Tacoma Speedway

The Lakeview area of Tacoma, Washington had held road races in 1912 and 1913 on a temporary dirt surface. For the 1914 race, it was decided to use a new course in the northeastern corner. This was initially a perfect oval with dirt surface which was redeveloped as a “D” shaped board track for 1915. The first meeting on the renamed Pacific Coast Speedway was marred by the deaths of Billy Carlson and his riding mechanic Paul Franzer, and Tacoma soon gained a reputation for being dangerous. The grandstands were destroyed by fire in 1920, and the facility closed two years later amid mounting debts.