Wichita Fairgrounds Racetrack

Later Known as

West Side Racetrack

Later Known as

West Side Park

Later Known as

West Side Speedway

Two Blocks North of Douglas St. between Glenn St. and Vine St. at 1800 West Third St. in Wichita, Kansas

 

 

The Wichita Fairgrounds can be traced back to the 1880s.  At that time, it was bounded by what is now Second Street on the south, Glenn Street on the West, and the Big Arkansas River on the north and the east.  There was a half-mile dirt oval on the fairgrounds and that is where the first automobile races (not counting impromptu contests between just two vehicles) ever run in Wichita were contested:

 

            The next known auto races to be run on this half-mile dirt oval that were sanctioned by I.M.C.A.: 

 

            The next auto races to be run on the half-mile dirt oval were sanctioned by I.M.C.A. and promoted by Capt. Harvey Kennedy; Ernest Moross and his company, Moross Amusements:

 

            The next auto races to be run on the half-mile dirt oval were sanctioned by I.M.C.A. and promoted by Ralph Hankinson of Wichita, Kansas:

 

 

            The next known auto race to be competed there was an unsanctioned event organized by Merle Warren of Newton, Kansas and run on the afternoon of July 4, 1921.

            It is currently unknown if any auto races were run at this facility in the twenty years following that 1921 event.  As the city encroached on the fairgrounds property, the racetrack was shortened to 1/8 mile and moved to the west side of the shrinking property.  Softball fields were also added.  The racetrack was lengthened to a 1/5 mile oval in time for the races on June 15, 1941.  The facility was utilized seven days a week in the summers of 1941 and 1942 with softball games scheduled Monday through Saturday nights and Kansas Midget Racing (KMR) sanctioned midget auto races run on the racetrack owned by Frank Addis and promoted by Frank Murphy on Sunday nights beginning on May 25, 1941.  Over the next two years, drivers from five states would win feature races on this very competitive “bullring”:

 

 Sources: One Tough Circuit, Midget Racing in America’s Heartland by Bill Hill

Wichita Beacon newspaper

 

 

D. A. Clem won the points championship in 1941 while Guy “Mac” McHenry was the points champion in 1942 driving a car owned by Clem.

World War II put an end to the racing season across the nation after July 31, 1942 and the sport did not return to this little racing facility.  Today, only the softball complex known as the West Side Athletic Field remains.

 

1941 West Side Speedway Champion – D. A. Clem

Durwood Aloysius “D. A.” Clem (c1907-1956) at West Side Speedway in the earlier of his at least two front-wheel-drive midgets.  This one was powered by an Indian motorcycle engine and today is owned by Bob More of Junction City, Kansas.  The car is currently in pieces awaiting restoration - Louann (Chacon) Schodde collection

 

 

1942 West Side Speedway Champion – Guy “Mac” McHenry

D. A. Clem found himself too busy helping with the war effort in Wichita’s defense plants to defend his midget title in 1942 so Mac McHenry (1918-1964) drove D. A. Clem’s #13 midget to the championship for him that year.  McHenry is shown here parked in the pit area at West Side Speedway in the later of D. A. Clem’s two front-wheel-drive midgets.  This one was equipped with a Menasco engine – Cindy Abbott collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Durwood A. Clem

Durwood Clem

Durwood Aloysius Clem