Major landmark endangered at historic race track
Meadowdale Raceway, Carpentersville, IL, was a world renowned road racing course during the 1950s and '60s. It was 3.27 miles long and its steeply banked 180 degree Monza Wall led onto a 4,000 foot roller coaster straight.
Most of the famous drivers of the era raced there- Jim Rathman, Lloyd Ruby, Mark Donohue, George Follmer, Jim Hall, Fred Lorenzen, Ken Miles, Bobby Unser, and Roger Ward... More Photos
Places to visit:
Raceway Woods, Carpentersville, IL - Serenity in suburbia
Some say they can still hear the echoes of the sports cars, stock cars and Indy cars that once raced here. But for most of us Meadowdale International Raceway now lies silent, and the 360 acre property it occupied provides welcome open space and even serenity in the midst of bustling suburbia... More
Backgrounder: Meadowdale International Raceways 1958-1970
Leonard W. Besinger was a major developer-builder in the Chicago suburban area. In 1958 the Northwest Tollway, Interstate 90, had just been completed. This gave Chicagoans easy access to the Carpentersville area, where Besinger had extensive operations in residential and commercial properties. What was needed was needed, he reasoned, was an attraction to draw people the 40 miles from Chicago, so they could see and buy his homes and patronize his shopping centers.
He had been to Europe and had seen the huge draw of professional road racing there. He would build a road racing course near Carpentersville that would mirror some of those well-known racing venues.... More
