Track
Description (from track web site)
Portland
International Raceway is built on the former location of the World War
II city of Vanport, which was wiped out by a 1948 flood. The Army Corps
of Engineers sold the site to the City of Portland in 1960 and in 1961
the first Rose Cup races were held.
The
Portland Jaycees saw that the abandoned roads of Vanport had the
potential to become a road race course and convinced the Rose Festival
that they should sponsor a race during their annual celebration. The
first Rose Cup races were held in June of 1961, starting a tradition
that continues today. Soon after that first race both Go Kart and
Motorcycle enthusiasts started race programs of their own with Drag
Racers starting about four years later.
In
1965 the first drag races were held at PIR and the first Trans Am races
in 1972. In 1978 IMSA came to Portland with the first GTP sports car
race in the G.I. Joe's / Camel Gran Prix, followed in 1984 by CART with
Indy Cars in the Freightliner / G.I. Joe's 200.
By
1970 the old asphalt of Vanport was in such poor shape that some of the
sanctioning bodies would not sanction races at "West Delta
Park." Because the very popular Rose Cup Races were threatened, the
Rose Festival decided to do $100,000 worth of paving if the City would
pay them back out of revenues from the racing events held there. The
City accepted the offer feeling that the raceway would never be able to
make the final payment.
Newly
hired Racetrack Manager, Dale LaFollette, made the final payment on the
loan after only two and one half years. Since that day Portland
International Raceway has operated as an enterprise fund even though the
first ten years were spent in the General Fund. Revenue sources consist
of three major categories: rental, food concessions and advertising. PIR
prides itself on being the most "user friendly" racing
facility on the west coast with rates and charges 10% to 25% less than
other, similar facilities.
The
facility is owned and operated by the City of Portland through its
bureau of Parks and Recreation. The raceway is operated as an Enterprise
Fund, meaning that its operating expenses and capital improvements are
covered by the revenues that it generates, as the raceway receives no
general fund tax dollars. The raceway's varied, year round activities
bring between 30 and 40 million dollars into the surrounding community
each year.
