Blue Island's Raceway Park

Images of America: Illinois

by Stan Kalwasinski, Samuel Beck

On September 24, 1938, Raceway Park officially opened its doors, and the track remained open for over 60 years. The first race was won by Harry McQuinn, who went on to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and become the chief pit steward of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 1948, Raceway Park added stock car races to its regular program, and the track became a popular entertainment venue throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s as thousands of Chicagoans filled the stands. The track held its last race in 2000 and was torn down the following year. Although Raceway Park is now a part of history, the "World's Busiest Track" is still in the hearts and minds of many Chicagoland race fans.

128 pages, Paperback

First published February 10, 2010

Reviews

[Dennis Peglow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Great memories of a place where I spent many weekend nights. I also worked as a track photographer there in the mid '70's. Stan was also shooting there around that time.