PINELLAS PARK - Steven Martin said he decided to race at Sunshine Speedway this year because it was going to close.
So when the Pinellas Park resident won Saturday night's mini stocks feature on the last night at the track that held races on Saturday nights for 45 years, he said, "This means everything. There's so much history here. It's a great feeling."
The standing-room crowd was estimated at more than 6,000. Fans began lining up at 3 p.m. At about 8, with the stands full, the gates were closed and people turned away.
"I wish I could have seen this crowd the last 10 years," Frank Hill said.
Hill ran the quarter-mile track with wife Bonnie, the daughter of Leo Musgrave, who built the facility and opened it on Jan. 23, 1960. The state paid $20-million for the 125-acre property that will eventually be used for a highway connecting Interstate 275 and the Bayside Bridge.
Musgrave died in 1983. His widow, Sibyl, now 86, retained ownership until the state's purchase. Sunshine Drag Strip and Sunshine Motocross, also on the property, plan to remain open at least two years while the state figures out how to pay for the project.
Martin, 39, said his father, Albert, worked at the track as a pit crew member in the "1960s and '70s." Martin said he used to play football under the stands as Albert worked.
"I wish my kids could grow up around something like this on Saturday nights," he said.
Frank and Bonnie Hill are glad that after 18 years running the track, they will get a rest.
"Hopefully, we'll see you soon," he told the crowd during intermission. "Maybe one day we'll be in your seat watching the races with you."
