KINGSTON SPEEDWAY
The track construction of the Kingston Speedway began in the spring of 1951. The Original owner, and builder of the track was Rod Cutway. The first race was held in the fall of 1951, and Tony Blake was the winner. When the track first opened, their were no lights, and no grandstands. There was only race held at the Kingston Speedway in 1951.
Rob Cutway continued to own the speedway until the end of the 1952 season. In 1953 the track was sold to a trio of Kingstonians, Lawrence Craven, Art Terry, and Jack Keill. Craven, Terry, and Keill put alot of work into the speedway upon taking over the ownership. They erected a 3500 seat grandstand, built a concrete wall along the frontstretch, and shortened the track from 3/8 of a mile that Rod Cutway configured, to a 1/4 mile track.
That partnership lasted just 3 seasons. Friction amongst the owners over the track alterations caused the partnership to dissolve, and in 1956, Lawrence Craven bought out the other two partners for $2000 each..
Craven continued ownership of the track for nearly a decade, and then due to health reasons, he sold the track to Bud and Fred Gibson in 1965 for a reported $22000. The Gibson brothers only ran the track for the one season and then Bud bought out Fred's ownership.
Bud ran the track until 1970, when the track transferred ownership once again. This time, it was a group of 5 Kingston area residents that consisted of lawyer, Phil Quintin, area businessman, and racer Len Corcoran, Hugh Bennett, Dr. Gerry Wagar, and Ken Cadieux. The track was sold for an estimated $50000.
This Partnership only lasted one season, and then the Gibson family resumed ownership of the speedway. Fred Gibson, partnered with Bob Martin for the 1971 season, and then Gibson was again the sole owner in the 1972 and 1973 seasons.
At the end of the 1973 season, Fred Gibson sold the track to Earl Bilow. Bilow ran the track during the 1974 season. In 1975 he sold the track to Bob Kennedy and he ran the track for just one season. Bilow then resumed ownership of the speedway in 1976 and leased it to Jim Sarazin and Doug Emmons.
At the end of the 1976 season, during the last event of the season, drivers attempted to hold out, because they felt the purse money was not sufficient enough. They told the promoters, Jim Sarazin, and Doug Emmons that they would not race until they were getting paid more money for their efforts. Bilow, who owned the property, and the adjacent auto parts business, could not offer any more money to the purse.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, a troubled economy, and a failure to keep management in place forced Bilow to sell the property. The limestone that surrounded the track was more valuable to Bilow then the racing was, and he was made an offer for the land that he couldn't refuse. The site was turned into a quarry. The last race of the 1976 season turned out to be the last race ever run at the Kingston Speedway. The site is still being used as a quarry.
If any of this info is incorrect, please send me an email.
