Jungle Park Speedway Story 3-09-09 By Tom
Botos
Hello racefans on Friday March 6th I drove to
Rockville,Indiana the home of the
famed jungle Park Speedway which opened in 1926 and
closed for the final time in1960 after a racefan was killed
while watching the races that same year.Jungle Park Speedway
has some very rich history.an author named Tom W. Williams
wrote a book about Jungle Park Speedway which is currently
in print and available as a 2nd Edition.The book is called
The Ghosts Of Jungle Park,History,Myth,and Legend.I highly
recommend this book to any avid racefan or historian of Open
Wheel "big Car" racing.I have included with this story some
photos of the last section of grandstand which was built in
1947.This section is all that remains of the long stretching
grandstand which kept many racefans dry from rain and shaded
from the harsh summer sunlight.
An entrance gate was built to accompany the
grandstand and it is painted as though it belongs in
marriage to the venerable "bleachers". There are also many
patches of visable asphalt from the paved straightaways and
the dirt covered turns that made Jungle Park a very tricky
track to race on for drivers.Jungle Park is a 1/2 mile
speedway built by Earl Padgett in 1925.There was no
"retaining wall" as only nature's trees lined thebackstretch
and sometimes kept cars from entering the creek behind the
backstretch.Six drivers lost there lives at this historic
track.It seems as though Earl padgett followed the terrain
as Jungle Park is not a true oval with its unique
configuration.Many big names that ran the Indy 500 also ran
jungle Park in it's heyday.The Jungle Park Restaurant
building isn still there but it now houses an antique store
and flea market.This old building is up for sale and would
make an awesome racing museum if restored!
If I was a rich racefan I would buy both the
track and the old restaurant building and restore the track
for Vintage Races and also have an auto racing museum put
in the restaurant building.On the fourth Saturday in
September they have The Jungle Park Speedway Reunion for
racefans,historians and drivers converge to reminisce of
days gone by but never to be forgotten at Jungle Park
Speedway!
