Watertown Speedway
In 1955, Douglas Atkinson and Howard Rowe promoted the Star-Lit Park Speedway, which was 1.5 mile European style dirt road course that was located on outer-Washington Street, in Watertown, NY. The track hosted just one race in 1955 and then closed due to severe dust problems.
The following season, Atkinson and Rowe focused their efforts on a former horse racing track located at the county fairgrounds on Coffeen Street in Watertown.
In early 1956, several Watertown area enthusiasts decided that something should be done about forming an organization to promote the return of auto racing to the north country. In a meeting held in the spring of 1956, several men gathered and organized the Northern Stock Car Club (NSCC) and sold stock to help raise the needed funds. Douglas Atkinson was elected president of the club, while Harold Rowe was elected as secretary/treasurer. Other notable officials were vice presidents Lloyd Smith, Austin Kilburn and Carl Walts.
In April of 1956, the NSCC signed a lease with the city of Watertown for the use of the Jefferson County Fairgrounds track. The lease agreement was for the amount of $101.50 per week.
The first race at the speedway was held on May 15, 1956...a Sunday afternoon event. Just a few weeks later, the track would switch to Saturday nights, which would start a trend for the next 20 years.
The first season at the Watertown was so successful, that Atkinson and Rowe were able to buy back all the stock that was sold the previous year. For a while, the Watertown Speedway was the only track that ran a weekly program between Oswego and Vermont.
With the Kingston Speedway running Friday nights, and being within a close proximity of the Watertown track, the same rule book was used, allowing drivers to run both tracks weekly.
1974 was the final season at the Watertown track. Just a few miles up the road, Can-Am Speedway in Lafargeville, NY was being built. Douglas Atkinson, who ran the Watertown track for nearly 20 years teamed up with Thomas Coughlin and Bob Thurston Sr. to run the 1/2 mile DIRT track.
