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52 NPS Form 10.900•a OMB Approval No. 1024 -0018 (8.86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Occoneechee Speedway Orange County, N.C. Section number 7 Page 4 culverts helped prevent standing water in the infield. Each galvanized steel drainage pipe measures approximately eighteen inches in circumference and remains free of rust. The 0.9 -mile hard - packed dirt racetrack served.as the centerpiece of the Occoneechee Speedway. Historically, the dirt track was clear of any vegetation and there was never fixed curbing separating the track from the infield. Photographs from the early 1950s show that the infield was grass and that a metal chain -link type fence, oval in shape, enclosed about half of the infield. The track's original width varied from forty -five to fifty feet and wider along the pit, which was attached to the inner western straightaway. Today, while trees encroach on portions of the east straightaway and northeast and northwest turns, the oval is discernable from the air and on the ground. The width of the track varies from approximately five feet in portions of the northern section to as wide as forty feet on the southwest corner. The overgrowth around the track and in the former infield consists of young trees, mostly pines and cedars, briars and bushes. B. Lightpost Ca. 1958 Noncontributing Structure Orange County school officials installed the lightpost around the time it began leasing the track from Bill France Sr. for local high school sports events. The structure stands near the northwest corner of the track. Spotlights set in rows rest atop the tall wooden post. There is evidence of other lightposts, but this is the only one that remains standing. C. Grandstand Ca. 1958 Noncontributing Structure The concrete grandstand measures 208 feet in length, forty -four feet wide and approximately 18.6 feet in height. The structure was built into a steep hill just west of the track facing the Eno River. Although race fans used the grandstand, this permanent seating was installed when the county began using the property for sporting events.