Altamont Speedway

Altamont Raceway Park was a motorsports race track located in Alameda County in Northern California between the towns of Tracy and Livermore. It first opened on July 22, 1966, and has variously operated under the names Altamont Speedway, Altamont Raceway, Altamont Motorsports Park, Altamont Raceway Park and Arena, and Bernal Memorial Raceway. The speedway closed in October 2008. The park is well known for its December 6, 1969, hosting of the notorious and ill-fated Altamont Free Concert, featuring Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and The Rolling Stones. Several people were beaten by members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, who were hired to provide security for the stage. During the Stones' set, a concert-goer, Meredith Hunter, was stabbed to death by a Hells Angels member in front of the stage as the band played. The killing was captured on film and appears in the famous 1970 documentary Gimme Shelter.