SHREVEPORT, La -- Auto racing is engrained in the sports culture of the United States. From Daytona Beach to Indianapolis, certain cities spring memories to life. For a time, Shreveport was a racing destination for gearheads around the South with the Louisiana State Fair Speedway.
The first race was an exhibition by Barney Oldfield in 1910, a one-year postponement after a rainout the year prior at the State Fair.
“For the first year, they (newspapers) say he drew about 15,000 people and the line of cars going out to the Fair extended from downtown Shreveport all the way out to the gates of the fairgrounds," Shreveport historian Ernie Roberson said. "Well, the next year when he came back, there were more cars and more people. They estimated the crowd at 20,000 people.”
Roberson said it was originally a horse racing track in the 1890s that was a mile long. It was changed to withstand auto-racing after the turn of the century.
The site featured races across various organizations, primarily with the International Motor Contest Association and the Pelican 200. The half-mile, dirt ovals at thousands of spectators in the grandstands that enjoyed the roar of the engine and exciting finishes.
“We saw (races) here in the spring and then they would come back during the time that we had the Fair, usually in October into November, and they would put on races here on the weekends and they were awesome," Roberson explained. "They drew so many people. It was hard to find a place to sit sometimes.”
“From the standpoint of them (IMCA) being a part of our community, it was like they were the NASCAR of their day, for dirt. But when NASCAR got started and NASCAR got on TV, then that changed the complexion of racing here,” he added.
In what’s now a parking lot, the venue’s lone NASCAR race came on June 7, 1953, in the Grand National Series. The 200-lap, 100-mile event saw hall of famer Lee Petty take the checked flag in a field of 19 drivers.
“Well, the amazing thing was that they had Lee Petty. They had about four of the regulars on NASCAR that showed up here to race because they knew they were going to have to race against Herschel Buchanan, who was from Shreveport and knew the track well, and also raced in NASCAR.
"For the fact that it was a June race - and, of course, it's kind of hot in June and you’re going to sit out there at the State Fair, except in parts of the grandstands – you’re going to get a lot of sun, but it was a good crowd for that particular race,” Roberson said.
Over the decades, the races continued in various circuits with the track eventually going from dirt to asphalt. Eventually, those races started to decrease with the last run taking place in the 1970s. While it was eventually demolished in 1989 for parking at the State Fair, for people like Roberson that saw races in person, the memories persist.
“Only every time I drive by," Roberson said with a laugh. "If I'm headed west, I always take a look to the right and I even said it the other day, that's where the grandstand was. I saw the greatest racing that you could see on a half-mile dirt [track]. And it made me a fan for life.”