Wall Stadium

Racetrack

Wall Stadium (also known briefly as Wall Township Speedway) is a 1/4 mile high banked (30° in corners) paved oval track in Wall Township, New Jersey, United States. The track opened to the public in the spring of 1950 and has operated for at least a part of every year since. Richard Petty won his first ever NASCAR Cup race in the USA at Wall Stadium. The track was an early home to racing stars Ray Evernham, Jr. and the Truex family of Martin Sr., Martin Jr. and Ryan Truex. Also, it hosted a NASCAR Convertible Series race in 1956 and a NASCAR Grand National Series event in 1958. The more prominent drivers over the years have included Gil Hearne (eight time champion), Tommie Elliott (the youngest driver ever to race in NASCAR's highest division) and Charlie Kremer, Jr. (both four time champions), John Blewett III, Jimmy Blewett (four time champion), Jimmy Spencer (Garden State Classic winner), Tony Siscone (six time champion), Richie Evans, and Charlie Jarzombek (Garden State Classic winner). Wall Stadium is also known for hosting Round 4: The Gauntlet of the Formula DRIFT Pro Championship.

Founders Tom and Jennie Nicol sought to build their own racetrack after enjoying stock car racing at Long Branch Speedway. The couple bought 55 acres of land off Route 34 in Wall Township and built a one quarter mile oval with 30° banking in the turns, unheard of at the time. Racing began in 1950 with the annual Turkey Derby capping each season on the Saturday following Thanksgiving Day beginning in 1974.

After the 2001 season, the late Jennie Nicol's son Tucker (Thomas Nicol, Jr.) decided to sell the speedway and, it was purchased by Timothy Shinn. His co owners were Tom Mauser, Joe Sanzari, and Fletcher Creamer for the 2002 season. The track was temporarily retitled Wall Township Speedway. After two months, Mauser was dismissed as the Track Operations Manager. In 2004, Fred Archer came to the fold as co owner. By 2005, car counts and capacity crowd started to decline and, there were rumors swirling about the track's pending demise.

After the 2007 season, several employees were laid off. The track closed on March 14, 2008, with the track's marquee reading "CLOSED FOR GOOD". However, the 37th annual Turkey Derby ran as scheduled on November 26 and 27, under the terms of a short term lease to Don Ling and the Blewett family. The track was put up for sale shortly thereafter with an asking price of $18 million. Racing resumed in 2011 under new management. Cliff Krause of Holmdel signed a one year lease with track owners to conduct a full schedule of races. After running a full schedule of races, Krause secured a three year extension on the track's lease after the 2011 Turkey Derby. After its three year deal, the Krauses signed one more agreement for 2015. Annual lease renewals have been signed in subsequent years. A 1/5 mile oval flat track was added for ATQMRA and Karting events.

For several years, two different Modified classes competed at Wall Stadium, the more traditional "Tour Type" Modifieds, considered to be the top tier series, and the Modified Affordable Division (MAD), similar to the Stafford Motor Speedway SK Modified division, using small block engines and narrower tires, to reduce costs. Because of a purse structure dispute, in 1993, the Tour Type Modified division left as the weekly feature attraction at the track for the now defunct Flemington Speedway. Currently, the Modified division has rules similar to Stafford's SK Modified, although Tour Type cars participate in the Turkey Derby.