Partington Pasture Speedway - Sterling Heights MI

Address: 35955 Ryan Rd
City: Sterling Heights
State: MI
Zip: 48310
County: Macomb
Number of visits to this page: 22380
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General Information:

Source: Walter Hermance

Partington Pasture Speedway was located on Ryan Rd just north of 15 Mile Rd. It was a quarter mile track built in an old cow pasture, hence its name. I think it closed in the mid 50s. I Heard a driver was killed there. Some drivers who lived near the track would drive their stock cars to the track and race. I Wonder if anyone out there remembers the place. Merry Christmas to all on your site.

Gary Laster

The track site is now St Rene Parish Church. Ryan Rd. Stephanie Dr. verified via historic aerials, track was still visible in 1964 USGS aerial.

Info Updates:
2/4/2014 - Jack Meirow
Shane, You say you lived at 15 Mile & Mound Rd. Our family owned the Meirow's' Texaco gas station there on the SE corner. Changed over to Sinclair Gas in later years. Howdy neighbor! By the time I was old enough to go racing, it was at Motor City Speedway on 8 Mile Rd and Schoenherr.
3/11/2013 - June Miller
do any of you remember drivers Ralph Huff, James Miller, Tom Jackson. that drove at Partington's Pastures????. Ralph drove Bug 13. dont remember the name or number James or Tom drove. They also had power puffs racing. Tom's sister Tinny drove his car.
11/11/2011 - eugene conforti
When i was young(10 years old 1974) i grew up on Marlbourough street on Detroits east side, between forest and canfield, my neighbor was Mr. Partington. Everyone in the neighborhood knew Mr. Partington as Sam the junk manbecause his two homes and garages(side by side) were filled with anything you could think of. When sam passed away and his homes were cleaned out ,us kids picked through the piles in the alley and found many pictures and books of the highlights from back in the days when he owned the track, i wish i still had them now.
12/8/2010 - Gary Laster
The track site is now St Rene Parish Church. Ryan Rd. Stephanie Dr. verified via historic aerials, track was still visible in 1964 USGS aerial.
8/31/2009 - Rich Laney
My dad raced a car at Partington Pasture in the early 50's. We have a handful of old pictures at home. His name was Dick Laney and his car number was 1X. It was a Ford with a modified flathead.
Very rarely do you talk to anyone who has ever even heard of this track.
7/30/2009 - Shane Pennington
Just to clarify, 15 mile and Ryan Rd were not part of the city of Warren. The land is currently Sterling Heights, and prior to that was called Sterling Township.
6/4/2009 - Shane Pennington
Wow what an extraordinary read! I live at 15 and mound grew up around 15 and ryan in the area. Went to Grissom Middle School. Annoyed the people at St. Renee's. Wow... would definitely love to learn more about this place! awesome can't wait to tell my friends! I am only 21, so the track was long gone before I came along. Would like to se more pics if anyone has them. And, yes, I am related to Ed Pennington. He is my uncle. Greg is my dad.
9/12/2007 - Sean Fitzgerald
Great ideas Randy, I wonder what the community leaders would think. Wonder idf there is a neighborhood association. Also driving around the park and seeing the banking from the outside was cool.
9/12/2007 - Sean Fitzgerald
I drove by the other day, hood looks bad one block, nice the next. I'm from the hood originally and my sixth sense told me better to not park and go for a walk on my own. I was at the Dalley in The Alley street fair on Saturday night and spoke with the fella that operates the collective bike shop in the Cass Corridor called back Alley Bikes. He said they still ride there around the top of the track and that he and his friends actually cleaned out the weeds. the bottom of the track is not passable he said. Go Carts, 4 cylinders and Bike races. That would rock. Who owns it???
9/11/2007 - Randy
Heck, I see this as regular weekely racing there...go-karts and 4 cylinder races. Mufflers manditory, race on Saturday afternoons. Racing could start at 1:00 (or 2:00) and be over by 5 or 6. This could be cheap easy racing and could get kids interested in something else NEW!!!

With a little work and backing...who knows, even incorperate that old Family go-kart est into a scantioned "kart road coarse"...I see this as a real thing IF the right people were involved and the surrounding community could get behind it...or, it could just be another strip mall for cell phone, pizza and furniture stores.



9/6/2007 - Sean Fitzgerald
The go cart idea is great. who says we need permission. all the cops can do is make us leave, right? where do we get some carts???
9/6/2007 - Sean Fitzgerald
Thanks randy. I say we race geo prizms and ford escorts on it.Lol. Ya know something like that in an abandoned parking lot would be really fun. I'm gonna take a drive over there this weekend, as I'm only a couple miles west on 8 mile. I'll try and take pictures.
9/6/2007 - Randy
After looking more closely at that Dorais Bike track, with a little work, it could be an awesome go cart track (I mean for sanctioned racing), but again, the noise I am sure would be an issue...hmmm, unless they ran them on Saturday afternoon.

Well, just me thinkin outside the box!
9/5/2007 - Randy
The Dorais Velodrome (what it was named) here is a blurb from the site: Built in 1969, abandoned by the metro area's fledgling bike-racing scene in the 80s, reclaimed first as a car-racing hangout, now as a MADMAX-appropriate bike-racing track in 2005. But it is not apparently open or should I say operated by any owner or company from what I can tell.
9/4/2007 - Sean Fitzgerald
Were there any other speedways right there. I just had a very interesting goole earth moment. I saw what I assumed was an old high school track at outer drive and mound but on closer inspection it looks absolutely paved and like the used to be a grandstand there. Also sone very interesting over heads of the old go cart tracks on 8 mile near there. Check it out at google earth and type in eight mile and mound Detroit. be very interesting to check the sanborn maps to see what this was.
9/4/2007 - Randy
Neil...for that shot being 57 yrs old, it is awesome...what a great action shot!!!
8/8/2007 - Neil Hammack
Wish I could tell you. Sean. That picture is 57 years old. I went to the track a couple of times with a friend who has a car. Didn"t have my license yet Neil
8/8/2007 - Sean Fitzgerald
Who was driving,..er flying?
8/8/2007 - Neil Hammack
Just a short note regarding picture added 08-08-07. I took this photo in the summer of 1950. My camera was an old Brownie box camera. I was just plane lucky to get this shot.
11/10/2006 - Sean Fitzgerald
Just came from the Hudson Museum in Ypsilanti. They have trophies from the 50's for Sunset, Partington's and Motorcity. Plus gentleman who runs it says they used to have a small track on a farm in Ypsi off Huron Road which only ran a couple of summers.
8/17/2006 - Larry Bukowski
To answer Gene Macavey: Partington Speedway was on the west side of Ryan Road. The site is now occupied by St. Renes church and Grissom Jr. High School. The two pictures on this page had this written on the back. I had an early 50s topographic map that showed a race track on this site. Also, the city of Sterling Heights has a book on the history of the area, and this book has a plat map that shows a Partington as the owner of this plot of land.
4/24/2006 - Gene Macavey
Was Partingtons Pasture Speedway on the east side or west side of Ryan road?
2/4/2006 - Craig Williamson
My father Jack Williamson raced at pattington pasture for awhile before moving on to motor city speedway. He passed away a few years ago but would have loved this site.
7/18/2005 - Larry Preston
My father "Hod" Preston began his racing career here in the late 1930s. They raced Jalopies then. Fellows like Orrie Fuller, Claire Fuller were the cars builders. Others who had raced there were Glenn Rockie, Vern Ottmer. I think I have pictures my father gave me covering his career. I do remember sitting around the track which was at that time like a bowl. You looked down on racers.
6/16/2005 - Art Maki
I remember a drainage ditch across the track, we raced there 1 time and it was really rough, i cannot remember who owned the place, was it Partington ???. I remember a very small section of stands and Joy Fair raced there if I recall correctly. We were there in 1950 and it beleive it was only opened for 2 years. Tom Turkett drove the car for us at that time and the car number was 010.
 Photos:6
Partington Pasture Speedway - Rare Photo From Neil Hammack
Rare Photo From Neil Hammack
Partington Pasture Speedway - Jack Mckenzie Racing At Partington Pasture From Jim Rice
Jack Mckenzie Racing At Partington Pasture From Jim Rice
Partington Pasture Speedway - 1948 From Larry Bukowski
1948 From Larry Bukowski
Partington Pasture Speedway - 1948 From Larry Bukowski
1948 From Larry Bukowski
Partington Pasture Speedway - 1949 Aerial
1949 Aerial
Partington Pasture Speedway - 1951 Aerial Photo With Streets
1951 Aerial Photo With Streets
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