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{{Motorsport venue
| Name = The New Fremont Speedway
| Nicknames = The Track That Action Built
| Image =
| Location = [[Fremont, Ohio]]
| Opened = 1951
| Owner = Sandusky County
| Operator = Rich & Shelly Farmer
| Former_names = Fremont Raceway
| Events =
| Website =
| Capacity =
| Layout1 = Oval
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}}
'''Fremont Speedway''', also known as
==Track
{| class="wikitable"
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|-
| 305 Sprint Cars
| 13.
| John Ivy
|
|-
| Dirt Trucks
|
|
|
|}
<ref>
==History==
[[File:FremontRacing 1930s.png|thumb|Auto racing at Sandusky County Fairgrounds in Fremont, OH, circa 1936.]]The first automobile race was held at the Sandusky County Fairgrounds on Sunday, June 7, 1936 when the International Speedway Association leased the half-mile horse track for a Big Cars race. Big Cars, as they were known, were the forerunners to today's sprint cars. An estimated 7,000 people attended the first race as Clay Corbitt picked up the feature win. Despite the success of the first race, it would be 12 years before Fremont hosted another auto race. On September 19, 1948, the Tri-State Racing Association leased the fairgrounds for a racing program billed as the Tri-State Racing Association's Championship. Over 4,000 fans were in attendance to watch Red Bales win the feature event.
In the fall of 1951, Joe and Dorothy Stelter and Harry Maynor of [[Toledo, Ohio]] founded Fremont Speedway. Their original track was just over 1/10 of a mile in length and nearly flat. On September 30, 1951, a crowd of 1,500 attended Fremont Speedway’s first official race. 38 drivers took part in the 20 lap feature event, which was won by Leo Caldwell of [[Perrysburg, Ohio|Perrysburg]].
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In 1952, Maynor sold his interest in the speedway to Frank Jensen of Toledo, and Wayne Wall of Toledo purchased an interest in 1953. Wall sold out in 1954 and the Stelters and Jensen operated the track until 1957 when a local Fremont businessman, Don Emick, purchased Jensen's stock. This operation continued until 1960 when Emick sold out, leaving Joe and Dot as the sole owners. After Joe's sudden death in 1962, Dot decided to continue and became one of the first female promoters in the country. Dot later married Paul Szakovits and he helped to operate the track. Dot promoted the speedway until 1976 when longtime announcer Gary Kern purchased the facility.
During the 1990s, the facility changed hands many times. In 1994 Joseph Darr became a partner with Kern. [[Delphos, Ohio]] resident Ken Langhals operated the speedway in 1995. In 1996 Kelly Applegate purchased the speedway, followed by Ken Meggitt in 1997. The track then sat idle for two years until Jim Ford, a former driver and sprint car owner from [[Elmore, Ohio]], leased the track from the Sandusky County Fair Board.<ref>
The speedway has become a pioneer in dirt track racing over the years. It was one of the first tracks in the nation to run the now popular 305 sprint car division. In 2000, Jim Ford created the dirt truck division as an affordable entry level into dirt track racing.<ref>[http://www.lastlaplive.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48:jiom-ford&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50 "Ex-Fremont Promotor Jim Ford Takes His Last Lap" The Last Lap]</ref> Similar divisions have since spread across the nation. The speedway was also the first dirt track in the nation to incorporate [[soft wall]] technology.<ref>[
The speedway has hosted many nationally renowned race car drivers including [[Steve Kinser]], [[Sammy Swindell]], [[Jeff Gordon]], [[Dave Blaney]], [[Kasey Kahne]], Brad Doty, and Doug Wolfgang. "The Ohio Traveler" Rick Ferkel began his storied career with a victory at the speedway. The speedway has also hosted
==Hall of Fame==
The following people have been inducted in Fremont Speedway's Hall of Fame.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Inductee
! Category
! Year
|-
| Auxter, Johnny "Gentleman"
| Driver
| 2009
|-
| Ball, Art
| Driver
| 2009
|-
| Beale, Rollie
| Driver
| 2009
|-
| Billow, Harold
| Owner/Builder
| 2009
|-
| Ford, Jim
| Driver/Promoter
| 2009
|-
| Fosco, George
| Driver
| 2009
|-
| Franks, Alvin
| Driver
| 2009
|-
| Harrison, Darl
| Driver
| 2009
|-
| Keegan, Gug
| Driver
| 2009
|-
| Linder, Jim
| Driver
| 2009
|-
| McCune, "Irish" Jim
| Driver
| 2009
|-
| McGilton, Harold "Mac"
| Driver
| 2009
|-
| Notestine, Gene
| Driver/Official
| 2009
|-
| Robison, Herbie
| Driver
| 2009
|-
| Shilling, Dorthy "Dot"
| Promoter
| 2009
|-
| Smith, Wendell
| Driver
| 2009
|-
| Strasser, Paul
| Driver
| 2009
|-
| Beaber, Johnny
| Driver
| 2010
|-
| Burmeister, Sonny
| Owner/Builder
| 2010
|-
| Genzman, De
| Driver
| 2010
|-
| Hemminger, Wally
| Driver
| 2010
|-
| Keegan, Mark
| Driver
| 2010
|-
| Kern, Gary
| Official/Promoter
| 2010
|-
| Lowe, Earl
| Owner
| 2010
|-
| Roepke, Jim
| Driver
| 2010
|-
| Sabo, Joe
| Owner/Builder
| 2010
|-
| Sheets, Roy
| Driver
| 2010
|-
| Caldwell, Leo
| Driver
| 2011
|-
| Fleming, Jim
| Driver
| 2011
|-
| Gill, Bud
| Owner
| 2011
|-
| Hasselbach, Dale
| Driver
| 2011
|-
| Kear, Shirley
| Life Contributor
| 2011
|-
| Kresser, Harry
| Driver
| 2011
|-
| Leaser, Tom
| Owner
| 2011
|-
| Maffett Sr, Wayne
| Driver
| 2011
|-
| Miller, George
| Driver
| 2011
|-
| Youster, Leroy
| Driver
| 2011
|-
| Boos, Ron
| Owner
| 2012
|-
| Clark, Ken
| Driver
| 2012
|-
| Cook, John
| Owner
| 2012
|-
| Emick, Bert/Brigiette
| Promoter
| 2012
|-
| Ferkel, Rick
| Driver
| 2012
|-
| Forsythe, John
| Sponsor
| 2012
|-
| Griffith, Earl
| Engine Builder
| 2012
|-
| Hewitt, Jack
| Driver
| 2012
|-
| Keegan, Jim
| Driver
| 2012
|-
| Linder, Fred
| Driver
| 2012
|-
| Linton, Don
| Owner
| 2012
|-
| Ritter, Grover
| Owner
| 2012
|-
| Sabo, Tim
| Driver
| 2012
|-
| Schemmer. Tom
| Engine Builder
| 2012
|-
| Smith, Ed
| Engine Builder
| 2012
|-
| Stelter, Joe
| Promoter
| 2012
|-
| Conger, Sonny
| Owner, Builder, Mechanic
| 2013
|-
| Dewald, Paul
| Driver
| 2013
|-
| Eckhardt, Don
| Owner
| 2013
|-
| Ford, Randy
| Driver
| 2013
|-
| Hahn, Bill
| Driver
| 2013
|-
| Holbrook, Gordon
| Driver
| 2013
|-
| Huss, Phil "Smokey"
| Ambassador
| 2013
|-
| Keegan, Larry
| Owner/Crew Chief
| 2013
|-
| Keegan, Mervin
| Builder
| 2013
|-
| Liskai, Alex
| Driver
| 2013
|-
| Liskai, Dick
| Driver
| 2013
|-
| Liskai, Steve
| Driver
| 2013
|-
| Connors, L J
| Driver
| 2014
|-
| Griffith, Gary
| Driver/Engine Builder
| 2014
|-
| Keim, Clay
| Driver
| 2014
|-
| Kemenah, Harold
| Owner
| 2014
|-
| Kiser, Ken
| Communications Provider
| 2014
|-
| Leaser, Bob
| Owner
| 2014
|-
| Rankine, Eric
| Driver
| 2014
|-
| Vance, Todd
| Driver
| 2014
|-
| VanNess Family
| Owner/Builder
| 2014
|-
| Ward, Jim
| Driver
| 2014
|-
| Wright, Joe
| Owner
| 2014
|-
| Berkley, Robert
| Owner/Mechanic
| 2015
|-
| Cicanese, Bill
| Driver/Builder
| 2015
|-
| Drusback, Tom
| Owner
| 2015
|-
| Gordon, Jack
| Driver
| 2015
|-
| Holman, Mike
| Official
| 2015
|-
| Kiser, Chris
| Driver
| 2015
|-
| Meyer, Fritz
| Wrecker Service
| 2015
|-
| Naida, John
| Driver
| 2015
|-
| Potter, Lee
| Driver
| 2015
|-
| Steinmetz, Fran
| Driver
| 2015
|-
| Thompson, Howard (Moe)
| Employee
| 2015
|-
| Blaney, Dale
| Driver
| 2016
|-
| Fisher, Vince
| Owner
| 2016
|-
| Keegan, Joe
| Driver
| 2016
|-
| Kistler, Paul
| Engine Builder
| 2016
|-
| Leaser, Ron
| Driver
| 2016
|-
| Malloy, Len
| Owner
| 2016
|-
| Nuber, Larry
| Life Contributor
| 2016
|-
| Pierce, Keith
| Owner
| 2016
|-
| Pierce, Roy
| Owner
| 2016
|-
| Sears Jr, Bobby
| Driver
| 2016
|-
| Willey, Dick
| Builder/Mechanic
| 2016
|-
| Beechler, Mike
| Builder
| 2017
|-
| Burkin, Lamar
| Owner
| 2017
|-
| Ford, Doug
| Mechanic/Official
| 2017
|-
| Hoffman, Jeff
| Driver
| 2017
|-
| Knoll, Bobby
| Driver
| 2017
|-
| Kraylek, Jack
| Driver
| 2017
|-
| McComas, Ron
| Owner/Builder/Mechanic
| 2017
|-
| Nemire Sr, Ken
| Driver
| 2017
|-
| Neimire, Jerry
| Driver
| 2017
|-
| Phillips, Eric
| Owner/Engine Builder
| 2017
|-
| Root, Ken "Red"
| Mechanic
| 2017
|-
| Smith, Ken
| Official/Photographer
| 2017
|-
| Willey, Gary
| Driver
| 2017
|-
| Engler, Jay
| Owner
| 2018
|-
| Gill, Buddy
| Mechanic
| 2018
|-
| Gill, Larry
| Mechanic
| 2018
|-
| Hazzard, Richard
| Owner
| 2018
|-
| Keegan, Don
| Owner
| 2018
|-
| Keegan, Ron
| Owner
| 2018
|-
| Leaser, Jimmy
| Driver
| 2018
|-
| Miller, Skip
| Driver
| 2018
|-
| Potter, Lin
| Driver
| 2018
|-
| Thompson, Joe
| Driver/Official
| 2018
|-
| Thompson, Shirley
| Official
| 2018
|-
| Wisbon, John
| Driver
| 2019
|-
| Berryman, Bruce
| Driver
| 2019
|-
| Marko, Dave
| Driver
| 2019
|-
| Creeger, Jerry “Dude”
| Driver
| 2019
|-
| Farmer, Rich
| Driver/Owner/Promoter
| 2019
|-
| Kear, Chuck
| Special Contributor
| 2019
|-
| Slatter, Floyd
| Builder, Mechanic
| 2019
|-
| Keegan, Chuck
| Owner
| 2019
|}
<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fremontspeedwayhof.com/inductees |title=Fremont Speedway HOF Inductees|access-date=2024-03-05 }}</ref>
==All-time win list==
The following drivers sit at the top ten of Fremont Speedway's all-time feature win list as of the completion of the 2023 racing season.
{| class="wikitable"
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|-
| 1
| Paul Weaver
| 77
|-
| 2
| Art Ball
|
|-
|
| Shawn Valenti
| 74
|-
| 4
| Gug Keegan
| 62
|-
|
| John Ivy
| 61
|-
| 6
| Mark Keegan
| 59
|-
|
| Jim Linder
| 58
|-
|
| Herbie Robinson
| 54
|-
|
| Jim McCune
| 45
|-
|
| Wayne Maffett, Sr.
| 44
|}
<ref>
==References==
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{{World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series race venues}}
{{All Star Circuit of Champions race venues}}
[[Category:Dirt oval race tracks in the United States]]
[[Category:Motorsport venues in Ohio]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Fremont, Ohio]]
[[Category:
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