Long after New Mexico's uranium boom faded, one enduring relic of that era still comes alive every Saturday night. Today known as Legacy Speedway, the 3/8-mile clay oval west of Milan has outlasted the industry that inspired its original name, preserving a tradition more than half a century old.
In the late 1960s, the small community of Milan, New Mexico, nestled along the historic Route 66 corridor near Grants, was booming with the energy of the Atomic Age. Dubbed the 'Uranium Capital of the World,' the Grants-Milan area emerged as one of the nation's most productive uranium districts. Mines and mills attracted workers from across the country, fueling economic growth and creating a demand for recreation and community in the rugged high desert.
The economic boom created more than jobs. It also gave residents the time, resources, and community spirit to build something lasting: a local dirt track.
The organization, originally known as Uranium Capital Speedway, traces its roots to an earlier dirt track east of Grants near Sakalares Road and old Route 66. Much of the speedway's early history has been preserved through the recollections of those who helped build the local racing community.
Although the organization dates to 1969, longtime participants credit George Baker with helping shape the speedway during its formative years after the move to its present location.
'The main man pushing to get a track built in the early '70s was George Baker,' Duck recalled.
Grants resident David Litton also remembers the original track and many of the people who made it special.
'I can remember when the track was east of Grants off old Route 66. It was in a gravel pit that I think belonged to the Wilsons'. Then it moved where it is now. I spent a lot of time working on Richard and Rick Stevenson cars in the '70s. There are the McCoys, the Taylors, the Hatons, the Bakers, David Small and many more. Had a great time there. They need to change the name back.'
Volunteers relocated the speedway approximately eight miles west to its present location near Milan. Early members of the racing community recall that the relocated track originally featured a tri-oval configuration and that the first grandstands and outside walls were constructed from surplus utility poles salvaged from a closed uranium mine. While the exact date of the track's reconfiguration remains uncertain, Legacy Speedway today is a 3/8-mile, highbanked clay oval sitting at an elevation of 6,519 feet above sea level.
By the end of the 1960s, volunteers had transformed a stretch of high desert into more than just a racetrack. On race nights, pickup trucks filled the parking area as miners came straight from their shifts, families settled into the wooden grandstands, and children hurried to the fence before the first green flag. Beneath the glow of the lights, the roar of stock cars echoed across the mesa, giving the community a place to gather, unwind, and cheer together.
As uranium mining declined over the following decades, many businesses and institutions disappeared with it. The speedway, however, endured.
In Part Two, we'll explore how a volunteerbuilt racetrack survived the collapse of New Mexico's uranium industry and how generations of racers, volunteers, and fans kept the tradition alive, transforming Uranium Capital Speedway into the Legacy Speedway we know today.