Was Flemington Speedway a 1/2 mile or 5/8 mile? 

It's been a while, but I remember the size of the track was discussed here at some point and I think the guys came up with that it was 1/2 around the inside and 5/8's around the outside.  USAC or somebody officially measures tracks 15' (?) off of the inside fence I think.

The speeds were always fast at Flemington, but using the 5/8th's size as part of the calculation made the speeds reported even that much more spectatcular.

Also part of the discussion was that up until around 1975, there were car tires buried half way (half in the ground and the top half sticking up) creating about a lane's width shoulder off of the the inside wooden fence.  Drivers started racing through/over the tires around then, which tore them all up, and the tires ended up never being replaced and/or the track crew removed them, and the track (true racing surface) then became shorter.

1/2 mile.

5/8...I went around it a couple times...Windsor was a small half or large 3/8,,Naz was 1/2..

Were you runnin' the inside Kev?  I think Howie's measurement was when he was running the outside in the cool black/silver Falcon back around 1974... 

The black and gold Burnett Mustang that followed was a beauty, but that "Open Air" Falcon will always be one of my favorites.

How To Measure A Race Track

First, we need to know how to measure a race track. Obviously, if you run up around the outside wall you are traveling significantly farther than if you are down at the bottom of the turn. So how does NASCAR measure? They measure track length from the point 15-feet in from the outside wall. This means that at many tracks the drivers are traveling a shorter distance than advertised (but not by much).

I looked up on line NASCAR's track length stat from the Truck Series races and it is listed as .625 mi (5/8) which makes me wonder if they actually measured it.

USAC physically measures any track they run, they measured it at 1/2 mile, measuremen taken 3' from inside fence.

I remember my Dad right after Paul Kuhl became the promoter in 1971. Flemington was always advertised as 1/2 mile previously.  My Dad said at that time, "how in Hell is this suddenly 5/8 of a mile, the inside and outside fences are in the same place they were last year"?

This was asked a long time ago here. If I remember correctly someone said the 5/8 mile was the exact measurement around the outside fence. The grove was lower in multiple spots.  The biggest thing Paul K was a decent promoter. So he used the 5/8 mile size to promote, The World's Fastest 5/8 Mile! Looks great in advertisements, plus he could always claim new speed records in the local racing papers. 

Do you guys really think a 1/4 pounder from McDonals is a 1/4 pound?

It better be 1/4 lb Paintman! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U80ebi4AKgs

I guess you could say that Flemington was "Supersized" once Paul took over.

Hey Rick 3 feet from the inside fence is where the wreckers and push trucks ran...I think the rear tires made 1 mile in 1 lap...lol...

If you ran 15 feet from the ouside you would go from first to last in 3 laps..You had to be high as you could get and just cut corners a little bit but dont lift all the way or it wont matter wher you run...Just my 2 cents....

Even if you were driving Leon's Chevelle? Lol...

As mentioned above, here's one of Howie taking to the 1/2  5/8th's.... ??? (regardless of the size, my choice for most exciting dirt track ever) in one of my favorite cars of the day.

I only took my trusty Kodak 110 camera to Flemington with me 2 or 3 times in 15 year's, but I was sure to get at least one picture of the #9C Falcon...  I was probably 13 when I took this one, (so were you, right Howie?  )

Thanks for the great memories Mr 9C.

possibly 23 or 24 yrs old..  born in 1948..

When the track was in its original size back in the 60s before they moved the fence in the first time it was 5/8. There was a marker between turns 3 and 4 that was the mile post for when they races horses there. After they moved the fence the first time during the fair they would set up  poratble fence out side of the tires so they could run the horse races and have a inside marker. In the early 70s they did away with the horse races and started racing different divisions during the fair week. The last I remember hearing about was USAC had measured it as a 1/2 mile at the inside wall. 

I always liked the bigger tracks...When I started racing every week with Frankie Rio and family at Bridgeport I adapted easy...It was a long way around that place...Then you have Syracuse...Whew I loved that place..Kool Fast place..Only big track I disliked was Naz National..Hated it..When comig up over 4th turn it was blind spot on front stretch till you crested the hill...I did not like that...Also on this subject ---5 mile point suc**d...went twice and wrecked twice...one time was not enough i guess...