Manzanita Speedway, widely regarded as one of the top three dirt tracks in the country and an oval that helped spawn the careers of Al Unser Jr. and JJ Yeley, among others, has been sold and is closing its doors after a 58-year run.
The final race is scheduled for April 11.
“This is a very sad day for auto racing,” said longtime Manzy announcer/public-relations manager William “Windy” McDonald, who started at the track in 1957. “When the final lap is run, I want to be sure and shake everyone’s hand going out the gate.”
“I haven’t slept two hours a night since we agreed to sell two weeks ago,” said Bobby Martin, who is 59. “I was 2 years old when I first came to Manzanita. My dad helped build the track (in 1951). I own race cars, and we’ve spent $1 million for renovations.
“A lot of people have called us and expressed their dissatisfaction,” Martin said. “Everybody feels like we didn’t give racing people a chance to buy it, but I didn’t know anyone out there with that kind of money. And even if there might have been, you still had the environmental issues. The county had two pages of complaints against us.”
Among big-name drivers who’ve tested Manzy’s famous half-mile oval are Hall of Fame drivers Roger McCluskey, Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt. Several local drivers reared on Manzy’s famous dirt track later drove in the Indianapolis 500, including Wayne Weiler and Billy Boat.
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