 Jonesville Speedway was a popular stock car dirt track in the mid-1940's and early 1950's. It was built by Jonesville's Jim and Jerry Boyd and associates. it was initially leased to Bill France Racing and later sold to a group of investors in the Jonesville, headed by Lila Swaim.
In its hey-day during the mid- and late-40's, the Speedway featured the most popular names in racing -- Bud Shuman, Red Byron, the Flock brothers (Tim, Fonty, Bob), Lee Petty, Buck Baker, Curtis Turner and Junior Johnson -- drawing thousands of weekend race fans to Jonesville. The Jonesville track also featured early women race drivers, led by Jonesville's Letha Jo Evans.
The track's demise was attributed to the new owners' decision NOT to join Bill France's NASCAR, established in 1947 ..... When local drivers also joined NASCAR, they could race only on sanctioned tracks.
The photos displayed below are the property of the Boyd family. Use of these photos is restricted to this site and a bicentennial book being published by the Jonesville Historical Society.
A full grandstand would mean that hillsides and trees would be full of spectators unable to afford the entrance fee ....
The date was the late-40's ... Until the decision not to join NASCAR, attendance was standing room only around the track.
|
An aerial view of an early race, most likely taken by the Morrison Brothers, a duo of photographers and pilots .... Fence signs had not been completed in these early photos. In it's hey-day, advertisers' signs (painted by Charlie Wolfe and his son Ralph) filled the fencing around the half-mile track. |
Drivers were not always associated with the same numbers from race to race during the early days .... Only when sponsor ads began to appear on cars did numbers become consistent .... |
A track-view from one of the first races at Jonesville Speedway. |
Pit crews didn't wear uniforms and didn't always remain in their assigned "pit" areas .... |
An early aerial view of the half-mile track during an early season race-day. A thick red cloud of dust would hover over the track on race day, settling on homes and vegetation for miles around the track. On a windy day, the dust would travel several miles .... |
Additional images are in the sidebar at Old Jonesville Day site.
|
