his team mates for the event, Johnny Dumfries set the fastest lap of the race prior to handing the car over to Ganassi upon whom the gearbox broke. 1988-89 - Purchased an interest in Patrick Racing in 1988 – a team he had raced with before in 1983 and 1984 – the team saw Emerson Fittipaldi win the 1989 Indianapolis 500 and CART PPG Indy Car World Series. 1990 - Formed his own CART team, Chip Ganassi Racing with Target as the primary sponsor and with Eddie Cheever behind the wheel. 1994 – Wins team’s first race with Michael Andretti behind the wheel in Australia. 1996 - Hired two new drivers, a young promising American driver, Jimmy Vasser and unknown Italian, Alessandro Zanardi. Vassar would go on to win Ganassi’s first title after winning four of the Opening six races of the 1996 PPG Indy Car World Series season, 1997-98 – Zanardi brings home Ganassi’s second and third consecutive championships.
1999 - Juan Pablo Montoya, who won in only his third CART start, would add six more victories as he claimed the 1999 CART title, CGR’s fourth consecutive championship. 2000 - Montoya wins the team’s first Indianapolis 500, Ganassi’s second as team owner. 2001 – Ganassi launched his first NASCAR team with partner Felix Sabates and Sterling Marlin drove his Dodge Intrepid to victory lane at Michigan and Charlotte led the championship for most in 2002 before suffering a season-ending injury. 2003 – Wins IndyCar Series with a young Kiwi Scott Dixon, after he scored three wins. 2004 - Ganassi and Sabates entered Rolex Sports Car Series with a Daytona Prototype for Scott Pruett and Max Papis, who stormed to the title. 2006 – Ganassi wins the first of his record six Rolex 24 at Daytonas with drivers Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon and Casey Mears. Defending IndyCar Series champion, Dan Wheldon joins Dixon on the team. By mid-season, Ganassi pulled another shocker, he announced the return of Montoya, to spearhead the NASCAR program beginning in 2007.
2007 - Montoya joined Pruett and Salvador Durán to retain the Rolex 24 at Daytona crown, won his first NASCAR event in the XFINITY race in Mexico City. 2008 - Hired 2007 IndyCar champion, Dario Franchitti for the ’08 campaign, the Scotsman was signed to join Montoya in NASCAR. Franchitti would form part of CGR’s third Rolex 24 at Daytona win, alongside Pruett and Memo Rojas, 2009 – Franchitti switched back to the IndyCar Series for ’09, leading the team to a one-two finish in the end of year standings, after he and Dixon took five wins apiece. 2010 - McMurray wins the Daytona 500 and a few months Franchitti wins the Indianapolis 500, making Ganassi the first owner to win both races in the same year and joining Roger Penske as the only owners to win both races. McMurray would go on to win the Brickyard 400, making Ganassi the first owner to win the "Triple Crown" of American auto racing. Pruett and Rojas reeled off nine wins in a dozen starts in Grand-Am, claimed a fourth title; the Ganassi organization scored another “double" when McMurray won at Charlotte just hours before Franchitti’s victory in the IndyCar finale at Homestead to clinch the team’s eighth indyCar Series title.
It was Ganassi’s most successful season, with two titles, victories in Daytona and Indianapolis, a total of 19 wins across IndyCar, NASCAR and sport cars 2011 - Rolex Sports Car Series team won the fourth 24 Hours at Daytona, making Ganassi the first owner to win the Daytona 500, the Indy 500, the Brickyard 400, the 24 Hours at Daytona inside a 12 months period. Ganassi becomes the first owner to hold all four titles at on
Riverside International Raceway
Riverside International Raceway was a motorsports race track and road course in the Moreno Valley area, a suburb just east of Riverside, California. Riverside was a dusty place, it was at times a dangerous place, yet it is remembered with affection by drivers and fans alike, as the home of road racing in southern California. It was considered one of USA's finest tracks; the track was in operation from September 22, 1957, to July 2, 1989, with the last race, The Budweiser 400, won by Rusty Wallace, held in 1988. After that final race, a shortened version of the circuit was kept open for car clubs and special events until 1989. In the beginning it was called The Riverside International Motor Raceway, it was built in early 1957 by a company called West Coast Automotive Testing Corp.. The head of West Coast Auto Testing was a man by the name of Rudy Cleye, from Los Angeles, who had raced in Europe; however the building of the raceway met with funding difficulties early on and a businessman by the name of John Edgar provided a much needed cash bailout.
This action prevented any halt in the track's construction. The first weekend of scheduled races in September 1957, a California Sports Car Club event, John Lawrence of Pasadena, lost his life. Lawrence, a former Cal Club member, piloting a 1500 cc Production champion, went off at Turn 5. With no crash barrier in place, no rollbar on the car, Lawrence's MGA went up the sand embankment rolled back onto the track. Though Lawrence survived the incident, appeared only injured, he died at the hospital of a brain injury; the second major event at the track, in November 1957, was a sports car race featuring some of the top drivers of the day, including Carroll Shelby, Masten Gregory and Ken Miles. Another driver entered was an inexperienced local youngster named Dan Gurney, offered the opportunity to drive a powerful but ill-handling 4.9-liter Ferrari after better-known drivers such as Shelby and Miles had rejected it. Shelby spun and fell back. Gurney led for much of the event. Shelby, driving furiously to catch up overtook Gurney late in the race and won.
Gurney's performance caught the eye of North American Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti, who arranged for Gurney to drive a factory-supported Ferrari at Le Mans in 1958 launching the Californian's European career. Footage exists of classic races like the 1986 Los Angeles Times Grand Prix in which the Chevy Corvette of Doc Bundy, attempting a three-wide pass, hit the Ford Probe of Lyn St. James and the Jaguar of Chip Robinson at Turn 1. St. James' car caught Chip Robinson nearly cartwheeled into the crowd. St. James survived Robinson escaped uninjured within the track bounds; the track was known as a dangerous course, with its long, downhill back straightaway and brake-destroying slow 180-degree Turn 9 at the end. During the 1965 Motor Trend 500 NASCAR race, Indycar great A. J. Foyt suffered a brake failure at the end of the straight, shot off the road and went end-over-end through the infield at high speed. Crash crews assumed Foyt was dead at the scene, until fellow driver Parnelli Jones noticed a twitch of movement.
Ford factory sports car driver Ken Miles was killed there in a testing accident in August 1966 when his Ford sports car prototype became aerodynamically unstable and flew out of control at the end of the back straight. In December 1968, American Formula 5000 champion Dr. Lou Sell crashed and overturned in Turn 9 on the first lap of the Rex Mays 300 Indianapolis-style race, suffering near-fatal burns. In January 1967, Canadian driver Billy Foster crashed at Turn 9 during a practice-session just prior to the start of qualifying for the Motor Trend 500 NASCAR race; these accidents and others caused track management to reconfigure Turn 9, giving the turn a dogleg approach and a much wider radius. In January 1964, Riverside claimed the life of 1962–'63 NASCAR champion Joe Weatherly, who refused to wear a shoulder harness and wore his lap belt loosely. Weatherly died when he lost control entering Turn 6, hitting the steel barrier broadside and had his head snapped out the window against the barrier.
In 1983 Turn 9 was the site of the only fatality in IMSA GTP history. In the 1983 Times Grand Prix, Rolf Stommelen's Joest-constructed Porsche 935 lost its rear wing at the Dogleg and hit two freeway-type barriers sending it into a horrific roll at Turn 9. Of the entire road course races run at RIR, there was one, run in a counter-clockwise direction, sometime around 1960. In 1966 Dan Gurney tested his first Eagle racing car on a shorter, counter-clockwise version of the track tailored for his car's Indianapolis-specific left-turn oiling system; the test caused Gurney to ask track president Les Richter to hold an Indianapolis-style race there. From 1967 to 1969 the Rex Mays 300 served as the season-ending USAC Indianapolis-car race. ESPN taped the June 12, 1988, Budweiser 400 race at RIR and caught racer Ruben Garcia crashing hard off turn 9 and his car went through two cement barriers before coming to rest near a catch fence where fans were sitting, he was not injured and neither were the race fans.
After 14 years of NASCAR as a driver and a car owner, Richard Childress won his first NASCAR race in 1983, when Ricky Rudd drove his #3 Piedmont Airlines Chevrolet to victory in the 1983 Budweiser 400k. From 1981 until 1987, NASCAR's championship race was at Riverside; the USAC Championship Trail held their season ending race from 1967 to 1969. Riverside was home to track announcer
Dover International Speedway
Dover International Speedway is a race track in Dover, United States. Since opening in 1969, it has held at least two NASCAR races each year. In addition to NASCAR, the track hosted USAC and the Indy Racing League; the track features one layout, a 1 mile concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is operated by Dover Motorsports; the track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc. with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track.
After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats. In 1966, Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc. began construction on Dover Downs International Speedway, specialized for horse racing and auto racing. The race track was completed three years and would have its first race on July 6, 1969; the inaugural race, known as the Mason-Dixon 300, was won by Richard Petty. During the 1971 racing season, the speedway removed all the events not sanctioned by NASCAR to help keep focus on the two NASCAR Winston Cup Series races, which were 500 miles each. Eleven years Dover Downs International Speedway added a NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series event, the Sportsman 200. In 1986, the speedway added 3,200 seats to its 10,333 seat grandstand. Dover Downs International Speedway continued adding seats each year until 2001. A second Xfinity Series race was added to the speedway's schedule during the 1986 season. Eight years Delaware General Assembly passed legislation to allow slot machines at pari-mutuel horse racing venues.
In 1995 Dover Downs International Speedway replaced its asphalt surface with concrete, making it the second NASCAR Cup Series track after Bristol Motor Speedway to have a racing surface composed of concrete. During the same year, Dover Downs slots opened on December 29. Two years the speedway changed the race distances of its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races to 400 miles, beginning with the 1997 fall race. In 1998, Dover Downs International Speedway added an Indy Racing League event to the schedule, but after two seasons the race was removed after the 1999 season. During the 2000 racing season, Dover Downs International Speedway added a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event. Kurt Busch won the inaugural Truck Series race from the pole position. On September 23, 2001, the Cup Series returned to racing at Dover after the September 11 attacks for the MBNA Cal Ripken, Jr. 400, in which Dale Earnhardt, Jr. received the checkered and American flag at the same time. In the following year, the speedway's capacity was expanded to 135,000 seats, the largest of any mid-Atlantic sport's stadium.
After the gaming side of Dover Downs separated, Dover Motorsports, Inc. was created to operate the speedway, which caused the speedway to become Dover International Speedway in 2002. Two years the speedway announced the completion of the Monster Bridge, a glass-enclosed structure that has 56 seats over the third turn, its fall NASCAR Cup Series race became the second race in the newly formed, NASCAR Chase for the Championship. On May 26, 2006, Dover International Speedway announced a multi-year capital improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which would begin after the speedway's June NASCAR Cup Series race. During the first stage of the improvement project in 2007, the speedway built a new 12-suite skybox complex and a new 2,100 square feet addition to the media center in the infield. Other improvements included widened walkways behind three grandstands, renovated restrooms, more paved handicapped parking areas, expanded bus parking, as well as a sound system with improved audio quality for the grandstands.
In 2008, the second stage of the "Monster Makeover" took place. During the stage, the Monster Monument, a 46-feet tall fiberglass structure, was built in the new Victory Plaza, the FanZone area was expanded, an emergency services building was built. One year the speedway continued the improvement project by replacing the front stretch pit wall to install a longer SAFER barrier wall that would make a wider and safer pit road, as well as an additional pit stall. On December 30, 2011, Dover International Speedway announced that they will replace the 18 inch wide seats in the grandstands with 22 inch wide ones, reducing the capacity from 140,000 to 113,000 over the next two years. Shortly after the 2014 AAA 400, Dover International Speedway began removing 17,500 seats in turns 2 and 3 as a result of declining attendance, reducing the track's capacity to 95,500; the removal of the seats was completed by Christmas 2014. After the 2014 AAA 400, the track began work on a $2.9 million project to install a new catchfence, ready for the 2015 season.
The new catchfence is 21 feet high, as opposed to the old catchfence, 15 feet high. In 2016, Dover International Speedway added 479 feet of SAFER barriers along the backstretch and turn three, reduced the number of pit stalls available by increasing each stall by two feet. Since 2011, the track is the headquarters for the Monster Mash Marathon, an event that starts at the start-finish line of the speedway, where runner
