As an Arkansan and nascar fanatic, this is a track that I love to talk about with anyone who'll listen. It's a piece of nascar history that imo should be talked about a lot more, thank you for covering it much better than I ever could!
Born in West Memphis in March of 62. Mom took me to Riverside Speedway at 2 weeks old to watch dad race. Never knew about the speedway at Lehi. Thanks for the history.
I’ve lived an hour away from this track my entire 59 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever heard of this NASCAR Track. I have however been going to Riverside International Speedway aka “The Ditch,” since I was a Teenager. Riverside is exactly 10.3 miles East of Memphis - Arkansas Track, on the same Highway 70/ Broadway St in West Memphis, Ar. Thanks for your video, and showing more History regarding NASCAR and Arkansas… 👍✌️
Thanks to you I was able to find it and label it on google maps. The Riverside International I remember as a kid was a legendary road course in California where we use to go watch the Can-Am cars race. Enjoy the races. Support your local everything. Stop the take over
Thanks for the video. I'm from the Memphis area and have attended many races at Riverside in West Memphis. I've seen pictures but never really seen any video from the place. It's neat for me because I'm sure my grandfather and dad were there. This track was the subject of one of the last conversations I ever had with my dad the day before he passed. You can still see the turns 3 and 4 embankment from I-40.
I'm from Canada and drive a truck. I always seem to be in the Memphis Nashville Little Rock area. Which town is this near on a map? Maybe one day if I'm accidentally in the area and I could find it.
@@dalebrooks304 The remains of the track are about 400 feet south of I-40, 1 mile west of Lehi, Arkansas. It's about 20 miles west of the Mississippi River outside Memphis, Tennessee.
Hi , Is there enough information on Westport Stadium in Baltimore, Md. to do a story about this racetrack? I believe it ran from the mid 50's to 1962 when it closed. It was a NASCAR track and they televised the feature race on I think WMAR channel 2. The track was actually built around a baseball field from the Negro Baseball League. I was about 12 years old and have never heard of another track like this one. Us kids would go to the local ESSO station and ask for free passes every Saturday morning before going to the movies. They had a sign in the front window advertising the races and found out that they would drop off passes to the track. Our fathers would take turns driving us over and picking us up after the races. A great memory! W. Lee
The only track I can think that's more dangerous than this, was the infamous Langhorne Speedway, Pennsylvania. Bobby Unser said of it: "that was the most dangerous track on earth, I can't imagine another track being so dangerous." Part of the problem with Langhorne Speedway was due to its layout, it was an almost perfectly circular dirt oval. As a result, drivers were constantly on the throttle, due to it being essentially one gigantic left hand turn. In its history, hosting both NASCAR and Indycar races, 18 drivers died at the track
@@LeonheartDelta the thing about Langhorne that caught his attention is that any mechanical failure or crash would (thanks to the high speed) inevitably result in a pile up into the outside wall. It kind of makes the Talladega Big One seem tame by comparison
I really appreciated this post as I was unaware of this part of racing history just across the river from where I live now. However, I think the stats comparing 2 deaths at this dirt track to other modern speedways is a bit misleading. Dirt tracks inherently are more dangerous in general to this day. Even at my original hometown dirt track in Paducah, KY at PIR we witnessed the unfortunate death of Jim Dunn in 1983. It was a firey and horrible thing to witness. Something that anyone at that track that sunday, including me, can never get out of our heads. I am not in any way rooting for dangerous or deadly race conditions, but dirt racing has been and always will be a huge part of the sport and is some of the most exciting racing you will ever see, and the fact there were only 2 deaths on this particular track seems like a number on the low side given its incredible size. Especially during the early days with little to no safety measures and on dirt. My heart goes out to all the families of the great warriors built for speed.
Ah yes, I remember reading about this track in a nascar book and I was shocked when I read about it. It was, and still is, the craziest dirt track ever
I've seen WWO winged sprints at Butler Michigan. 3/8 mile dirt, fairly high banked. The Number 1 most Spactacular and Fast race (per track size) of any kind I've ever seen. Those guys are extremely skilled. So at the Mphis track a reporter wouldn't be able to find the words.
maybe cover the history of langhorne speedway? i believe over 18 people died at the track alone and was one of the most dangerous tracks of all time. also it was basically just a dirt oval, literally.
Wow. I've run a few dirt tracks in my day, I can't imagine racing on a mile and a half dirt track.....but if it was near to where I use race and was running, most likely I would of gave it a try.
The next biggest dirt track was just at 1 mile with the also fast Dirt Occonechee/Orange Speedway, so the Memphis Arkansas Speedway having another 1/2 mile to the track is something when most Dirt tracks were under 3/4th a mile.
I actually have video footage of what the track looks like today... Its on my Facebook page there is also more detailed information that wasnt covered in the video
The first ever race there in 1954 actually ended up having two serious incidents. According to a local newspaper, the race was only two laps old when driver Richard Jones hit the guardrail and rolled "over and over", and on lap 90, drivers Leland Sewell and Herschel McGriff got together and sent Sewell flipping "about 20 feet in the air" and nearly taking out a couple track marshals.
One of the most horrendous things I have ever seen was the Geoff Bodine Camping World truck series crash where he was left in essentially nothing but a roll cage. Would you break it down for us?
I've been working on my own story on this track. I recently got to visit it and photograph it. The same family has owned it since the 60s. The grandstands were accidentally burned in 1966.
Not sure if it counts as a dark piece of history but I’ve always heard the rumor that Dale had cut or altered his seatbelt in the crash that took his life, was wondering if you could do a video on it and shed some light onto the rumor. Keep up the fantastic work, thanks!
I'm wondering though, in open wheel at the time it was seen as better to be ejected rather than get trapped in a burning car, seatbelts were optional. Was it the same in NASCAR at the time or not? Also I get why they coated it in dirt, and safety in the 50s across all orms of motorsport was an afterhthought, looking at it today, but at the time quite a lot of them were seen as brave and they took the risks and raced anyway
The first widespread safety upgrade was simply wrapping a leather belt around the driver's door pillar to keep it closed. Installing seatbelts came later.
@@mpf1947 That's what I thought, it was the comment about Tiny Lund's seatbelt that threw me off and had me wondering if seatbelts were in use at that time. That'd be around the same time as one of the Flock brothers and the pet monkey that was in the car as well. Early NASCAR was wild really.
@@jacekatalakis8316 Well, yeah, by the mid-50s lap belts, at least, would be fitted by most, if not all, drivers. The reason I mentioned the door thing is because you brought up the F1 fling theory, buy there's simply so small a chance of being flung from a fixed roof vehicle in such a way that you aren't in danger of being hit by a following car, that nobody wanted to try.
I’d never even heard of this big track. But I grew up in the bootheel and in the late sixties all through the seventies watched Hooker at Blytheville , Piggot , and Riverside. Sammy Swindel learned how to drive a Sprint car chasing the ass end of Hookers car. He was the best dirt track driver I ever saw. He deserved a bigger stage to show off his talents.
@@williamking6306 great memories..my dad would take my brother and i to blytheville back in the 60s and hooker hood was the king....we sure ate alot of mud...great times!!
@@larrywilliams7942 I was just a kid when dad dragged his Barracuda in the stock class. I do remember the first time they brought in the jet cars. We lived in the trailer park and when the jets fired up we looked like squirrels bouncing out of the trees directly behind the starting line!🤣 Ah the Lunati family. I remember they were into the Cart Racing with us at the Put-Put off of Summer Ave. I remember Joe touching his front tires to the back tires of two side by side carts and he was looking at nothing but blue skies for quite a while flying down the track on his back nerf.😳🤣
You know this may have actually been the biggest dirt track to ever be made in America, hell possibly the world, I mean I know of one mile dirt tracks out there but I cannot say I've ever heard of another dirt track any longer than a mile much less a mile and a half, I would be curious to know if it indeed is the longest dirt track to ever be constructed
I see all these tracks mentioned but never Nashville. Why doesn’t anyone talk about the big crash and fire the led to Nashville speedway being cut down and flattened out? When I was a kid there was a man that told me about it. He was in the pits.
Your title and first comment of "Memphis, Arkansas," is incorrect. Memphis is in Tennessee, not Arkansas. You correctly say it later as "West Memphis, Arkansas."
So Kansas City is in Missouri and Memphis racetrack is in Arkansas......as a non American I love your country but asking for directions to Miami would leave somewhere in a college town in Ohio.
Your getting some crazy view counts on nascar history vids man I didn't even see a Danica vid yet America loves Danica crashes and all the meow meow hiss hiss she did
In looking at these old films, I remember when a "stock" car ACTUALLY WAS STOCK not a carbon fiber shell over a race car. As soon as I discovered (in the 50s) the highest HP to wt. of all wheeled vehicles on road courses--FORMULA 1, I gave up watchibg a bunch of hillbillies iracing around in a circle.
As an Arkansan and nascar fanatic, this is a track that I love to talk about with anyone who'll listen. It's a piece of nascar history that imo should be talked about a lot more, thank you for covering it much better than I ever could!
I'll listen. Also an Arkansan.
@@loganlachance1890 me too and im not!
Me too, Tulsa, Ok
I'd love a more exact location if you know it.
Wow. Why did they allow it to operate with all that death?
What's amazing is the layout is still easily visible on Google Maps, and the banking is still very prevalent. Excellent video 👍🏻
5:25 “Death Wins”
Not gonna lie that’s a hardcore headline
yeah indeed it hits hard
Tells you how commonplace it was back then. Death went hand in hand with racing in that era.
As someone raised in Arkansas on NASCAR, I can't believe I'm just hearing about this track now. Thanks for the great video.
Born in West Memphis in March of 62. Mom took me to Riverside Speedway at 2 weeks old to watch dad race. Never knew about the speedway at Lehi. Thanks for the history.
I’ve lived an hour away from this track my entire 59 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever heard of this NASCAR Track. I have however been going to Riverside International Speedway aka “The Ditch,” since I was a Teenager. Riverside is exactly 10.3 miles East of Memphis - Arkansas Track, on the same Highway 70/ Broadway St in West Memphis, Ar.
Thanks for your video, and showing more History regarding NASCAR and Arkansas… 👍✌️
Thanks to you I was able to find it and label it on google maps. The Riverside International I remember as a kid was a legendary road course in California where we use to go watch the Can-Am cars race.
Enjoy the races. Support your local everything. Stop the take over
Riverside has potential if the owners didn’t ruin it but I think we should get the casino involved and rebuild this track
Great video. This track and Raleigh Speedway were about the most dangerous tracks back then. I'm glad to see this made. Great video
Born and raised in Raleigh, had no idea about the track until a few years ago..
What’s ironic about Raleigh is that the only part of the track you can still find is the place where the fatal crash occurred. Eerie stuff.
Thanks for the video. I'm from the Memphis area and have attended many races at Riverside in West Memphis. I've seen pictures but never really seen any video from the place. It's neat for me because I'm sure my grandfather and dad were there. This track was the subject of one of the last conversations I ever had with my dad the day before he passed. You can still see the turns 3 and 4 embankment from I-40.
I'm from Canada and drive a truck. I always seem to be in the Memphis Nashville Little Rock area. Which town is this near on a map? Maybe one day if I'm accidentally in the area and I could find it.
@@dalebrooks304
The remains of the track are about 400 feet south of I-40, 1 mile west of Lehi, Arkansas. It's about 20 miles west of the Mississippi River outside Memphis, Tennessee.
Mile marker 270
Hi , Is there enough information on Westport Stadium in Baltimore, Md. to do a story about this racetrack? I believe it ran from the mid 50's to 1962 when it closed. It was a NASCAR track
and they televised the feature race on I think WMAR channel 2. The track was actually built around a baseball field from the Negro Baseball League. I was about 12 years old and have never heard
of another track like this one. Us kids would go to the local ESSO station and ask for free passes every Saturday morning before going to the movies. They had a sign in the front window advertising the races and found out that they would drop off passes to the track. Our fathers would take turns driving us over and picking us up after the races. A great memory! W. Lee
Maaaan this has got to be my favorite types of videos. It combines 2 of my favorite things. NASCAR and Dark History. PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING
“The Track That Ate The Heroes”
Langehorn Speedway. Probably the most dangerous track in American motorsports
I knew about this track but I had no idea it was a 1.5 mile track, early nascar was wild
The only track I can think that's more dangerous than this, was the infamous Langhorne Speedway, Pennsylvania. Bobby Unser said of it: "that was the most dangerous track on earth, I can't imagine another track being so dangerous." Part of the problem with Langhorne Speedway was due to its layout, it was an almost perfectly circular dirt oval. As a result, drivers were constantly on the throttle, due to it being essentially one gigantic left hand turn. In its history, hosting both NASCAR and Indycar races, 18 drivers died at the track
Bobby Unser raced on Pikes Peak frequently, so the fact that he found Langhorne to be worse than that is enough to raise some eyebrows.
@@LeonheartDelta the thing about Langhorne that caught his attention is that any mechanical failure or crash would (thanks to the high speed) inevitably result in a pile up into the outside wall. It kind of makes the Talladega Big One seem tame by comparison
No fatalities from 1965-1971 after Langhorne was paved
@@russellcurrie6099 maybe not, but the faster speeds made drivers even more anxious about racing there
Watch dale jr’s lost speedways episode about Jungle Park in Indiana
Found out about this track literally yesterday on Nascar's subreddit. Awesome Video.
I flew over this place one time and was in awe of its size and how it’s still there, wish it survived.
The very mention of this track sends chills down my spine
I really appreciated this post as I was unaware of this part of racing history just across the river from where I live now. However, I think the stats comparing 2 deaths at this dirt track to other modern speedways is a bit misleading. Dirt tracks inherently are more dangerous in general to this day. Even at my original hometown dirt track in Paducah, KY at PIR we witnessed the unfortunate death of Jim Dunn in 1983. It was a firey and horrible thing to witness. Something that anyone at that track that sunday, including me, can never get out of our heads. I am not in any way rooting for dangerous or deadly race conditions, but dirt racing has been and always will be a huge part of the sport and is some of the most exciting racing you will ever see, and the fact there were only 2 deaths on this particular track seems like a number on the low side given its incredible size. Especially during the early days with little to no safety measures and on dirt. My heart goes out to all the families of the great warriors built for speed.
Ah yes, I remember reading about this track in a nascar book and I was shocked when I read about it. It was, and still is, the craziest dirt track ever
Just for curiosity sake, I wonder what a 2022 WOO spec winged sprint car would do on a virtual of this track.
I've seen WWO winged sprints at Butler Michigan. 3/8 mile dirt, fairly high banked. The Number 1 most Spactacular and Fast race (per track size) of any kind I've ever seen. Those guys are extremely skilled. So at the Mphis
track a reporter wouldn't be able to find the words.
maybe cover the history of langhorne speedway? i believe over 18 people died at the track alone and was one of the most dangerous tracks of all time. also it was basically just a dirt oval, literally.
Wow. I've run a few dirt tracks in my day, I can't imagine racing on a mile and a half dirt track.....but if it was near to where I use race and was running, most likely I would of gave it a try.
The next biggest dirt track was just at 1 mile with the also fast Dirt Occonechee/Orange Speedway, so the Memphis Arkansas Speedway having another 1/2 mile to the track is something when most Dirt tracks were under 3/4th a mile.
I grew up near there and never knew this story.
Great video! I would love, if you could make videos about Longhorne Speedway and Raleigh Speedway, two 1-mile-tracks from past.
I actually have video footage of what the track looks like today... Its on my Facebook page there is also more detailed information that wasnt covered in the video
The first ever race there in 1954 actually ended up having two serious incidents. According to a local newspaper, the race was only two laps old when driver Richard Jones hit the guardrail and rolled "over and over", and on lap 90, drivers Leland Sewell and Herschel McGriff got together and sent Sewell flipping "about 20 feet in the air" and nearly taking out a couple track marshals.
Who knew that a super speedway with very little grip would have some tragic results, it seems obvious, but cash is king
Just found it on the map. Pretty wild that the shape is still there.
One of the most horrendous things I have ever seen was the Geoff Bodine Camping World truck series crash where he was left in essentially nothing but a roll cage. Would you break it down for us?
I've been working on my own story on this track. I recently got to visit it and photograph it. The same family has owned it since the 60s. The grandstands were accidentally burned in 1966.
Thanks for a very interesting piece.
Not sure if it counts as a dark piece of history but I’ve always heard the rumor that Dale had cut or altered his seatbelt in the crash that took his life, was wondering if you could do a video on it and shed some light onto the rumor. Keep up the fantastic work, thanks!
Doesn't matter, the world still turns just fine.
@@gavinvalentino1313 what kinda dipshit response is that?
Great vid
First to like and comment! Didn't know this track even existed!
i can confirm he was first Haha also i didn’t know about this track either
....and we thought that modern NASCAR has some insane tracks
Lakewood speedway was pretty dangerous too. A one mile dirt track with a big lake on the inside
Now all we have is Riverside International Speedway near there. West Memphis, AR. Smaller, but still, a track.
I live here in Memphis and I didn't know that we used to have a big dirt track. They should do more and go back to using stock cars
This part of the country gets a lot of rain and that part of Arkansas is just across the bridge from Memphis which is the 3rd rainiest city in the USA
Do something about some of NASCAR's greatest survivors
I'm wondering though, in open wheel at the time it was seen as better to be ejected rather than get trapped in a burning car, seatbelts were optional. Was it the same in NASCAR at the time or not?
Also I get why they coated it in dirt, and safety in the 50s across all orms of motorsport was an afterhthought, looking at it today, but at the time quite a lot of them were seen as brave and they took the risks and raced anyway
The first widespread safety upgrade was simply wrapping a leather belt around the driver's door pillar to keep it closed. Installing seatbelts came later.
@@mpf1947 That's what I thought, it was the comment about Tiny Lund's seatbelt that threw me off and had me wondering if seatbelts were in use at that time. That'd be around the same time as one of the Flock brothers and the pet monkey that was in the car as well. Early NASCAR was wild really.
@@jacekatalakis8316 Well, yeah, by the mid-50s lap belts, at least, would be fitted by most, if not all, drivers.
The reason I mentioned the door thing is because you brought up the F1 fling theory, buy there's simply so small a chance of being flung from a fixed roof vehicle in such a way that you aren't in danger of being hit by a following car, that nobody wanted to try.
I'm in Arkansas. Never heard of this track. Interesting...
Interesting story. Never heard about this.
"Dark" and "Memphis" in the same title?
The irony is hilariously accurate, especially in 2022.
The "construction"pics are taken near Amsterdam, around the turn of the century..
I can remember going there as a kid .to c Hooker Hood out run everyone in a 6 cylinder. Some great races there.
I’d never even heard of this big track. But I grew up in the bootheel and in the late sixties all through the seventies watched Hooker at Blytheville , Piggot , and Riverside. Sammy Swindel learned how to drive a Sprint car chasing the ass end of Hookers car. He was the best dirt track driver I ever saw. He deserved a bigger stage to show off his talents.
@@williamking6306 great memories..my dad would take my brother and i to blytheville back in the 60s and hooker hood was the king....we sure ate alot of mud...great times!!
The Oswego speedway is a mile asphalt track that hosts "Super Dirt Week" every fall. They truck in clay.
Oswego NY is 5/8 mile oval with a 3/8 mile inner oval
Very interesting
I looked on Google Maps to see if it was abandoned or demolished. But it still up. What surface it is I can't tell.
Lakeland Tennessee Dragstrip/Bush Cup racing track.
Dale Browning was KING of carbs back in the day . Went to Lakeland with him many times. Lunati cams . I bet you remember
@@larrywilliams7942 I was just a kid when dad dragged his Barracuda in the stock class. I do remember the first time they brought in the jet cars. We lived in the trailer park and when the jets fired up we looked like squirrels bouncing out of the trees directly behind the starting line!🤣
Ah the Lunati family. I remember they were into the Cart Racing with us at the Put-Put off of Summer Ave. I remember Joe touching his front tires to the back tires of two side by side carts and he was looking at nothing but blue skies for quite a while flying down the track on his back nerf.😳🤣
You know this may have actually been the biggest dirt track to ever be made in America, hell possibly the world, I mean I know of one mile dirt tracks out there but I cannot say I've ever heard of another dirt track any longer than a mile much less a mile and a half, I would be curious to know if it indeed is the longest dirt track to ever be constructed
I see all these tracks mentioned but never Nashville.
Why doesn’t anyone talk about the big crash and fire the led to Nashville speedway being cut down and flattened out?
When I was a kid there was a man that told me about it. He was in the pits.
Tiny Lund came from my home town, Harlan Iowa.
Nice video I just learned about this.
Did you do Longhorne Speedway or Langhorne Speedway or whatever it's called
A number of the video clips are from Langhorne, PA.
Is this the same location of the Riverside Speedway? which is now open and running
Nazareth Speedway (1 1/8 mile) was dirt well into the late 80's....
I knew it was dirt in the 70s, never realized it wasn't paved until much later.
Can I suggest Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Va. Old track now fome to development.
Hershel is a legend in Oregon
Your title and first comment of "Memphis, Arkansas," is incorrect. Memphis is in Tennessee, not Arkansas. You correctly say it later as "West Memphis, Arkansas."
My truck terminal must have been close to this race track. I could hear the cars running, but I never found the track.
I knew Herschel MCgriff in Portland
Jacksonville speedway
NASCAR worst fatal injures and near fatal injures next
So homestead but covered in dirt?
It is posted. Owners will call police
Old school reality risks.
Do langhorne speedway
That’s one I have written down. I’ll definitely be looking at it soon!
Richard Petty...
So Kansas City is in Missouri and Memphis racetrack is in Arkansas......as a non American I love your country but asking for directions to Miami would leave somewhere in a college town in Ohio.
Your getting some crazy view counts on nascar history vids man I didn't even see a Danica vid yet America loves Danica crashes and all the meow meow hiss hiss she did
Dirt is for growing potatoes
Well..Nothing good happens in Memphis or even near it.
If you want to be safe, just stay home and let your cat!!!
People are pretty stupid - unless you are a farmer...
Once again, Capitalists show that they value Financial Profit over Human Life.
In looking at these old films, I remember when a "stock" car ACTUALLY WAS STOCK not a carbon fiber shell over a race car.
As soon as I discovered (in the 50s) the highest HP to wt. of all wheeled vehicles on road courses--FORMULA 1, I gave up watchibg a bunch of hillbillies iracing around in a circle.
Do Talladega
20
Great vid and Please do a NASCAR Timeline Series where it revisits all the news and best moments from each season from each decade