Walt Disney World Speedway
Walt Disney World Speedway was a racing facility located on the grounds of the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando.
| The Mickyard | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Location | Floridian Way Walt Disney World Resort Bay Lake, Florida, U.S. |
| Time zone | GMT-5 |
| Capacity | 51,000 (1996) 43,000 (1999) 30,000 (2000) |
| Owner | The Walt Disney Company |
| Operator | IMS Events, Inc. (former) |
| Broke ground | June 6, 1995 |
| Opened | November 28, 1995 |
| Closed | August 9, 2015 |
| Construction cost | $6 million |
| Architect | Kevin Forbes |
| Major events |
|
| Website | http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recreation/richard-petty-driving-experience/ |
| Tri-oval | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 1.6 km (1 miles) |
| Turns | 3 |
| Banking | Turn 1: 10 degrees Turn 2: 8.5 degrees Turn 3: 7 degrees |
| Race lap record | 0:20.954 (Buzz Calkins, Reynard 95I, 1996, IRL IndyCar Series) |
It was built in 1995 by IMS Events, Inc., a subsidiary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, and was designed primarily as a venue for the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World, an Indy Racing League event.
The circuit's primary use was as a venue for the Richard Petty Driving Experience, and the Indy Racing Experience, programs that allow fans to drive or ride in real race cars. After the 2000 racing season, it was no longer used as a track for major motorsports racing series, but was used by many racing teams from IndyCar to NASCAR as a test venue due to the warmer climate than other tracks around the United States during the off season for racing. However, the track closed permanently on August 9, 2015.
AutoWeek magazine and the Orlando Sentinel dubbed the track "The Mickyard" (a portmanteau of the Disney icon Mickey Mouse and Indianapolis Motor Speedway's nickname, the "Brickyard").