What is there to do in Rockford?

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by Jeff Hill

A couple people mentioned the speedway already and so will I. Another good time for everyone
Rockford Speedway

When the original cities rating publication, “Places Rated Almanac,” came out in the early 1980s, Rockford was ranked at or nearly at the bottom (I can’t remember exactly). Rockford’s elites were astonished and offended.

They were also astonished at two of the things that Rockford received high marks for – plenty of bowling alleys and Rockford Speedway. Some thought that Rockford would be downgraded for these: “Bowling alleys, how utterly working class.” “Rockford Speedway, that noisy, smelly place on 173 where THOSE people go.”

Of course none of them ever went to the speedway. If they had, they would have found a family friendly place. A place to take a date on Saturday night. Hugh Deery was way ahead of his time. He knew that most women and many kids hated race tracks because they were usually filthy - especially the rest rooms. Rockford Speedway was just as clean as the movie theatres.

I moved from Rockford twenty years ago. I am happy to hear that the speedway, a place that I often went to, is still doing well.

[Jeff Hill]

Originally Posted by karlsch

I moved from Rockford twenty years ago. I am happy to hear that the speedway, a place that I often went to, is still doing well.

Well, for the last few years, there have been some serious talks of getting rid of it. In fact, I have a good friend that does quite a bit of the GC work for the city and he thinks this might very well be the last year. It's not that the speedway is going broke...it's just the owner is tired of having it and there's nobody stepping up to the plate.

The speedway is still like you remember. It's a great place to bring the family for a night of fun. At least once a month, they have "kids night". For kids night, they have something of the likes of a mechanical fire breathing dragon that eats cars, different styles of races, treasure hunt, and of course, the kids are free.

[Havasu]

I sure hope they do not get rid of it. I also heard that the houses that were built in the area near there are not happy with the noise every Sat and Wed night but the Rockford Speedway was there first and they should of done some homework before buying near a Speedway. It really is a fun safe place for the entire family or even a date and not expensive.

[karlsch]

Rockford Speedway opened in 1948. The main attraction was midget racing which was very popular at that time.

I was 8 years old, then, and attended one of the first races at the speedway with my father and uncle. A terrible thing that I have never been able to forget happened at this race. One of the cars flipped over the fence and killed two people – one of them was decapitated.

Of course the race was stopped. What made it so unforgettable is when we filed out, the decapitated body, covered with a blanket, and the head, covered with a towel, were in full view of everybody. Those were simpler times.

Amazingly, I found this record of the accident here:
Motorsport Memorial -

[Havasu]

Here is an Aerial of Rockford Speedway