Countdown to Flat Rock's 70th: Speedway Origins - By Jim Hehl

July 03, 2022 04:00

Countdown to Flat Rock's 70th: Speedway Origins - By Jim Hehl

Long-time Flat Rock Speedway and Midwest Late Model aficianado Jim Hehl shared this short story on the creation of Flat Rock Speedway in the book "50 Years of ARCA Racing." We'd like to share it with you in advance of our 70th Anniversary Celebration coming up on July 9.

Flat Rock Speedway Origins

By Jim Hehl

In 1952, a group of businessmen had a dream of a quarter-mile high-banked racetrack where the farm fields sat on the corner of Newburg and Telegraph roads just south of Flat Rock, Michigan. The group had very little auto racing background and they experienced early financial troubles. The track looked doomed before it got off the ground, until Sheldon Hayes Sr., the president of Cadillac Asphalt Paving Company, came in and rescued the project.

Hayes had the funding and manpower to continue the dream.

Things really began to happen under Hayes’ direction with no expenses being spared, bleachers, restrooms, concession stands, lights and fencing all fell into place. The track itself was revolutionary as 70 tons of rubber were mixed with asphalt for the first time ever. This was the country’s first “rubberized” asphalt surface.

Flat Rock Speedway was born in 1953 as the dream became a reality.

The Hayes family maintained an ownership interest in Flat Rock Speedway through the 1990s in the form of Sheldon Hayes Jr., the son of the founder, who ceded ownership of the track to ARCA, which had been in a position of management at the facility since 1962. Thus, the 2022 season marks the 70th Anniversary of Flat Rock Speedway and the 60th year under ARCA management, among the longest tenures in the history of the sport in America.

Sheldon Hayes, Sr., president of Cadillac Asphalt Paving Company. Mr. Hayes was an early investor in Flat Rock Speedway and through his paving company made the new quarter-mile the first "rubberized asphalt" racetrack in the world, which allowed him to promote the new raceway as "the cleanest quarter-mile in the country." Mr. Hayes, originally from Chicago, passed away in 2005 at the age of 81.

Sheldon Hayes, Jr. kept an ownership interest in Flat Rock Speedway through the 1990s. The Hayes family worked closely with John and Mildred Marcum, who took over promotional duties at Flat Rock Speedway in 1962.

The first layer of "rubberized asphalt" on the still-under-construction Flat Rock Speedway in early 1953. Note the retaining walls had yet to be built.

Flat Rock Speedway's Royal Truck and Trailer 70th Anniversary Celebration will feature many of yesterday's favorite drivers - including three-time Late Model champion Dave Kuhlman and 13-time Figure 8 champion Bob Studt - along with a special night of feature events for the track's weekly Outlaw Late Models, Figure 8s, Street Stocks, and Late Model Sportsman. The night will be capped off with the largest fireworks display in the history of the speedway, presented by the Monroe Superstore. Gates open at 4 pm ET; adults are $20, children 6-12 are just $5, and children 5 and under are free. All ticket sales will be the day of the event.