Southside Speedway was a short track used for stock car auto racing located South of Richmond, Virginia in Chesterfield County.

[2] The track originally canceled the 2011 racing season after announcing that owner Sue Clements was battling health problems.

Lin O’Neal, the former #1 race car driver at the track in Grand stock division who had been banned by the previous private owners, has now purchased the raceway from the County of Chesterfield and plans to re-open it to its former beauty.

At 71.45 miles per hour (114.99 km/h), Rex White took the pole, but would duck out on lap 134 with engine trouble, which would lead Jimmy Pardue to win the 200-lap feature in his 1962 Pontiac.

The last main circuit race recorded at Southside Speedway was on May 19, 1963, in which Ned Jarrett would lead the most laps and win the 300-lap feature in his 1963 Ford.

During the 1970s, three names emerged that would plant the seed for future generations of competition at Southside Speedway.

Ray Hendrick, Cal Johnson and Ted Hairfield were older drivers whose sons and grandsons have become competitive forces throughout the decades.

He sits atop this list of great drivers including Richard Petty and Geoff Bodine.

Over the past few years, Roy's son, Brandon Hendrick has peeked his head into the Late Model Sportsman and Modified divisions.

Brandon currently races the number 55 car in Southside Speedway's Late Model Sportsman division.

Roy Hendrick currently races the number 39 car in the Late Model Sportsman division at Southside Speedway.

Also Roy Hendrick has of late mentored a driver named Mark Simpson #36 driving a car in the Grand Stock division maintained by Roy and won in only his 6th race and has finished 2nd in points in 2009 and 3rd in 2010 and has numerous heat and feature wins and also won the 2008 Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Speedway, in keeping with the Hendrick tradition.

The elite of Southside Speedway's limelight through the 1980s was shared by the rivalry between Wayne Patterson and Roy Hendrick, but Bugs Hairfield, Roger Sawyer, David Blankenship and Eddie Johnson was always in competition, and passed the track championship around throughout the decade.

In the early 2000s, Denny Hamlin first started racing in the Mini Stock division at Southside Speedway in 1997.

Curtis Markham, former Southside Speedway track champion, is currently Hamlin's spotter.

An unparalleled financial devotion to his car and race team has made him the obvious front-runner in the Modified division.

This is a contrast to the Late Model Sportsman division where, though many races may be decided upon qualifying, you never know who that driver will be walking into the gate.

The cars are typically badged as Chevrolet Monte Carlos, Dodge Chargers, Toyota Camrys, or Ford Fusions, but are built ground-up for racing.

Though modifications are made, Modifieds are typically harder to handle on the pavement, and are still driven to glide into turns as opposed to railing around them.

These cars, which are now one of the premier classes at Southside Speedway alternate with the Late Model Sportsman division, running every other Friday night.

The Street Stock division is the evolution of the old Enduro Races on Saturdays brought to Southside Speedway by Joe Kelly in the mid-1980s.

After the apparent need for some safety considerations were met, the Enduro cars were fitted with roll cages, the rules were changed and the division became known as Street Stocks again.

[10] In the late 1980s, the track was fitted with newer aluminum grandstands that could hold twice as many fans and there was promise for a next generation to begin.

The following year, Denny Hamlin brought Joe Gibbs teammate Kyle Busch to the track to race in a special 175-lap Late Model Sportsman event to benefit the newly founded Denny Hamlin Foundation.

Kyle Busch won that race after Denny Hamlin was sent to the rear of the field early in the event after an incident involving Billy Morris.