In the "anything goes" days of the 1950s, a disused reservoir on Cannock Chase was the perfect spot for a stock car track, and Hednesford Hills Raceway, as it would later become known, was born.
Several meetings took place in 1954 and 1955, but it was when Bill Morris took on the running of the stadium in 1962 that it's fortunes really took a turn for the better. Morris transformed the facilities, bringing in grandstands, the natural bowl creating an amphitheatre that race goers enjoyed.
Originally a loose surface, Morris laid asphalt in the late 60s possibly to aid a formula that he had a direct hand in creating, Hot Rods. Stock cars, hot rods and banger racing seemed to be the staple diet, with F1 meetings staged from 1962-1971 continuously.
The F1s returned in 1974, but with the focus on Hot Rods, Morris had updated the venue with a smooth and fast tarmac surface, and installed an unforgiving steel plate safety fence. The stock car drivers felt that such a solid fixture around the edge of the track would prove dangerous. Morris' only concession came with the phrase “Tell them I will give it a coat of rubber paint”. Neither side would budge an inch, and the F1s were dropped from the August 1976 meeting.
It would be 1988 before the F1 stock cars returned to Hednesford. By this time, Bill Morris had handed over control of the raceway to son Phil, and together with Mark Bond had some new ideas for the track. Together with Long Eaton promoter and stox magazine publisher Keith Barber, they announced that Hednesford would once again be running F1 stock cars from 1988, and would also be hosting the World Final. It turned out to be an epic race.
The 1991 and 1995 World Finals were also held there, and were also sensational races. But from the late 90s the meetings were becoming more sporadic, with just one or two meetings per season.
Andre Zang
