Rockford Speedway was a 1/4 mile short track high banked asphalt oval located in Loves Park, Illinois on Illinois Route 173. Up until its demolition in 2023, Rockford Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway were the only racetracks running under NASCAR sanctions in Illinois.
It hosted weekly local-level events during the summer racing season as well as occasional regional- and national-level events. Notable special events at the track included trailer races, endurance races, the Spring Classic, ALl-Star 100, Bahama Bracket Nationals, and the National Short Track Championship.
History The track was built in 1947 by a Stanley Ralston and 6 other investors. Hugh Deery eventually bought into the speedway and was the sole owner by 1966. It was run by his widow, Jody Deery until her death in 2022, at which time David Deery took over management of the track. It opened in 1948 as a midget car racing venue. Despite a death in the pits at the speedway several weeks after opening, on June 16, 1948, the track continued operation. Rockford Speedway is known for being the first track to develop an economical late model program as well as being an early adopter of the short track Saturday night racing program. Another one of Hugh Deery's innovations was to host a season-ending special event (which he titled the National Short Track Championship). He was inducted in the Illinois Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2013. Jody Deery was one of a handful of track operators on the 22-person nominating committee for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Over the years the track has also hosted concerts. On August 17, 1980, as a part of 'Rockford Speedway Jam 1980', Black Sabbath performed at the speedway as a part of their Heaven & Hell Tour.
The property was sold and redeveloped after the 2023 racing season.
Track The track was an asphalt-paved nominal 1/4 mile. The measured length of the track was . It was highly banked at the turns and relatively flat on the front and back stretches. It was banked at 22 degrees in the -wide corners and eight degrees in the -wide straightaways. Inside the 1/4 mile oval track is a figure eight track.
Programs
Weekly programs
The track offered two weekly programs during much of the season. On Saturdays it hosted a NASCAR-sanctioned Whelen All-American Series late model race, along with All American Sportsmen, American Short Trackers and Road Runners. On Wednesday nights it hosted The Road Runner Super Summer Series, Bandits, Winged Women on wheels, Figure 8's, Legends, Minicups, Bandoleros, and spectacular drags.
Notable racers and participants Track champions include seven-time champions Bobby Wilberg (1991, 1995 - 2000) and John Knaus, with Joe Shear Sr, (1967–1972) winning six titles. Both Knaus' son Chad and Shear's son Joe Jr. are NASCAR national series championship winning crew chiefs. Travis Kvapil started racing at Rockford at age 16 and was the 1994 track champion in the American Short Tracker division. Rich Bickle was the track's sportsman rookie of the year in 1980.
Several notable people started their racing careers at Rockford. NASCAR crew chief Chad Knaus was his father's crew chief for his championship race car. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series official John Darby got his start at Rockford in 1971 as an owner of a street stock. In 1976 he became crew chief for a late model that he owned which won the 1977 championship. He stopped owning the racecar in 1982 and became a track official. He moved up the NASCAR ranks as a technical official, and by 1994 he was the director for the NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series). After three years he was named the NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series director of competition.
Special events Rockford Speedway hosted two ARCA Racing Series events between 1987 and 1988.
The track held events in the ARCA Midwest Tour Series, Must-See Xtemem Sprint Car Series, Mid American Stock Car Series events, Big 8 Limited Late Model Touring Series, Midwest Dash 4 cylinder touring series, monster trucks, and enduros. Series that held races at the track include: NASCAR Midwest Series, the Wisconsin Challenge Series, ASA Late Model Series Northern Division, and USAC National Midgets.
In 2016 the speedway hosted the World of Outlaws sprint cars and late models in an event called the Outlaw Clay Classic. The track was covered in clay for the first time in the track's history for two nights and racing was held on the track's temporary surface.
National Short Track Championship
The National Short Track Championship (NSTC), first held in 1966, is usually was held in late September or early October, but has now become a mid-September date since the move to Wisconsin. The three day event usually has multiple divisions (in 2025 it is 11) racing. Track promoters decided to host the first 200 lap event in late 1966 to pit the best drivers in Chicagoland against the best drivers in the Central Wisconsin Drivers Association. Drivers competing at the event are primarily from Illinois and Wisconsin, although drivers from other states often participate. Winners have come as west as Colorado and as east as Ontario, with NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Mark Martin among the list of winners. The event was sanctioned by ARTGO for several years, and it became part of the CRA Super Series tour in 2004. In 2005, it was part of the ASA Late Model Series. It was not part of any tour for several years until the ASA Midwest Tour took over in 2011. From 2013 until 2020 there was no sanctioning body for the Super Late Models running at the event. Starting in 2021, the feature division changed from Super Late Models to the region-based Big 8 Late Model Series (which use the same offset chassis, but restricted brakes, suspension, and engines) as the featured division, although Super Late Models (which have a standard set from the United Super Late Model Rules Alliance for major races such as ASA Stars and the Snowball Derby) were also a division. 16 drivers were invited to compete in a pair of 45 lap features at the Rich Bickle Super Late Model Invitational in 2021. This was being dedicated to Rich Bickle, who was retiring from racing at the end of the 2021 season. In 2022 the Super Late Models ran 48 lap and 49 lap features as part of the Jody Deery Super Late Model Invitational. This was being dedicated to Jody Deery, the longtime owner who died in July at the age of 97. The Jody Deery Super Late Model Invitational was expanded in 2023 to a 147 lap feature event with a break after 97 laps. The Big 8 Late Model Series ran a 188 lap feature in 2021 and 2022 as the main event to crown the overall event champion. For the 58th running of the event in 2023, the main event was a 158 lap feature for the Big 8 Late Model Series .
On December 22, 2023, the Deery family announced the race will continue at a new home, Dells Raceway Park in Lyndon, Juneau County, Wisconsin. The 59th edition was held in September, and reverted to 150 laps. The feature Super Late Model race is named the Hugh Deery 150 in honor of the family. It remains a three-day race with multiple divisions.
The 60th edition in 2025 will revert to 100 laps for Super Late Models as a non-championship race on Dells Raceway Park's "Alive for 5" series as part of a track wide effort to save teams money by eliminating fuel stops and tire changes for the major features, where costs have risen in pit stops because of highly trained pit crews in national series. Some divisions will be NASCAR sanctioned.
Winners Joe Shear was the first driver to win eight NSTC Super Late Model features (currently the "Hugh Deery 100") and Steve Carlson tied his record in 2011. Other multiple winners include Jeremy Lepak, Dick Trickle, and Eddie Hoffman.
The first event was won by Wisconsin short track racer Trickle by a lap over Chicagoland stock-car champion Roy Martinelli. Trickle was billed as the winningest short track driver in history with estimates of his win total between 1,000 and 1,200 races. Years later, Trickle commented, "I really do treasure that one in 1966. There were a lot of behind-the-scenes things that went on there. Number one, I had never run outside my own backyard, you might say, which is the central Wisconsin area. I never ran somewhere except in my own little circuit, but I had won there. The first time I ever stepped out of the central Wisconsin area was to the Rockford Nationals in 1966."
Wisconsin Dells Year Winner2025 Ty Fredrickson 2024 Ryan FarrellRockford 2023 Jeremy Miller 2022 Austin Nason 2021 Austin Nason 2020 Max Kahler 2019 Casey Johnson 2018 Alex Prunty 2017 Alex Prunty 2016 Casey Johnson 2015 Jon Reynolds Jr. 2014 Steve Rubeck 2013 Eddie Hoffman 2012 Rich Bickle 2011 Steve Carlson 2010 Brett Sontag 2009 Josh Nelms 2008 Josh Vadnais 2007 Jeremy Lepak 2006 Jeremy Lepak 2005 Eddie Hoffman 2004 Eddie Hoffman 2003 Ron Breese Jr. 2002 Steve Rubeck 2001 Eddie Hoffman 2000 Steve Carlson 1999 Steve Carlson 1998 Steve Carlson 1997 Joe Shear 1996 Steve Carlson 1995 Steve Carlson 1994 Scott Hansen 1993 Steve Carlson 1992 Steve Carlson 1991 Butch Miller 1990 Rich Bickle 1989 Tim Fedewa 1988 John Ziegler 1987 Joe Shear 1986 Mike Alexander 1985 Joe Shear 1984 Al Schill Sr. 1983 Joe Shear 1982 Joe Shear 1981 Junior Hanley 1980 Jim Sauter 1979 Dick Trickle 1978 Dick Trickle 1977 Mark Martin 1976 Dave Watson 1975 Joe Shear 1974 Joe Shear 1973 Mike Miller 1972 Joe Shear 1971 Bill Retallick 1970 Wayne Stallsworth 1969 Ramo Stott 1968 William "Whitey" Gerken 1967 Marlin "Shoes" Walbeck 1966 Dick Trickle
Late Model Track Champions 1948: Tony Bettenhausen 1949: Jim Rathmann 1950: Pat Flaherty 1951: Al Shear 1952: Tom Pistone 1953: Tom Pistone 1954: Al Shear 1955: Don Harvey 1956: Red Aase 1957: Red Aase 1958: Bobby Udel 1959: Jim Birks 1960: Don Harvey 1961: Don Harvey 1962: Al Shear 1963: Red Aase 1964: Bob Chapman 1965: Gene Marmour 1966: Whitney Gerken 1967: Joe Shear 1968: Joe Shear 1969: Joe Shear 1970: Joe Shear 1971: Joe Shear 1972: Joe Shear 1973: Dave Watson 1974: Jerry Lewis 1975: Dennis Burgan 1976: Wayne Lensing 1977: Don Leach 1978: Don Leach 1979: Wayne Lensing 1980: Wayne Lensing 1981: John Luther 1982: John Luther 1983: Dave Fossum 1984: Bob Hacker 1985: Jim Pierson 1986: Bob Hacker 1987: John Knaus 1988: John Knaus 1989: John Knaus 1990: John Knaus 1991: Bobby Wilberg 1992: John Knaus 1993: John Knaus 1994: John Knaus 1995: Bobby Wilberg 1996: Bobby Wilberg 1997: Bobby Wilberg 1998: Bobby Wilberg 1999: Bobby Wilberg 2000: Bobby Wilberg 2001: Ricky Bilderback 2002: Ricky Bilderback 2003: Ricky Bilderback 2004: Ricky Bilderback 2005: Ricky Bilderback 2006: Ricky Bilderback 2007: Ricky Bilderback 2008: Jerry Gille 2009: Jerry Gille 2010: Tim Sargent 2011: Ryan Carlson 2012: Jerry Gille 2013: Alex Papini 2014: Jon Reynolds Jr 2015: Jake Gille 2016: Michael Bilderback 2017: Michael Bilderback 2018: Jon Reynolds Jr 2019: Michael Bilderback 2020: Jon Reynolds Jr 2021: Jon Reynolds Jr 2022: Jake Gille 2023: Jon Reynolds Jr
Images
References
External links
Official track website Page at nascar.com Rockford Speedway race results at Racing-Reference