The Stardust International Raceway was an auto racing track in present-day Spring Valley, Nevada, in the Las Vegas Valley. It featured a flat, 3-mile (4.8 km), 13-turn road course, and a quarter-mile drag strip. Some track maps depicted the road course with 10 numbered turns.
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Location | Spring Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA |
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Coordinates | 36°6′28″N 115°15′9″W |
Owner | Stardust Racing Association |
Broke ground | July 25, 1965 |
Opened | 1965 |
Closed | 1971 |
Major events | United States Road Racing Championship Can-Am Trans-Am USAC Champ Car NHRA National Open |
Surface | Asphalt |
Length | 3 miles (4.830 km) |
Turns | 13 (10) |
Race lap record | 1:30.950 (Bruce McLaren, McLaren M8A-Chevrolet, 1968, Can-Am) |
Stardust International Raceway was developed in 1965 by the Stardust Racing Association, a Nevada corporation headed by the primary owner of the Desert Inn and Stardust hotel-casinos.[1] The track was developed ostensibly to attract high rollers to the Stardust hotel.[2] The Stardust Racing Association also owned the property and functioned as event promoter.
In 1966 it began hosting the season finale of the Can-Am championship. In 1968 the USAC Championship Car series held a race at Stardust. The drag strip hosted the NHRA Stardust National Open in 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1971.
The Stardust Racing Association was dissolved on April 1, 1968, 1 day after the USAC Stardust 150. The hotel and raceway were sold in January 1969 to the Parvin-Dohrmann Corporation, and the new ownership closed the track shortly thereafter. Larry Horton, the track's manager, re-opened the drag strip in August 1970 and ran drag racing events until October 1971. Real estate developers Pardee Homes acquired the Stardust International Raceway property and related adjacent properties in August 1970 and built the Spring Valley community. Pardee commenced residential development on a portion of the property as drag racing events were still in operation directly adjacent. A subsequent racing facility, the Las Vegas Speedrome, opened in 1972 across from Nellis Air Force Base. The Speedrome property was later redeveloped into the current Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Year | Driver | Entrant | Car | Distance/Duration | Championship | Report |
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1965 | ![]() | ![]() | Chaparral 2A-Chevrolet | 200 miles (320 km) | Competition Press & Autoweek Series | report |
1966 | ![]() | Dan Blocker | Genie Mk.10-Chevrolet | 180 miles (290 km) | United States Road Racing Championship | report |
1966 | ![]() | ![]() | Lola T70 Mk.2-Chevrolet | 210 miles (340 km) | Can-Am | report |
1967 | ![]() | ![]() | Lola T70 Mk.3-Chevrolet | 183 miles (295 km) | United States Road Racing Championship | report |
1967 | ![]() | ![]() | Lola T70 Mk.3-Chevrolet | 210 miles (340 km) | Can-Am | report |
1968 | ![]() | ![]() | McLaren M8A-Chevrolet | 210 miles (340 km) | Can-Am | report |
Year | Driver | Entrant | Car | Distance/Duration | Report |
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1967 | ![]() | ![]() | Chevrolet Camaro | 350 miles (560 km) | report |
Season | Date | Race Name | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine | Team | Report |
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1968 | March 31 | Stardust 150 | ![]() | Eagle | Ford | Leader Cards Racing | report |
The official lap records at Stardust International Raceway are listed as:
Category | Time | Driver | Vehicle | Date |
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Road Course: 4.820 km (1965–1971) | ||||
Can-Am (Group 7) | 1:30.950[3] | Bruce McLaren | McLaren M6A | 1968 Stardust Grand Prix |
U.S.A.C. IndyCar | 1:32.401[4] | Dan Gurney | Eagle 67 | 1968 Stardust 150 |
Group 4 | 1:35.700[5] | John Surtees | Lola T70 Mk.2 | 1966 Stardust Grand Prix |
Trans-Am | 1:50.900[6] | Jerry Titus | Ford Mustang | 1967 Las Vegas Trans-Am round |
Tracks of the USAC National Championship (1956–1981) | |||||||
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International |
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Circuits of the Can-Am Challenge Cup (1966–1986) | |
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United States |
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