Simpson - 1952

Herron - 1952

Shea - 1952

Newman - 1952

Ash – 1952

W. Darnell - 1952

Schoenberg - 1952

The History of Automobile Racing on the Historic Half-Mile Dirt Racetrack at the Cowley County Fairgrounds, Winfield, Kansas
Page 2

Ring - 1952

Bryant - 1952

Arrington - 1952

Nichols - 1953

Watkins – 1952

C. Brown – 1953

Mears – 1953

Under the leadership of Joe Collins and Ward Stuber, representing the Lions club, stock car racing at the Winfield racetrack grew in stature to where the summer holiday racing dates run at Winfield from 1953 through 1956 were among the top stock car races in the Midwest.  Large fields of participants towed their stock cars from many parts of Kansas and several surrounding states to race before large crowds at Winfield.  Under Cejay Stadium's ”strictly stock" rules, competitive race cars could be built relatively inexpensively so that the purses paid at Winfield in the mid-1950s were considered by competitors to be, at the very least, adequate.

In 1957, the Winfield Lions club enlisted the Southeast Kansas Racing Club of Coffeyville, Kansas, to sanction the races at Winfield.  Their rules allowed more engine and chassis modifications, therefore, adding expense to building competitive race cars.  Race dates at Winfield under the Southeast Kansas Racing Club rules:

Date	Feature Race Winner	Driver's Hometown	Car Owner	Owner's Hometown	Car #	Make / Model
July 4, 1957	Cliff Bartholomew	Coffeyville, Kansas	Cliff Seaton	Coffeyville, Kansas	23	Ford coupe
September 2, 1957	Orval Beckel	Wichita, Kansas	Lawrence Brooks	Arkansas City, Kansas	8 Ball	1932 Hudson sedan
May 30, 1958
July 4, 1958	Canceled due to rain
September 1, 1958

Naden – 1953

Forshee – 1953

Webster – 1953

McCoy – 1953

R Walker - 1953

Bush - 1953

The stock cars that had been raced at Winfield prior to 1957 were not competitive under the Southeast Kansas Racing Club rules so most of those former entrants chose to race elsewhere instead.  Since there were not nearly as many cars built to the more expensive rules, entries at Winfield races dropped off sharply.  Good crowds continued for a race or two but then dwindled to the point that stock car racing ceased on the fairgrounds racetrack despite the price of adult admission being dropped to as low as 90¢ and efforts by the Lions club to entice back the less expensive stock cars.  The damage had been done.

The Lions club made a final attempt to present auto racing in some form on the half-mile racetrack at the Cowley County Fairgrounds by putting on one go-cart race:

Date	Feature Race Winner	Driver's Hometown	Car Owner	Owner's Hometown	Cart #	Make / Model
July 4, 1959	Kenneth Huff	Winfield, Kansas

Lowry – 1953

D. Darnell - 1953

Nelson - 1953 

Andrews – 1954

The effort was unsuccessful and by late in the summer of 1959, the old racetrack had literally grown over with grass.

In the early 1960's, horse racing interests reclaimed the racetrack and constructed a guard railing of steel pipe around its perimeter.

In 1967, the Auto Racing Association of Kansas, headed by its president, former Winfield resident Dale Chase, teamed up with Mel Montgomery, Charles "Dusty" Cloud, Jr., and Winfield's Spencer - Yarbrough V.F.W. Post 3544 to present semi-late model stock car races on the fairgrounds racetrack.  1949 through 1960 model domestically build automobiles competed in these races.

Race dates run on the fairgrounds racetrack by this coalition:

Date	Feature Race Winner	Driver's Hometown	Car Owner	Owner's Hometown	Car #	Make / Model
July 23, 1967	Bob Reed	Wichita, Kansas	Bob Reed	Wichita, Kansas	29	1958 Ford
September 24, 1967	Bud Haehn	Wichita, Kansas	John Rush	Wichita, Kansas	11	1956 Chevrolet
May 26, 1968	Bill Collins	South Coffeyville, OK	Bill Collins	South Coffeyville, Oklahoma	211	1956 Chevrolet
June 23, 1968	Mel Montgomery	Wichita, Kansas	John Hebb	Wichita, Kansas	05	1957 Ford
July 14, 1968	Mike Lutkie	Wichita, Kansas	Charlie Lutkie	Wichita, Kansas	43	1956 Chevrolet
September 22, 1968	Charlie Lutkie	Wichita, Kansas	Charlie Lutkie	Wichita, Kansas	43	1956 Chevrolet

In 1970, Bob Lawrence teamed with Wayne Wilt and the Winfield Jaycees to present late-model stock car races at the track which were open to 1949 through 1970 model domestically built automobiles.  These were pretty much "run what you brung" events.  The races this group presented were:

Date	Feature Race Winner	Driver's Hometown	Car Owner	Owner's Hometown	Car #	Make / Model
July 12, 1970	Pinky Mullens	Wichita, Kansas	Pinky Mullens	Wichita, Kansas	02	1957 Chevrolet
August 16, 1970	No winner declared
July 25, 1971	Gary Moore	Wichita, Kansas	Lester Moore	Wichita, Kansas	96	1960 Plymouth

J. Collins – 1954 

Williams – 1954

Hall – 1954

Cattrell – 1954

Tinnemeyer – 1954

Routh – 1954

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The History of Automobile Racing on the Historic Half-Mile Dirt
Racetrack at the Cowley County Fairgrounds, Winfield, Kansas