California State Fairgrounds Race Track has been the name of two dirt oval racing tracks located in Sacramento, California. The track was built in 1906 for horse racing on the site of the California Exposition. It was active for auto racing in 1907, 1912, and from 1946 until 1970. The Exposition moved to a new site north of Downtown Sacramento in 1968, and the old fairgrounds were closed and sold for development in 1970. The final day of the track was marred by tragedy when three drivers were killed in the 100-lap super-modified caged sprint car competition."3 Racing Drivers Killed in Calif.", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 26, 1970, p1

From 1949 to 1970, the track hosted the Golden State 100, a round of the AAA/USAC National Championship. The race was revived at the new Cal Expo site as a USAC Silver Crown race from 1989 until 2000. Motorcycle racing's Sacramento Mile continues to be held at the new California Exposition as part of the AMA Grand National Championship.

A 2.1-mile (3.4-km) road course was laid out in the parking lots surrounding the oval, and used for sports car racing between 1955 and 1969. It hosted a SCCA National Sports Car Championship round in 1955.

In 2026, the original race track will be turned into a college football stadium for the Sacramento State Hornets. The original stands will still be intact once play begins that fall.

Golden State 100 winners

Year Date Driver Car 1949 October 30 Fred Agabashian Kurtis-Offy 1950 October 15 Duke Dinsmore Kurtis-Offy 1951–1952: not held 1953 October 25 Jimmy Bryan Kurtis-Offy 1954 October 17 Jimmy Bryan Kuzma-Offy 1955 October 16 Jimmy Bryan Kuzma-Offy 1956 October 21 Jud Larson Watson-Offy 1957 October 21 Rodger Ward Lesovsky-Offy 1958 October 26 Johnny Thomson Kuzma-Offy 1959 October 25 Jim Hurtubise Kuzma-Offy 1960 October 30 A. J. Foyt Meskowski-Offy 1961 October 29 Rodger Ward Watson-Offy 1962 October 28 A. J. Foyt Meskowski-Offy 1963 October 27 Rodger Ward Watson-Offy 1964 October 25 A. J. Foyt Meskowski-Offy 1965 October 24 Don Branson Watson-Offy 1966 October 23 Dick Atkins Watson-Offy 1967 October 1 A. J. Foyt Meskowski-Offy 1968 September 29 A. J. Foyt Meskowski-Offy 1969 September 28 Al Unser King-Ford 1970 October 4 Al Unser King-Ford

The race was revived in 1989 at the new Cal Expo mile track as a USAC Silver Crown event.

Year Date Driver 1989 June 4 George Snider 1990 June 3 Jimmy Sills 1991–1992: not held 1993 October 9 Jimmy Sills 1994 October 8 Jimmy Sills 1995 October 7 Donnie Beechler 1996 October 12 Donnie Beechler 1997 October 11 Dave Darland 1998 October 10 J. J. Yeley 1999 October 9 Jimmy Sills 2000 October 7 Dave Darland

NASCAR races NASCAR Cup Series Several NASCAR Grand National Series (today's NASCAR Cup Series) races were held on the dirt oval.

+NASCAR Cup Series racesSeason Date # ofracers Winner Tracklength(mi) Racelength(mi) Purse($USD) Polespeed(mph) Cautions Cautionlaps Avg.speed(mph) Leadchanges Driver Startpos. Carmake/model 1956 Jun 8, 1956 21 Lloyd Dane 15 '56 Mercury 1.000 100 4,285 76.612 – – 74.074 – 1957 Sep 8, 1957 27 Danny Graves 1 '57 Chevrolet 1.000 100 4,075 78.007 – – 68.663 0 1958 Sep 7, 1958 28 Parnelli Jones 1 '56 Ford 1.000 100 3,885 77.922 – – 65.550 – 1959 Sep 13, 1959 26 Eddie Gray 19 '59 Ford 1.000 100 3,885 – – – 54.753 – 1960 Sep 11, 1960 23 Jim Cook 1 '60 Dodge 1.000 100 4,625 78.450 – – 70.629 4 1961 Sep 10, 1961 32 Eddie Gray – '61 Ford 1.000 100 5,125 79.260 – – 0.000 1

NASCAR West Series Several NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model Division/NASCAR Winston West Series (today's ARCA Menards Series West) races were held on the dirt oval.

+NASCAR West Series racesSeason Date Race name Attendance # ofracers Winner Tracklength(mi) Racelength(mi) Purse($USD) Polespeed(mph) Cautions Cautionlaps Avg.speed(mph) Leadchanges Driver Startpos. Carmake/model 1956 Jun 8, 1956 21 Lloyd Dane 15 '56 Mercury 1.000 100 4,285 76.612 – – 74.074 – 1957 Sep 8, 1957 27 Danny Graves 1 '57 Chevrolet 1.000 100 4,075 78.007 – – 68.663 – 1964 Oct 04, 1964 Sacramento 100 8,500 24 Bob Ross 1 '64 Mercury 1.000 100 6,000 85.653 2 – 68.182 – 1965 Oct 03, 1965 Sacramento 100 26 Bill Amick 1 '64 Mercury 1.000 100 6,000 82.286 1 6 75.538 2 1966 Oct 9, 1966 Sacramento 100 5,860 25 Don Noel 5 '64 Ford 1.000 100 6,000 85.714 4 15 62.915 2 1969 Apr 27, 1969 Sacramento 100 5,000 28 Marty Kinerk 10 '67 Chevrolet 1.000 100 7,500 89.021 6 23 78.880 4 1970 May 10, 1970 Sacramento 100 4,235 28 Tiny Lund 1 '69 Ford 1.000 100 5,250 90.475 3 11 85.633 5

References