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The Fairgrounds & Beyond: Auto Racing in the Ozarks

  • Writer: Michael Price
    Michael Price
  • 4 hours ago
  • 5 min read

Since 2021, Local History & Genealogy staff have been documenting the rich history of regional motorsports in the Fairgrounds & Beyond: Auto Racing in the Ozarks digital collection. This growing collection currently represents 420 drivers and 33 local tracks, from the Fairgrounds Speedway in Springfield to lesser-known tracks across the Ozarks. Recently added highlights include never-before-seen jalopy racing footage, scans from the Ozarks Area Racers Foundation's poster board exhibitions, and photographs capturing a neck-and-neck competition for the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship title.


Jalopy Racing at the Perry Smith Farm

Strict rationing curtailed auto racing during World War II, but the sport thrived in the post-war years as soldiers returned from military service and America entered a period of prosperity. Jalopy racing was one of the most popular forms of motorsport in those days, with drivers converting pre-war cars into racing machines and taking them to makeshift tracks to test their creations.


A newspaper advertisement for a jalopy race at the Perry Smith Farm. Text reads: "Automobile (jalopy) race. Sunday and Monday 2 P. M.. 40 Thrills a Minute. Perry Smith Farm. Rogersville Highway.
An advertisement for a jalopy race at the Perry Smith Farm. From the September 1, 1946 issue of the Sunday News and Leader.

In Springfield, jalopy racers gathered at the Perry Smith Farm—now the location of Highland Springs Golf Course—and drove on a rugged course that wound through rough terrain. The track did not last long, and only a few photos of the racing there survive.


A scan of a poster board featuring two photographs of a 1940s race at the Perry Smith Farm. In the photos, jalopies speed past seated audience members on a dirt track in a rural setting. Text in printed caption reads: Perry Smith Farm --- This track was located at the present day site of Highland Springs Golf Course east of Springfield. The race course ran around trees and through small creeks and mud holes. This track ran just prior to McCracken's Field.
Two photographs of a 1940s race at the Perry Smith Farm. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.
A black and white photograph of a jalopy race at the Perry Smith Farm. Pre-war vehicles kick up dust as they drive up an incline in a rural setting. Crowds of onlookers stand near the dirt track.
Drivers kick up dust during a race at the Perry Smith Farm. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.
A black and white photograph of racer Si Whitney driving a jalopy in a race at the Perry Smith Farm. He drives on a dirt track in a rural setting.
Si Whitney drives his jalopy during a race at the Perry Smith Farm. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.

Fortunately, a patron generously shared a collection of 8mm film with the Library that includes a brief glimpse of racing at the Perry Smith Farm. It is likely the earliest footage of auto racing in the Ozarks, and it is presented to the public for the first time in this article.


Rare footage of jalopy racing at the Perry Smith Farm in 1946. From the David Sifford collection.

Decades on Display

Each year, the Ozarks Area Racers Foundation hosts a reunion and Hall of Fame ceremony, giving the local racing community an opportunity to honor the sport's heritage. A popular feature of the reunion is an exhibition of large poster boards filled with photographs and documents spanning decades of Ozarks racing. For many fans, the boards are a place to share memories with old and new friends, and they contain many images unavailable anywhere else.


An exhibition of poster boards on display featuring photographs and ephemera from Ozarks racing history.
A portion of the poster boards on display at the 2014 Ozarks Area Racers Reunion. Photograph by Michael Price, 2014.

The Racers Foundation generously shared the poster boards with Library staff, who scanned each panel and then cropped and published relevant images. While this project is ongoing, almost 400 images from this important collection are now available to view in the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection.


A black and white photograph of racer Bill Chandler in his race car. The car is parked in front of a grandstand and is on a dirt track at the Fairgrounds Speedway.
A 1950s portrait of Bill Chandler in his race car. Chandler is parked in front of the original grandstand at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Springfield, Missouri. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.
Racers in cars of various colors complete a pace lap before the start of a race at the Fairgrounds Speedway. Spectators can be seen in the stands and in the infield.
Drivers complete the pace lap before the start of a modified race at the Fairgrounds Speedway in August 1985. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.
Spectators watch racers go around the dirt track at I-44 Speedway in Lebanon, Missouri.
Spectators take in a race at I-44 Speedway in Lebanon, Missouri in this 1980s photograph. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.
Driver Glen Mooneyham sits in the drivers seat of his race car with a sign that reads "Sportsman Feature Winner I-44 Speedway. Lebanon, Mo." The livery on Mooneyham's car reads "Rogersville Brake Service."
Driver Glen Mooneyham poses in his car after winning a Sportsman Feature at I-44 Speedway in Lebanon, Missouri. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.
Two red race cars driven by Roger Arnhart and Jerry McCall respectively approach the checkered flag at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Springfield, Missouri. A few dozen people are seated in the grandstand.
Roger Arnhart, #270, and Jerry McCall, #97, approach the checkered flag at Springfield's Fairgrounds Speedway in this 1970s photograph. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.

Sparks on Lap 45

On August 29, 1976, Springfield's Fairgrounds Speedway hosted the Missouri State Asphalt Championship. Track photographer Dennis Slane captured the race in a series of images that still tell its story today.


Drivers race in the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship at Springfield's Fairgrounds Speedway. Larry Ball narrowly leads Rusty Wallace and Dave Williams.
Drivers compete in the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship at Springfield's Fairgrounds Speedway. Larry Ball, #3, leads Rusty Wallace, #66, and Dave Williams, #80. Photograph by Dennis Slane. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.

The lineup of racers included Freddy Fryar from Chattanooga, Tennessee; Don Gregory from Columbus, Ohio; Dave Watson from Milton, Wisconsin; and Rusty Wallace from St. Louis, who would go on to become a NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion. They were joined by local drivers David Goldsberry, Terry Brumley, Larry Ball, Wayne Woody, and Larry Phillips.


Freddy Fryar poses with a trophy in victory lane after winning the trophy dash of the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship. An unidentified woman presents Fryar with the trophy while flagman Bill Crooks holds the checkered flag.
Freddy Fryar poses in victory lane after winning the trophy dash during the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship at Fairgrounds Speedway. An unidentified woman presents Fryar with his trophy while flagman Bill Crooks holds the checkered flag. Photograph by Dennis Slane. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.

Freddy Fryar won the preliminary trophy dash, but the 100-lap feature race was dominated by two drivers who had recently won other state championships: Dave Watson, the reigning Oregon champion, and Larry Phillips, who had just won the Arkansas championship in Fort Smith the night before.


Drivers Dave Watson and Larry Phillips pass by the grandstand in their race cars during the pace lap of the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship.
Drivers Dave Watson, #73, and Larry Phillips, #75, pass in front of the grandstand during the pace lap of the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship at Springfield's Fairgrounds Speedway. Photograph by Dennis Slane. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.

Phillips and Watson traded the lead three times before Phillips lost a right rear wheel on lap 45.


Dave Watson leads Larry Phillips in the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Springfield.
Dave Watson, #73, leads Larry Phillips, #75, in the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Springfield. Photograph by Dennis Slane. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.
Larry Phillips pulls ahead of Dave Watson during the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Springfield.
Larry Phillips, #75, pulls ahead of Dave Watson, #73, in the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Springfield. Photograph by Dennis Slane. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.
Sparks fly from Larry Phillips' car after he loses his rear right tire during the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Springfield.
Sparks fly after Larry Phillips loses his rear right tire—and the lead—during the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Springfield. Photograph by Dennis Slane. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.

With his closest competitor out of the race, Dave Watson drove to victory. Slane's photographs captured the close racing that ended with Watson in victory lane, along with a striking shot of Phillips' right rear wheel dragging the track and a close-up of the damaged car.


A close-up of the damaged right rear wheel well of Larry Phillips' race car after the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship. The tire is completely gone and there is substantial damage to the rear of the car.
The damaged right rear wheel well of Larry Phillips' race car after the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Springfield. Photograph by Dennis Slane. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.
Dave Watson receives the trophy for the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship from an unidentified woman while flagman Bill Crooks holds the checkered flag.
Dave Watson receives the trophy for the 1976 Missouri State Asphalt Championship from an unidentified woman while flagman Bill Crooks holds the checkered flag. Photograph by Dennis Slane. From the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection, Springfield-Greene County Library.

Explore the Collection

Whether you're a longtime fan or just want to learn about this thrilling piece of Ozarks history, there is much more to discover in the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection. You can browse the whole collection or filter images by track or driver—a useful feature for following drivers who enjoyed long careers or competed at multiple tracks.


The material in the Fairgrounds & Beyond collection was graciously shared with the Springfield-Greene County Library by former drivers, photographers, promoters, and fans. The generous cooperation of the Ozarks Area Racers Foundation has been invaluable in helping the Library preserve and present this important piece of Ozarks history.



If you enjoyed this article, please consider making a donation to the Preserving Ozarks History Endowment. Each contribution supports Local History & Genealogy's mission of preserving the history and culture of the Ozarks.



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