This 1/2 mile race track opened on September 14, 1926, and closed down in 1981. It had a dirt surface until being paved during the 1966 season. Then-owner Earl Baltes chose to remove the asphalt in 1979, but the dirt surface below the pavement proved to be inadequate to race on.
When local businessmen Leo and Louis Huenke decided to create a track, but they did not want the typical horse track found at fairgrounds across the Midwest. Their banked half-mile showcased the growing horsepower of that era's race cars. The track featured traditional open-wheel racing as well as stock cars in later years.
(Read John Sawyer's two part story about the track in the May and June 2011 issues of Sprint Car and Midget magazine. Also, check out this
Youtube clip filmed in 1957)