Remembering the Memphis-Arkansas Speedway

A regular stop in the early days of NASCAR, dirt track in Lehi now just a memory

By RALPH HARDIN Evening Times Editor

One of Jenni Held’s favorite childhood memories comes from playing around the old Memphis-Arkansas Speedway.

Long gone now, the track has a rich history that she thought was worth a mention.

She even produced a copy of the June 4, 2006 edition of the Memphis Commercial Appeal that featured a story about the track The Memphis-Arkansas Speedway opened in the mid-1950’s when NASCAR was in its infancy. The racing circuit was more a collection of barnstormers than the big-time stars of today. It might be hard to imagine looking at todays massive speedways with luxury boxes and state-of-the-art facilities, but from 1954 to 57, the Memphis-Arkansas Speedway and the community of Lehi was a regular NASCAR stop.

The drivers who would become stock car racing’s first legends tested

See SPEEDWAY, page B6

Clippings courtesy of Jenni Held SPEEDWAY

From page B5

their grit and machines on the high banked dirt oval located a few miles to the west of West Memphis.

Jenni’s uncle Parker Eubanks was a prominent feature of the 2006 article, recalling how the crowds would number in the thousands for a race, a spectacle for sure, but eventually time and money took their toll and the track closed.

Part of the issue, according to Eubanks, was access.

“They had rainouts and it was a big problem,” he said in an interview for the Appeal story. “The track was dirt and the parking area was dirt. So if there was any rain, people would get stuck.”

At the time of the article in 2006, you could still make out the remnants of the Speedway, but nothing remains of it in 2021, except the memories of a little girl, now a grown woman, of playing in the fields as a child.

“I can’t say enough great things about this fabulous guy! Spence Held works so hard and absolutely LOVES what he does. I’m extremely proud of him and all of his accomplishments.”

— Jenni Held, after learning that she and her husband had been named 2021 Farm Family of the Year for Crittenden County

Clippings courtesy of Jenni Held