The open-cockpitted, seat belt-less wagons hearken back to an era when safety was an afterthought, and bust 'em up, grind 'em out racing was the main event. Click Here. I remember one drunk bought my brother a case of snow cones. Log In. Jungle Park Speedway Community See All. Not bleachers. Founded in 1926 by Earl Padgett, the track was a 1/2 mile circular shaped sprint car track situated on the banks of Sugar Creek near Turkey Run State Park in Parke County, Indiana. Later on in life the track surface was replaced with a oil soaked gravel mixture that was compacted, this eliminated the dust problems.
Some fans sat in the grandstand, but many more sat on a hill off the fourth turn or in the infield. This thing was man-made. This entry was posted on Friday, May 6th, 2011 at 12:59 PM and tagged with, MAO Inc, and Company: Minneapolis, MN;
People brought more than a dozen old race cars. Auto racing was in its infancy. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Earl purchased the property near Turkey Run State Park. "Jungle Park got a reputation for being a very treacherous place," said Dick Jordan, longtime publicity director for the United States Auto Club, who remembers very clearly being at Jungle Park on Sept. 28, 1952. Jack Shanklin, 86, Camby, one of the last people still alive to have driven a race car at Jungle Park. The half-mile Jungle Park Speedway in Parke County, Indiana, was "one of the premier speedways in the Midwest" when it opened in 1926, IndyStar reporter Will Higgins wrote in a 2016 story. He was 6. Racing ended here in the early 1960's. The other day in the grandstand a black buzzard, startled by the rare presence of people, clumped quickly and noisily along one of the aisles for about 20 yards then flew away into the woods. Follow him on Twitter @WillRHiggins. Not Now. Email IndyStar reporter Sarah Bahr at sbahr@gannett.com. Jungle Park is in Indiana near Turkey Run State Park, which itself is worth a hike-through. Pete Alberts in the O'Day Special Offy at Jungle Park Speedway, 1938. 8449 N US Highway 41 (523.26 mi) Bloomingdale, IN 47832 . Robson won the 1946 Indy 500 then was killed three months later in Atlanta. "The front end of the car bounced high into the air," IndyStar reported, "and came down through the fence and into the crowd.". Time zone: EST/EDT (-0500/-0400), Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. I went over the bank. Community See all.
Our first track was the remains of the Historic Jungle Park Speedway, which ran (off & on) from 1926 to 1960, with its peak being in the 1930’s & 40’s.
There were some tracks down in Georgia that were bad, but Jungle Park — it had trees in the way. A time-capsule track stands near Turkey Run State Park in Parke County. 2,087 people like this. In places, if you stab at the grass with the heel of your boot, you quickly reach the racing surface: in the early days dirt, and later a rough hewn combination of gravel and oil. Jungle Park racing in Parke County Indiana, original 1940's film footage. By icefogger. Two signs of the times: The spectator was identified in IndyStar only as "Mrs. Charles Kiger," and just one paragraph was devoted to her death, the third paragraph in a story chiefly about the day's racing results (headline: "Bauman is first in three races"). Others gathered in the wooded hills outside the grounds and caught glimpses for free. Forgot account? I roadtripped out east with Tom & Larry to camp out at some state parks and take in a couple of sprint car races. They operated a canoe livery there for decades. "In 1955," Hunter said, "I ran 50 some race tracks all over the United States, and Jungle Park was the worst track I was ever in. US 41 "It was rowdy and crowded," said Robert Dicks, 72, a lifelong racing enthusiast. But this ridge is too perfect, the bend too uniform. And there also was a restaurant made to look like a windmill, which remains today but is empty. So we're standing at the fence watching the race, and there's a drunk sticking a firecracker in a guy's shoe. Jungle Park Speedway was a half mile high banked dirt oval with a 1/4 mile oval on its infield. Create New Account. It seems to follow a ridge, a bowl-shaped ridge. Eight Jungle Park drivers went on to win the Indianapolis 500, including Wilbur … 2,015 people like this. "I turned over between Turns 3 and 4 during qualifying," Shanklin said. Explore the past of the abandoned Rose Island Amusement Park, New owners plan to demolish Caribbean Cove, build new 7-story hotel, IndyStar reporter Will Higgins wrote in a 2016 story, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Jungle Park Speedway, a half-mile oval with a quarter-mile oval in its infield, was one of the premier speedways in the Midwest in the early 20th century. The state park's visitors would guarantee no shortages on attendance to Jungle Park. Except that if you spend a moment looking at the grassy field, not closely but broadly, you begin to get the picture: It's not so much a field as a corridor, and the corridor bends. It reopened September 23rd, 1945 and ran until about 1957. Though the track closed in the 1960s, auto devotees still occasionally stage reunions there to admire vintage cars and drive around the track. In October 1960 the old track took one last breath. This nothingness in the woods was a race track. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. Nature has been reclaiming the grounds ever since. All rights reserved. Call IndyStar reporter Will Higgins at 317-444-6043. Several former drivers will make appearances, according to the Facebook announcement: Bill Vukovich Jr., the 1968 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year; Johnny Parsons Jr., the son of 1950 Indianapolis 500 winner Johnnie Parsons and a former 500 driver himself (his best finish was fifth in 1977 and 1985); Tom Bigelow, the midget car dynamo of the '70s and '80s; and Kody Swanson, the current United States Auto Club Silver Crown points leader. The high-banked turns meant high speeds. A midget car race was staged on the quarter-mile dirt track. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Create New Account. The Chaplains no longer are in the canoe business. I remember the drinking was heavy. "They didn't even have a stopwatch. New: 2006-02-11 I roadtripped out east with Tom & Larry to camp out at some state parks and take in a couple of sprint car races. 5 out of 5 stars. "It's a historical type site," Monte Chaplain said, "and it's extremely beautiful, and I'm along the lines of just preserving it.". Three more drivers would die at Jungle Park over the next two years, including Edward Leeper, whose car, IndyStar reported, "left the track and threw Leeper against a tree, crushing his skull.". Race track in Bloomingdale, Indiana. Shanklin was 20 and racing under the name Bill Ewbanks because his parents would have stopped him had they known. Jungle Park Speedway, a half-mile oval with a quarter-mile oval in its infield, was one of the premier speedways in the Midwest in the early 20th century. The car also ran at Jungle Park... George Robson at Jungle Park in 1941. "I hate to think that's the case, but there's something to that.". But the reclamation is not yet complete.
The open-cockpitted, seat belt-less wagons hearken back to an era when safety was an afterthought, and bust 'em up, grind 'em out racing was the main event. Click Here. I remember one drunk bought my brother a case of snow cones. Log In. Jungle Park Speedway Community See All. Not bleachers. Founded in 1926 by Earl Padgett, the track was a 1/2 mile circular shaped sprint car track situated on the banks of Sugar Creek near Turkey Run State Park in Parke County, Indiana. Later on in life the track surface was replaced with a oil soaked gravel mixture that was compacted, this eliminated the dust problems.
Some fans sat in the grandstand, but many more sat on a hill off the fourth turn or in the infield. This thing was man-made. This entry was posted on Friday, May 6th, 2011 at 12:59 PM and tagged with, MAO Inc, and Company: Minneapolis, MN;
People brought more than a dozen old race cars. Auto racing was in its infancy. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Earl purchased the property near Turkey Run State Park. "Jungle Park got a reputation for being a very treacherous place," said Dick Jordan, longtime publicity director for the United States Auto Club, who remembers very clearly being at Jungle Park on Sept. 28, 1952. Jack Shanklin, 86, Camby, one of the last people still alive to have driven a race car at Jungle Park. The half-mile Jungle Park Speedway in Parke County, Indiana, was "one of the premier speedways in the Midwest" when it opened in 1926, IndyStar reporter Will Higgins wrote in a 2016 story. He was 6. Racing ended here in the early 1960's. The other day in the grandstand a black buzzard, startled by the rare presence of people, clumped quickly and noisily along one of the aisles for about 20 yards then flew away into the woods. Follow him on Twitter @WillRHiggins. Not Now. Email IndyStar reporter Sarah Bahr at sbahr@gannett.com. Jungle Park is in Indiana near Turkey Run State Park, which itself is worth a hike-through. Pete Alberts in the O'Day Special Offy at Jungle Park Speedway, 1938. 8449 N US Highway 41 (523.26 mi) Bloomingdale, IN 47832 . Robson won the 1946 Indy 500 then was killed three months later in Atlanta. "The front end of the car bounced high into the air," IndyStar reported, "and came down through the fence and into the crowd.". Time zone: EST/EDT (-0500/-0400), Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. I went over the bank. Community See all.
Our first track was the remains of the Historic Jungle Park Speedway, which ran (off & on) from 1926 to 1960, with its peak being in the 1930’s & 40’s.
There were some tracks down in Georgia that were bad, but Jungle Park — it had trees in the way. A time-capsule track stands near Turkey Run State Park in Parke County. 2,087 people like this. In places, if you stab at the grass with the heel of your boot, you quickly reach the racing surface: in the early days dirt, and later a rough hewn combination of gravel and oil. Jungle Park racing in Parke County Indiana, original 1940's film footage. By icefogger. Two signs of the times: The spectator was identified in IndyStar only as "Mrs. Charles Kiger," and just one paragraph was devoted to her death, the third paragraph in a story chiefly about the day's racing results (headline: "Bauman is first in three races"). Others gathered in the wooded hills outside the grounds and caught glimpses for free. Forgot account? I roadtripped out east with Tom & Larry to camp out at some state parks and take in a couple of sprint car races. They operated a canoe livery there for decades. "In 1955," Hunter said, "I ran 50 some race tracks all over the United States, and Jungle Park was the worst track I was ever in. US 41 "It was rowdy and crowded," said Robert Dicks, 72, a lifelong racing enthusiast. But this ridge is too perfect, the bend too uniform. And there also was a restaurant made to look like a windmill, which remains today but is empty. So we're standing at the fence watching the race, and there's a drunk sticking a firecracker in a guy's shoe. Jungle Park Speedway was a half mile high banked dirt oval with a 1/4 mile oval on its infield. Create New Account. It seems to follow a ridge, a bowl-shaped ridge. Eight Jungle Park drivers went on to win the Indianapolis 500, including Wilbur … 2,015 people like this. "I turned over between Turns 3 and 4 during qualifying," Shanklin said. Explore the past of the abandoned Rose Island Amusement Park, New owners plan to demolish Caribbean Cove, build new 7-story hotel, IndyStar reporter Will Higgins wrote in a 2016 story, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Jungle Park Speedway, a half-mile oval with a quarter-mile oval in its infield, was one of the premier speedways in the Midwest in the early 20th century. The state park's visitors would guarantee no shortages on attendance to Jungle Park. Except that if you spend a moment looking at the grassy field, not closely but broadly, you begin to get the picture: It's not so much a field as a corridor, and the corridor bends. It reopened September 23rd, 1945 and ran until about 1957. Though the track closed in the 1960s, auto devotees still occasionally stage reunions there to admire vintage cars and drive around the track. In October 1960 the old track took one last breath. This nothingness in the woods was a race track. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. Nature has been reclaiming the grounds ever since. All rights reserved. Call IndyStar reporter Will Higgins at 317-444-6043. Several former drivers will make appearances, according to the Facebook announcement: Bill Vukovich Jr., the 1968 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year; Johnny Parsons Jr., the son of 1950 Indianapolis 500 winner Johnnie Parsons and a former 500 driver himself (his best finish was fifth in 1977 and 1985); Tom Bigelow, the midget car dynamo of the '70s and '80s; and Kody Swanson, the current United States Auto Club Silver Crown points leader. The high-banked turns meant high speeds. A midget car race was staged on the quarter-mile dirt track. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Create New Account. The Chaplains no longer are in the canoe business. I remember the drinking was heavy. "They didn't even have a stopwatch. New: 2006-02-11 I roadtripped out east with Tom & Larry to camp out at some state parks and take in a couple of sprint car races. 5 out of 5 stars. "It's a historical type site," Monte Chaplain said, "and it's extremely beautiful, and I'm along the lines of just preserving it.". Three more drivers would die at Jungle Park over the next two years, including Edward Leeper, whose car, IndyStar reported, "left the track and threw Leeper against a tree, crushing his skull.". Race track in Bloomingdale, Indiana. Shanklin was 20 and racing under the name Bill Ewbanks because his parents would have stopped him had they known. Jungle Park Speedway, a half-mile oval with a quarter-mile oval in its infield, was one of the premier speedways in the Midwest in the early 20th century. The car also ran at Jungle Park... George Robson at Jungle Park in 1941. "I hate to think that's the case, but there's something to that.". But the reclamation is not yet complete.
The open-cockpitted, seat belt-less wagons hearken back to an era when safety was an afterthought, and bust 'em up, grind 'em out racing was the main event. Click Here. I remember one drunk bought my brother a case of snow cones. Log In. Jungle Park Speedway Community See All. Not bleachers. Founded in 1926 by Earl Padgett, the track was a 1/2 mile circular shaped sprint car track situated on the banks of Sugar Creek near Turkey Run State Park in Parke County, Indiana. Later on in life the track surface was replaced with a oil soaked gravel mixture that was compacted, this eliminated the dust problems.
Some fans sat in the grandstand, but many more sat on a hill off the fourth turn or in the infield. This thing was man-made. This entry was posted on Friday, May 6th, 2011 at 12:59 PM and tagged with, MAO Inc, and Company: Minneapolis, MN;
People brought more than a dozen old race cars. Auto racing was in its infancy. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Earl purchased the property near Turkey Run State Park. "Jungle Park got a reputation for being a very treacherous place," said Dick Jordan, longtime publicity director for the United States Auto Club, who remembers very clearly being at Jungle Park on Sept. 28, 1952. Jack Shanklin, 86, Camby, one of the last people still alive to have driven a race car at Jungle Park. The half-mile Jungle Park Speedway in Parke County, Indiana, was "one of the premier speedways in the Midwest" when it opened in 1926, IndyStar reporter Will Higgins wrote in a 2016 story. He was 6. Racing ended here in the early 1960's. The other day in the grandstand a black buzzard, startled by the rare presence of people, clumped quickly and noisily along one of the aisles for about 20 yards then flew away into the woods. Follow him on Twitter @WillRHiggins. Not Now. Email IndyStar reporter Sarah Bahr at sbahr@gannett.com. Jungle Park is in Indiana near Turkey Run State Park, which itself is worth a hike-through. Pete Alberts in the O'Day Special Offy at Jungle Park Speedway, 1938. 8449 N US Highway 41 (523.26 mi) Bloomingdale, IN 47832 . Robson won the 1946 Indy 500 then was killed three months later in Atlanta. "The front end of the car bounced high into the air," IndyStar reported, "and came down through the fence and into the crowd.". Time zone: EST/EDT (-0500/-0400), Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. I went over the bank. Community See all.
Our first track was the remains of the Historic Jungle Park Speedway, which ran (off & on) from 1926 to 1960, with its peak being in the 1930’s & 40’s.
There were some tracks down in Georgia that were bad, but Jungle Park — it had trees in the way. A time-capsule track stands near Turkey Run State Park in Parke County. 2,087 people like this. In places, if you stab at the grass with the heel of your boot, you quickly reach the racing surface: in the early days dirt, and later a rough hewn combination of gravel and oil. Jungle Park racing in Parke County Indiana, original 1940's film footage. By icefogger. Two signs of the times: The spectator was identified in IndyStar only as "Mrs. Charles Kiger," and just one paragraph was devoted to her death, the third paragraph in a story chiefly about the day's racing results (headline: "Bauman is first in three races"). Others gathered in the wooded hills outside the grounds and caught glimpses for free. Forgot account? I roadtripped out east with Tom & Larry to camp out at some state parks and take in a couple of sprint car races. They operated a canoe livery there for decades. "In 1955," Hunter said, "I ran 50 some race tracks all over the United States, and Jungle Park was the worst track I was ever in. US 41 "It was rowdy and crowded," said Robert Dicks, 72, a lifelong racing enthusiast. But this ridge is too perfect, the bend too uniform. And there also was a restaurant made to look like a windmill, which remains today but is empty. So we're standing at the fence watching the race, and there's a drunk sticking a firecracker in a guy's shoe. Jungle Park Speedway was a half mile high banked dirt oval with a 1/4 mile oval on its infield. Create New Account. It seems to follow a ridge, a bowl-shaped ridge. Eight Jungle Park drivers went on to win the Indianapolis 500, including Wilbur … 2,015 people like this. "I turned over between Turns 3 and 4 during qualifying," Shanklin said. Explore the past of the abandoned Rose Island Amusement Park, New owners plan to demolish Caribbean Cove, build new 7-story hotel, IndyStar reporter Will Higgins wrote in a 2016 story, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Jungle Park Speedway, a half-mile oval with a quarter-mile oval in its infield, was one of the premier speedways in the Midwest in the early 20th century. The state park's visitors would guarantee no shortages on attendance to Jungle Park. Except that if you spend a moment looking at the grassy field, not closely but broadly, you begin to get the picture: It's not so much a field as a corridor, and the corridor bends. It reopened September 23rd, 1945 and ran until about 1957. Though the track closed in the 1960s, auto devotees still occasionally stage reunions there to admire vintage cars and drive around the track. In October 1960 the old track took one last breath. This nothingness in the woods was a race track. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. Nature has been reclaiming the grounds ever since. All rights reserved. Call IndyStar reporter Will Higgins at 317-444-6043. Several former drivers will make appearances, according to the Facebook announcement: Bill Vukovich Jr., the 1968 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year; Johnny Parsons Jr., the son of 1950 Indianapolis 500 winner Johnnie Parsons and a former 500 driver himself (his best finish was fifth in 1977 and 1985); Tom Bigelow, the midget car dynamo of the '70s and '80s; and Kody Swanson, the current United States Auto Club Silver Crown points leader. The high-banked turns meant high speeds. A midget car race was staged on the quarter-mile dirt track. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Create New Account. The Chaplains no longer are in the canoe business. I remember the drinking was heavy. "They didn't even have a stopwatch. New: 2006-02-11 I roadtripped out east with Tom & Larry to camp out at some state parks and take in a couple of sprint car races. 5 out of 5 stars. "It's a historical type site," Monte Chaplain said, "and it's extremely beautiful, and I'm along the lines of just preserving it.". Three more drivers would die at Jungle Park over the next two years, including Edward Leeper, whose car, IndyStar reported, "left the track and threw Leeper against a tree, crushing his skull.". Race track in Bloomingdale, Indiana. Shanklin was 20 and racing under the name Bill Ewbanks because his parents would have stopped him had they known. Jungle Park Speedway, a half-mile oval with a quarter-mile oval in its infield, was one of the premier speedways in the Midwest in the early 20th century. The car also ran at Jungle Park... George Robson at Jungle Park in 1941. "I hate to think that's the case, but there's something to that.". But the reclamation is not yet complete.
A 1/4 mile dirt oval was operated here for one year only. The quarter mile dirt oval was only run in 1960. The following year another spectator, Gilbert Cox, was knocked unconscious when a race car flew into a fence post causing the fence post to fly into him. A 1/4 mile dirt oval track was added in the 1940's. Just a basic, down to Earth, laid back type of guy here, who loves the outdoors, the indoors, jazz on the turntable, a fire in the woodstove, the northern lights blazing across the sky, and the company of good friends. "I was like 4 or 5 years old.
The open-cockpitted, seat belt-less wagons hearken back to an era when safety was an afterthought, and bust 'em up, grind 'em out racing was the main event. Click Here. I remember one drunk bought my brother a case of snow cones. Log In. Jungle Park Speedway Community See All. Not bleachers. Founded in 1926 by Earl Padgett, the track was a 1/2 mile circular shaped sprint car track situated on the banks of Sugar Creek near Turkey Run State Park in Parke County, Indiana. Later on in life the track surface was replaced with a oil soaked gravel mixture that was compacted, this eliminated the dust problems.
Some fans sat in the grandstand, but many more sat on a hill off the fourth turn or in the infield. This thing was man-made. This entry was posted on Friday, May 6th, 2011 at 12:59 PM and tagged with, MAO Inc, and Company: Minneapolis, MN;
People brought more than a dozen old race cars. Auto racing was in its infancy. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Earl purchased the property near Turkey Run State Park. "Jungle Park got a reputation for being a very treacherous place," said Dick Jordan, longtime publicity director for the United States Auto Club, who remembers very clearly being at Jungle Park on Sept. 28, 1952. Jack Shanklin, 86, Camby, one of the last people still alive to have driven a race car at Jungle Park. The half-mile Jungle Park Speedway in Parke County, Indiana, was "one of the premier speedways in the Midwest" when it opened in 1926, IndyStar reporter Will Higgins wrote in a 2016 story. He was 6. Racing ended here in the early 1960's. The other day in the grandstand a black buzzard, startled by the rare presence of people, clumped quickly and noisily along one of the aisles for about 20 yards then flew away into the woods. Follow him on Twitter @WillRHiggins. Not Now. Email IndyStar reporter Sarah Bahr at sbahr@gannett.com. Jungle Park is in Indiana near Turkey Run State Park, which itself is worth a hike-through. Pete Alberts in the O'Day Special Offy at Jungle Park Speedway, 1938. 8449 N US Highway 41 (523.26 mi) Bloomingdale, IN 47832 . Robson won the 1946 Indy 500 then was killed three months later in Atlanta. "The front end of the car bounced high into the air," IndyStar reported, "and came down through the fence and into the crowd.". Time zone: EST/EDT (-0500/-0400), Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. I went over the bank. Community See all.
Our first track was the remains of the Historic Jungle Park Speedway, which ran (off & on) from 1926 to 1960, with its peak being in the 1930’s & 40’s.
There were some tracks down in Georgia that were bad, but Jungle Park — it had trees in the way. A time-capsule track stands near Turkey Run State Park in Parke County. 2,087 people like this. In places, if you stab at the grass with the heel of your boot, you quickly reach the racing surface: in the early days dirt, and later a rough hewn combination of gravel and oil. Jungle Park racing in Parke County Indiana, original 1940's film footage. By icefogger. Two signs of the times: The spectator was identified in IndyStar only as "Mrs. Charles Kiger," and just one paragraph was devoted to her death, the third paragraph in a story chiefly about the day's racing results (headline: "Bauman is first in three races"). Others gathered in the wooded hills outside the grounds and caught glimpses for free. Forgot account? I roadtripped out east with Tom & Larry to camp out at some state parks and take in a couple of sprint car races. They operated a canoe livery there for decades. "In 1955," Hunter said, "I ran 50 some race tracks all over the United States, and Jungle Park was the worst track I was ever in. US 41 "It was rowdy and crowded," said Robert Dicks, 72, a lifelong racing enthusiast. But this ridge is too perfect, the bend too uniform. And there also was a restaurant made to look like a windmill, which remains today but is empty. So we're standing at the fence watching the race, and there's a drunk sticking a firecracker in a guy's shoe. Jungle Park Speedway was a half mile high banked dirt oval with a 1/4 mile oval on its infield. Create New Account. It seems to follow a ridge, a bowl-shaped ridge. Eight Jungle Park drivers went on to win the Indianapolis 500, including Wilbur … 2,015 people like this. "I turned over between Turns 3 and 4 during qualifying," Shanklin said. Explore the past of the abandoned Rose Island Amusement Park, New owners plan to demolish Caribbean Cove, build new 7-story hotel, IndyStar reporter Will Higgins wrote in a 2016 story, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Jungle Park Speedway, a half-mile oval with a quarter-mile oval in its infield, was one of the premier speedways in the Midwest in the early 20th century. The state park's visitors would guarantee no shortages on attendance to Jungle Park. Except that if you spend a moment looking at the grassy field, not closely but broadly, you begin to get the picture: It's not so much a field as a corridor, and the corridor bends. It reopened September 23rd, 1945 and ran until about 1957. Though the track closed in the 1960s, auto devotees still occasionally stage reunions there to admire vintage cars and drive around the track. In October 1960 the old track took one last breath. This nothingness in the woods was a race track. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. Nature has been reclaiming the grounds ever since. All rights reserved. Call IndyStar reporter Will Higgins at 317-444-6043. Several former drivers will make appearances, according to the Facebook announcement: Bill Vukovich Jr., the 1968 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year; Johnny Parsons Jr., the son of 1950 Indianapolis 500 winner Johnnie Parsons and a former 500 driver himself (his best finish was fifth in 1977 and 1985); Tom Bigelow, the midget car dynamo of the '70s and '80s; and Kody Swanson, the current United States Auto Club Silver Crown points leader. The high-banked turns meant high speeds. A midget car race was staged on the quarter-mile dirt track. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Create New Account. The Chaplains no longer are in the canoe business. I remember the drinking was heavy. "They didn't even have a stopwatch. New: 2006-02-11 I roadtripped out east with Tom & Larry to camp out at some state parks and take in a couple of sprint car races. 5 out of 5 stars. "It's a historical type site," Monte Chaplain said, "and it's extremely beautiful, and I'm along the lines of just preserving it.". Three more drivers would die at Jungle Park over the next two years, including Edward Leeper, whose car, IndyStar reported, "left the track and threw Leeper against a tree, crushing his skull.". Race track in Bloomingdale, Indiana. Shanklin was 20 and racing under the name Bill Ewbanks because his parents would have stopped him had they known. Jungle Park Speedway, a half-mile oval with a quarter-mile oval in its infield, was one of the premier speedways in the Midwest in the early 20th century. The car also ran at Jungle Park... George Robson at Jungle Park in 1941. "I hate to think that's the case, but there's something to that.". But the reclamation is not yet complete.