Meadowdale – The Chicane

Inspecting the Monza Wall at Meadowdale Raceway during construction

Meadowdale Raceway may be gone but she remains a much loved and sorely missed track in the Midwest. Although the park that stands on her old bones has a few reminders of the greatness that once was, it’s comforting to look at these photos of Meadowdale under construction. They remind me that tracks may go but new ones can come as well.

Will these new tracks have the nail-biting danger of Meadowdale’s defining feature: the Monza wall? Probably not. Will they inspire such fear and respect that they prompt a timid racer or mischievous prankster to adorn the racing surface with a painted “PRAY” in enormous block text just before the entry to turn 1? Almost certainly not. Will they feature the tight turns and sweeping bends that made Meadowdale so tricky? Maybe. Will they drive racing enthusiasts to painstakingly recreate them a generation later for use in racing simulators? Well.. probably.

Inspecting the Monza Wall at Meadowdale Raceway

More inspiration at Chicagoland Sports Car Club’s Memories of Meadowdale Raceway.

Ricardo Rodriguez at Meadowdale

Imagine the nerves that a 17-year-old (!) Ricardo Rodriguez must have felt climbing into his Porsche RSK Spyder for round 3 of the USAC Road Racing Championship at Meadowdale Raceways on May 31, 1959. Imagine how you’d have felt at 17, waiting for the start of the race, thinking of the daunting nature of the track with it’s Monza-style banking and lack of runoff areas. Now realize that Ricardo probably didn’t feel any of that because he was Ricardo Rodriguez. Even after he rolled the Porsche near the silo turn, he attempted to enlist the help of corner workers to right the car so he could continue.

After practice Rodriguez had a small incident as well. The nose was replaced before the race.

The race report at Chicagoland Sports Car Club Memories sums up the performance of the then relatively unknown Mexican driver nicely.

“That young Mexican we mentioned was 17-year-old Ricardo Rodriguez of Mexico City. His astonishing ability as a driver had almost every one cheering him along as the David chasing the Goliath. Certainly all we had heard about this lad’s ability was founded on fact. He certainly proved it here at Meadowdale. It was unfortunate that he ‘lost it’ coming through a turn at the northeast corner of the track. While he flipped and completely rolled over in the car, he was able to crawl out from under with only minor bruises. Rodriguez was a comfortable second place and challenging the leader when he went out of the race.”
Chicagoland Sportscar Club Race Report