Cloverleaf Speedway

Cloverleaf Speedway was an asphalt stock car racing oval in Valley View, Ohio.

History
43 years ago today in Northeast Ohio music history, Mott The Hoople were scheduled to perform at the speedway but after an earlier show by Deep Purple that summer, the township of Valley View pulled the permits for further concerts and this concert was moved to Massillon Tiger Stadium in Canton. The New York Dolls and Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show were the opening acts.

Stock car racing has always been a dangerous sport, but in the 1950s and 1960s, safety wasn't even a consideration.

There were few safety requirements. Drivers and cars were virtually unregulated.

But Cloverleaf was special. Drivers and their families and crews had picnics before races in the parking lot.

Races were relatively brief — about 25 laps in 10-15 minutes. The cars were old Fords and Chevrolets.

“Most of them came out of junkyards or people’s back yards,” Hudock said. “You’re probably talking about $2,000 maximum. Today they’re spending that on tires.”

The drivers came from Parma, Garfield Heights, Bedford, Maple Heights and Independence. Some lived in Akron and Lorain County.

The drivers earned money racing but didn’t make a living at it. They were laborers, construction workers, mechanics, bank executives, engineers, architects and dentists.

“They were the guys you knew who worked at the corner gas station or your neighbor,” Hudock said. “That was kind of the charm of it, too.”

Celebrities were drawn to Cloverleaf. Ron Penfound — TV’s Captain Penny — was a track announcer for a while.

Former Cavs players Brad Daugherty and forward Larry Nance — who was a drag racer — frequented the track.

Sometimes Cloverleaf promoted gimmicks to attract new fans. Once it hosted a motorcycle demolition derby — which sounds fatal.

“It was pretty much scripted,” Hudock said.

The “parking-lot drags” started at Cloverleaf in the 1970s. Racecar-wannabes went one-on-one against each other in street cars.

Some guys raced pickup trucks. Hudock remembered one parking-lot dragster who crashed his Corvette into a wall.

“To me it was pretty scary because they didn’t have safety equipment, only a helmet,” Hudock said.

Cloverleaf closed in 1990. One reason was that it sat on valuable land. A concrete company, looking to expand, bought the property.