Need a history lesson... Vero Beach, Fort Pierce and Treasure Coast Speedway

http://www.floridastockcars.com/gall...rce/?g2_page=1

I stumbled across this gallery quite by accident today after I noticed something on Google Maps that looked like the outline of an old Oval Track in Fort Pierce...

I am wondering what anyone can tell me about these tracks... I love learning the history of places and would love to visit the spots where the tracks once were and see if anything remains.

I appreciate it!

[tccaz]

Ft. Pierce, treasure coast speedway is near my home. The only thing left is about half of the track surface and the main structure of the stands. The fourth turn was dug away to make room for a storage facility the rest of the track is overgrown with trees I think the small building that was in the pits may still be standing. If you go to google earth you can still see part of the track it was a 1/4 mile track with no walls in the turns I spent many Saturdays there when I was young sure do miss it.

[egspeedway]

The Vero speedway was actually located in Gifford just north of Vero and ran a few seasons in the mid 70s. It was a very nice layout with no bad seats in the house. Ran mostly late model and early model for regular classes and had a super modified race that drew Tim Richmond as one of the drivers. Ft. Pierce had 2 tracks one of which was Treasure Coast. They ran from the 50s into the 70s. Both were quarter milers and ran the old flathead coupes and the late models when they replaced the coupes. The web site you visited has the largest collection of photos from the past. Eddie Roches book, Motorsports Retrospective is an excellent source of picture etc. It is advertised on the home page from the web site you visited.

[Phil Jacques]

Wow I never knew. I found the location of the Fort Pierce Speedway... I plan to go down there and talk to the site manager at the Storage unit while I am down next week and take some pictures of the old track for the Lost Speedways Facebook page...

Do you know the exact location of the old Vero Beach Speedway? I would be really curious in locating that if there are any remains of the old track still

[tccaz]

Wow I never knew. I found the location of the Fort Pierce Speedway... I plan to go down there and talk to the site manager at the Storage unit while I am down next week and take some pictures of the old track for the Lost Speedways Facebook page...

Do you know the exact location of the old Vero Beach Speedway? I would be really curious in locating that if there are any remains of the old track still

Phil if you need directions to treasure coast speedway site let me know and I can direct you to the easiest way, I know the approximate location of Vero Speedway but I am pretty sure nothing is left of it.



Tom

[egspeedway]

I won't swear to it but I think Vero was built by Bud Jenkins who was the owner of the car Dumont Smith won the Governors Cup at Golden Gate. I have heard that the site was plowed under and became apartment buildings. Marty Little if he is surfing can certainly give you the facts if they are different.

[Dana Barlow]

I like the track to drive/race on at Vero,but is way gone,nothing there now but two rock pits,they actuly dug up and used it for fill some were for a new hosing develipmint,so there is nothing left. Sorry,but thats it. The track had some big prob's,the stands faced the setting sun,so were on the wrong side of the track,and the fan parking lot was very very low,so any rain any it was a mudhole for parking,the track had not right-a-way to cross the RR tracks from US1,but had a crappy dirt thing for fan to get there,it was not legel and was probs,so the only up a little road that passed the old grave yard=not good way to go to a speedway,but yet that was how you would go to the pits

[Jimmy McKinley]

The one and only picture I have of Vero Beach. This is Palm Beach's Paul Conners on a Sunday afternoon show. Vero operated from 1971-1977, but had a hard time finding a day/night to run. Eau Gallie (Melbourne) to the north and Ft. Pierce to the south were already running on Saturday nights; Palm Beach (Fridays) and Hialeah (Saturdays) were "too far away" for those drivers to tow up to Vero for a regular show. I can distinctly recall a few Sunday-afternoon specials (100-lappers for the Late Models, with one or two other support divisions, mainly mini stocks and 6-cylinders). Vero was a 1/3-mile, much like Orlando (which opened in 1974).

It was a *nice* facility - concrete grandstands and stuff; but, it just couldn't draw the fans and cars.

[Jimmy McKinley]

I have heard that the site was plowed under and became apartment buildings. Marty Little if he is surfing can certainly give you the facts if they are different.

Not apartment buildings. It's just a big fill-dirt pit.

[Lurkin]

It really isn't a big deal to find treasure Coast. Angle to Metzger and then turn in the Storage place and drive to the back NE corner and what's left is plenty visible through the fence. You could go around back thru the woods, but you basically see everything there is left thru the fence.

The other FT Pierce track was at 68 and 95 and there's nothing left. Somewhere I found a historic aerial that showed it, but I forget where I found it now.

[Phil Jacques]

I was taking to my old Boss yesterday evening and he said that either the flag stand or a flag pole still exists at the site of the old Vero Speedway. The only remaining part of the track that is left still.

[Racer JD]

Treasure Coast Speedway

Here are some aerial photos of Treasure Coast Speedway in Ft. Pierce

1958


1970


2016

[Racer JD]

Ft. Pierce Speedway

Here are some aerial photos of Ft. Pierce Speedway

1958


1970


2016

[Racer JD]

Vero Beach Speedway

Here are some aerial photos of Vero Beach Speedway

1970


2016


Interestingly, while viewing older photos of the same site, I discovered what seems to be the remains of another track roughly across US 1 from this track.

Here is the 1943 photo.


By 1951 there was no sign of the earlier track (if it was even a track.) yet the later track was not yet there.

[Phil Jacques]

I had not been able to locate those pictures, thanks for those! Pretty cool to see where the tracks were where I spent a good part of my life. I got to walk the grounds of Treasure Coast Speedway about a year ago... Pretty crazy to walk through the now overgrown speedway and see all that's still left behind, a lot of it really isnt in very terrible shape, just severely overgrown aside from Turn 4 being pretty much gone now.