Birmingham Fairgrounds

A mile long track at Birmingham Fairgrounds in Alabama was opened in 1906. Primarily used for horse racing, a match race between Barney Oldfield and Louis Chevrolet was held on 11 October of that year. The half-mile dirt oval was built in 1932 and held a NASCAR Grand National race in 1958 and 1961. It was paved and extended before the end of 1962, although its length officially remained unchanged until 1967. The race moved to the new superspeedway at Talladega in 1969. Birmingham International Raceway closed at the end of 2008.