Flat track fans of a generation ago often talk of the AMA Grand National races at the old Louisville Downs as some of the most memorable in series history – for both good and bad. The track was famously the site of the legendary Jay Springsteen’s very first national win. It was also infamous for the tragic incident in May of 1980 incident where David Jones (brother of racing legend Ronnie Jones) was killed when he collided with a spectator who had walked onto the track. Triumph and tragedy both played a part in Louisville Downs making an indelible mark on the sport of flat track during its 25-year run from the late 1960s to the early 1990s.The Half-Mile Standardbred racing facility was built in July of 1966 on the south side of Louisville, Kentucky. Less than a year later the track hosted its first national motorcycle race on June 11, 1967. When it began, it was the AMA National 15-Mile National, in the days when events were still ran at differing lengths. The 15-mile National had previously been held at Pennsylvania’s Heidelberg Raceway, but that track was paved opening up a slot for the newly-completed Louisville Downs. The inaugural race did not get off to a flawless start, with some complaining the facilities weren’t yet up to par to host a national. Yet in spite of some rough edges, the one thing Louisville Downs had, and would be a constant throughout its 25 years, was its unique ankle-deep white crushed limestone racing surface. The soft cushion track made for spectacular broad slides through Louisville Downs’ broad and ultra-wide turns. Riders could run four wide with all four in a full-lock slide. That style of track played right into the hand of classic cushion specialist Bart Markel. It was Markel who scored victory in that first national in 1967 – over Chris Draayer – and the Harley-Davidson factory rider would dominate the event in its early years.
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