Tragic Ending

The Jackson County Speedway quietly erodes away in this surveyor's aerial photo from 1973.

It’s unclear just how many years the Jackson County Speedway was in operation.  Several drivers and historians say the racing stopped after the 1949 season.  Others say it operated well into the early 1950s.

But Ron Hollis Sr. remembers why the track went out of business.  And it too was linked to tragedy.

“This car came around the track, and an axel broke on the right-rear wheel. The wheel, axel and all came up the bank, and there was a gentleman who had taken the back seat out of his car and was sitting on it.  He couldn’t get up fast enough, and the wheel, axel and all hit him.”

The spectator later died of his injuries, although Hollis Sr. remembers being told only of a broken leg.  The family of the victim sued the track, and was awarded a $10,000 judgment.

“I don’t believe (Gene Hollis) had any insurance, or if he did, he didn’t have enough to cover it,” Hollis Sr. said. “But it was a financial reason that the track was closed.”