River, the track soon adapted the nickname of "The Swamp". Throughout the 1970's, the raceway primarily held regional drag racing events. However, entering the early 1980's, the interest of adding a road racing circuit to the grounds began to mount, and in 1985 a road course was constructed by then-owner Jody Trover, featuring and configurations. The asphalt circuit had a track width, 55 pit boxes within the pit lane, and could officially hold 52,000 spectators. Parts of the existing drag strip were incorporated into the road course build. Coming into Turn 4 was a slight left-hander onto the drag strip's shutdown portion, and after snaking around the back half of the dragway, Turn 12 turned left onto the drag strip back towards the starting line to complete the lap. The course would welcome ARCA, IMSA, and the Trans-Am Series in its inaugural year. Also in 1985, a 1/20-mile quarter midget dirt track was established at the back right corner of the property when pulling into the facility. In 1994, Chris Pook, promoter of the Grand Prix of Long Beach, acquired the facility for $21.5 million. The existing tracks were demolished over the course of 1995–1996 and a new oval speedway and drag strip were constructed at a cost of $25 million. Current Tracks The oval is a favorite for many fans and racers alike due to the unique shape and different degrees of banking in each corner. The backstretch is confined to run parallel with Illinois Route 203, making Turns 1 & 2 a tighter radius than Turns 3 & 4. Turns 1 & 2 have similar characteristics to New Hampshire Motor Speedway while Turns 3 & 4 are similar to Phoenix Raceway. The track's egg shape mimics the legendary Darlington Raceway and Mobility Resort Motegi race tracks. The infield of the oval track includes a road course that features a configuration. Race Lap Records The fastest official race lap records at World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly St. Louis International Raceway) are listed as: Timeline of Notable Events On June 24 and June 25, 1972, Evel Knievel made a stop at the then-named St. Louis International Raceway for two motorcycle jumps. Arriving via his private plane that used the drag strip as a runway, he successfully jumped his Harley-Davidson XR-750 over 10 cars on both days. One of the last major events held on the original road course was Round