Wall Stadium

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-third 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.

By 2005, car counts and capacity crowd started to decline and, there were rumors swirling about the track's pending demise.

[2] 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.

Cliff Krause of Holmdel signed a one-year lease with track owners to conduct a full schedule of races.

[3] After running a full schedule of races, Krause secured a three-year extension on the track's lease after the 2011 Turkey Derby.

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.

After a successful debut, the race grew in stature and popularity and, in 1981, attracted a record field of 75 cars including NASCAR National Champion Richie Evans.

When the 1980s started, it was cut to 200 laps (to eliminate pit stops, which were impractical at the track, and save the race teams much additional expense.

Joie Chitwood stunt show being performed at the stadium in 1954