Rainbow Speedway

[DoubleZero]

I'm reading Jerry Bledsoe's '70's-era "The World's All Time Great Flat Out Stock Car Racing Book".........found it at Mrs. Tim Flock's booth at Occoneechee for $10.00. There's a chapter where the author goes for an early-day experience by taking in a dirt race at a track named "Rainbow Speedway" near Reidsville, NC. At the time, and according to Bledsoe, Rainbow was a Saturday night track that ran in conjuction with Friday-night-running "311 Speedway" near Madison, NC. I was not aware of Rainbow, or its promoter, Bobby Dunlap. But, at the time of this story, the track was reeling from the previous week's late model accident that cost the leg of driver, while in the pit area, and working on his car. The featured late models ('65 Chevelles) ran for $400.00. Anybody remember this one?

[mod90fan]

not the traCK BUT A great book. I really like the chapter on Wendell Scott. One of the few first hand accounts of his struggles and his lack of decent equipment. Good book and a must ebay buy for anyone into the vintage era.........

[311rebel]

remember going to rainbow speedway way back when..also remember going to a track near between stokesdale and summerfield n.c. diamond speedway i think it was..now thats old school.

[311rebel]

I'm reading Jerry Bledsoe's '70's-era "The World's All Time Great Flat Out Stock Car Racing Book".........found it at Mrs. Tim Flock's booth at Occoneechee for $10.00. There's a chapter where the author goes for an early-day experience by taking in a dirt race at a track named "Rainbow Speedway" near Reidsville, NC. At the time, and according to Bledsoe, Rainbow was a Saturday night track that ran in conjuction with Friday-night-running "311 Speedway" near Madison, NC. I was not aware of Rainbow, or its promoter, Bobby Dunlap. But, at the time of this story, the track was reeling from the previous week's late model accident that cost the leg of driver, while in the pit area, and working on his car. The featured late models ('65 Chevelles) ran for $400.00. Anybody remember this one?
bobby dunlap got 311 started.owned the county line grill there before u get to the track..dont think he had anything to do with rainbow:13Confused:

[Slim_Shady]

Yeah, I remember Rainbow and Diamond both. I don't remember 311 runnin' Friday nites tho. Think it was Altamahaw/Ossepee ACE Speedway on Fri , Diamond on Sat and 311 on Sun afternoon. That would have been about 67/68. The Justice brothers had Rainbow at one time (early 70s ?). Their ambulance was a van with some blankets in the back. I think that was Lynn Johnson that lost his leg .

[DoubleZero]

311 Rebel, It's all new to me, so all I know is Bledsoe's account, but he described Bobby Dunlap in pretty good detail. Rainbow had operated once before, and went out of business, and Dunlap had re-opened it. Also, Dunlap was described as having a small strip mall in town and a trailer park, and dedicated fan of Darlington's Southern 500.

Do you remember where was Rainbow located?

[Slim_Shady]

It was/is on Speedway Dr. off Bus 29 North of Reidsville. I think most of the track is still there

[camlobe]

Them tracks was before my time but Dad went to Rainbow, 311 and Diamond....my uncle had a late model (65 chevelle)....anybody know anything about stokesdale Diamond was on that road across from the rock quarry on 158. Atamhaw (ace) aka "the mud hole" was another one......

[DOCCALLAHAN]

It was lyn johnson that lost his leg he is my bro in law and is still working on race cars to this day he is living in tenn and crew cheifing a uara late model red justice was the one that hit him in the pits from an accident on the track that sent his car flying into the pits hitting lynn then after recovering some lynn built red a race car the next yr

[DoubleZero]

Yep, according to the story his name was Lynn Johnson, and Red Justice spun and jumped a dirt embankment that served as a pit wall. Lynn was pinned against his own race car. My dad and I raced many times at the old Leland (NC) Raceway and it TOO had a dirt embankment for the inside 'guard rail'. More than once I've seen cars flip over it and land in the pit area, sometimes on all-fours, sometimes not, LOL! Had to be brave, back in the day!

Jerry Bledsoe also goes on and on about a lady called 'sweet momma Sonja' or 'sonnie' for short. She and her husband, Clyde, ran a speed shop in Greensboro, and Sonnie was the only female allowed in Rainbow's pit area, much to the chagrin of the other ladies confined to the stands. Sonnie was also in charge of paying the drivers, writing checks, from a little building in the infield. Bledsoe captured the experience of a weekly dirt track pretty accurately, describing a protest or a 'pull' as they all called it. Great book!

I 'found' Rainbow on Google map-aerials, it's on business 29 South of Reidsville, at the end of Speedway Drive.

[DOCCALLAHAN]

Its still there but grown up badly and the owners dotn want anything to do with it either i know who still has it

[311rebel]

311 Rebel, It's all new to me, so all I know is Bledsoe's account, but he described Bobby Dunlap in pretty good detail. Rainbow had operated once before, and went out of business, and Dunlap had re-opened it. Also, Dunlap was described as having a small strip mall in town and a trailer park, and dedicated fan of Darlington's Southern 500.

Do you remember where was Rainbow located?
thanks doublezero.learn something new every day on here.knew about trailer park.its still there beside county line grill.but didnt know about rainbow.kinda young in them days anyway.but remember the races at the tracks.

[DoubleZero]

Y'all got my curiosity up..........so there was another track, in the Stokesdale area called "Diamond Speedway"? I Googled it and did get a response from a newspaper archieve site, but it required a membeship to actually read the article. This particular article was in the Burlington newspaper but I could not really determine the date, but it had a photo too, a #67 late model. I'd guess late '60's. Does anybody remember where Diamond was located?

[DOCCALLAHAN]

diamond was located just off hwy 158 not far from 220 n there is a concrete plant and a road beside it but im not sure of the name it was down that road

[DoubleZero]

There's what appears to be a rock quarry on the north side of 158, near the intersection of 220. The road beside the quarry is "Deepwell road" there's an oval-shaped region off to the side of this road, could that be it?

[DOCCALLAHAN]

yep thats it down beside the rock quarry

[camlobe]

Coming from 220 toward Stokesdale on 158 turn left on Flatrock Rd across the road from the church before you get to the asphalt plant on the left and the rock quarry on the right. The track was close to the end of the road.

[DoubleZero]

Aerial photo of Rainbow

[snowicee]

Wasn't Rainbow the track with the high wall in turn one? I kinda remember a car going up the wall and landing on the plateau where people parked and watched. Me and my dad used to go to Rainbow, 311 or the follow leader track Bowan Grey.

[dirtywhiteboy]

i dont remimber,...guess i wuz too young,...an i was in dippers last time thay took us to bowman gray.....hear ace is thinkin dirt,..da reidville /caswell folks will love that!!