| MAS | |
|---|---|
Racing image with driving directions |
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| Location | Bob Ward Township, Crittenden County, near West Memphis, Arkansas (LeHi, Arkansas) |
| Time zone | Central Standard Time (GMT UTC−06) |
| Capacity | 15,000 |
| Owner | Clarence Camp, Harold Woolridge and Nat Epstein |
| Operator | Clarence Camp, Harold Woolridge and Nat Epstein |
| Broke ground | 1953 |
| Opened | 1954 |
| Closed | 1957 |
| Major events | NASCAR Grand National Series |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Length | 2.414 km (1.500 mi) |
| Turns | 4 |
The Memphis-Arkansas Speedway was a dirt oval track located just west of West Memphis, Arkansas, USA in the community of LeHi.
This speedway would have a total distance spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km).[1] Its elevation is 200 feet above sea level and all races used the Central Time Zone.[1] While the track opened on October 7, 1954, it soon ran out of money.[1] Paving the track ended up having an expensive price tag of $100,000 ($780,308.42 in today's money) and the dirt surface was unmanageable after a certain amount of years.[1] As a result, the track was closed permanently in 1957 when it was sold to a local farmer [1] named Clayton Eubanks Sr.[2] who used the abandoned race track for catfish, rice, and soybeans for a number of years.[2] Sadly, the proposed Interstate that was being built near the abandoned rack track was not finished in time to save it.[2]
Richard Petty and his father Lee both remember the high banking that this race track had.[2] The dirt was used for the banking and two ponds were on opposite ends of the speedway.[2] In fact, Lee Petty would finish in third place at the 1954 Mid-South 250[3] and nineteenth place at the 1955 Mid-South 250.[4]
The NASCAR Grand National (now the Sprint Cup) Series would visit this track numerous times during the 1955 and 1956 Grand National seasons.[1] Clint McHugh from Iowa (who tumbled over a guard rail and into a lake 50 feet below the embankment at the age of 28)[2] and Cotton Priddy (from Louisville, Kentucky) are the two race car drivers who lost their lives on this allegedly dangerous race track.[5] Since the 1960s, the track was never used for its intended purpose of stock car racing.[5] At a race held on November 1954, twelve thousand fans would attend a race spanning 250 miles (400 km) where Buck Baker would end up winning the 1954 running of the Mid-South 250.[6]
Only two named races would be held in this racing venue: 1954 Mid-South 250 and the 1955 Mid-South 250.[7] The Ford Motor Company would earn two wins on this track followed by single race wins earned by Pontiac, Chrysler, and Oldsmobile.[7] Fonty Flock was the only winner on this track to start from the pole position.[7] The highest purse ever offered at this track was $14,250 ($111,193.95 in today's money).[8] Fifty-two cars were the most number of cars to compete on this track while twenty-eight cars was the smallest field for a race at this track.[7]
Other notable drivers who have gained experience racing here included: Chuck Stevenson, Tiny Lund, Bob Flock, and Ralph Moody.