Merkler Spl. Machine Works Ft. Wayne, Ind. is the PHOTO OF THE DAY Thursday, July 19, 2020 Jackie Holmes looks a little dejected sitting in Franklin Merkler’s Frank Kurtis built 1953 Indy entry number 71 after he couldn’t qualify the car. posted July 9, 2022 on American Hot Rod Foundation on Facebook.
In 1996 merged with Gildea Tool to form GT Automation.
One comment mentions BIG TRACK LITTLE TRACK Paperback – July 22, 2022, by J Daniel Heath (Author), Kenny Barr (Foreward). An informative historical account of two legendary speedways in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A five-eighths mile high banked "big track" that existed from 1930 until 1964 and a three-eighths mile "little track" that existed from 1951 until 1964. This book describes the events and people that made up the Fort Wayne Speedway and South Anthony Speedway.
Fort Wayne Speedway-Go Kart tracks shown below top left of black track circle in the 2019 Google Map are on the corner of Speedway Drive and Grandstand Way.
Fort Wayne Speedway-Go Karts, 4550 Speedway Drive, website: https://fwspeedway.wixsite.com/mysite, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fwspeedway. You can zoom in to see more up close using the live Aerial View above.
FORT WAYNE SPEEDWAY Built by a man called Frank Funk, he also built Dayton Speedway and Winchester Speedway and was...
Built by a man called Frank Funk, he also built Dayton Speedway and Winchester Speedway and was known for building fast tracks.
The track was built with high banking for high speeds and was a 5/8 mile dirt track.and fans would pour in to see the racing. Midgets would be the main show originally.
Whilst racing was on hold for WWII the track fell into disrepair but a new owner bought the track primarily for his horses but decided to build a 1/2 mile and 1/4 mile dirt tracks inside the track.
He wanted harness racing to run there but when that didn’t become a success, stock cars came back and began racing again. Joining would be some sprints and event roadsters.
Soon the track would be completely reconfigured. The 1/2 mile was taken away, the 1/4 mile was paved in 1947 and then the main track paved in 1949.
Racing continued to run successfully through the 50s running some ARCA sanctioned races. Stock cars and modifieds would run mostly.
As the 60s came, the track was wearing out and many other tracks in the area were closing. Racing was losing some of it lustre and with land prices being so valuable, the track closed down. [ Newspaper articles show races as late as October 1967 ]
Town: Speedway Drv, Fort Wayne, Indiana - USA
Size: 5/8 mile
Operated: 1930 - 1936; 1946 - 1964
1928 - FORT WAYNE SPEEDWAY with several photos on speedwayandroadracehistory.com states: Fort Wayne speedway was built in 1928 by Frank Funk within the local Fairgrounds, Funk also built Winchester Speedway and Dayton Speedway as well as others, The Fort Wayne track was described as high banked, fast and treacherous, The track was 5/8th of a mile in length.
In 1946 two further tracks were added inside the 5/8th mile oval, these tracks were concidered by some as the fastest dirt oval tracks around, The 1/2 mile track utilized both straights but had shorter corners, while the 1/4 mile Midget track utilized part of the front sraight only.
The track surface was not kind to the drivers with many dips and hollows across its width and length, The outer safety rails were very low and cars would often launch out of the arena.
The Fairgrounds closed in 1964 and the land was sold off to become Industrial land.
Several photos without descriptions from Forgotten Fort Wayne Speedway September 23, 2019 on imgur.com are also on speedwayandroadracehistory.com.
Greg Cummings collection from speedwayandroadracehistory.
See also several same title images:Fort Wayne Fireman RoesnerDescription Fort Wayne Fireman Henry "Baldy" Roesner (on left) at the gate to Dutch McKinley's Fort Wayne Speedway Race Track. Date 08/20/1947.
Fort Wayne Firemen at SpeedwayDescription Fort Wayne Firemen gather at the beer truck at Dutch McKinley's Fort Wayne Speedway Race Track. Date 08/20/1947.
Fort Wayne Firemen at SpeedwayDescription Fort Wayne Firemen gather at the beer truck at Dutch McKinley's Fort Wayne Speedway Race Track. Date 08/20/1947.
Fort Wayne Firemen at SpeedwayDescription Fort Wayne Firemen at the gate to Charles "Dutch" McKinley's Fort Wayne Speedway Race Track. L-R: Charles E. Sechler, Henry Oetting, Frank Breeden, Earl Busse. Date 08/20/1947.
DEMO DERBY CARDescription Remember when? - Demo Derby Car. Pictured L-R in front of Monroeville American Legion Post 420: Bill Beard, Olli Alcanter and Harry Johnston in 1964. These guys worked on the American Legion Demo Derby Car. The derby was held at the Fort Wayne Speedway on Speedway Drive (North of Glenbrook Mall). Photo courtesy of Harry Johnston. Date 2/20/2008.
The Fort Wayne Speedway posted Sep 19, 2022 by WANE 15 News on YouTube The Fort Wayne Speedway built in 1928 was once one of the most vaunted tracks in the country, Ethan Dahlen. Nine deaths from danger of racing is one reason it closed from the book BIG TRACK LITTLE TRACK by J Daniel Heath (Author), Kenny Barr (Foreword) at Amazon.com. An informative historical account of two legendary speedways in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A five-eighths mile high banked "big track" that existed from 1930 until 1964 and a three-eighths mile "little track" that existed from 1951 until 1964. This book describes the events and people that made up the Fort Wayne Speedway and South Anthony Speedway. [September 2023] The Fort Wayne Speedway built in 1928 was once one of the most vaunted tracks in the country, Ethan Dahlen. From ‘Man killer’: Remembering Fort Wayne’s forgotten speedway by: Ethan Dahlen Posted: Sep 19, 2022, Updated: Sep 20, 2022 on CBS WANE-TV NewsChannel 15.
Was built in 1928 by Frank Funk on farmland along the dirt California Road north of where Glenbrook Square on Coliseum Boulevard is today.
Still cool to see this at the Hall's in Fort Wayne off Lima Road. To think that track is about where the Hall's is at... alot of Memories way back then.
Hall's Hollywood Drive-In on Facebook:
4416 Lima Road, The fabulous 50's live on forever at Hall's Hollywood! Located right next to the Roller Dome North, www.facebook.com/HallsHollywood
Photos and more were formerly online as Some History About Former Fort Wayne Speedway on KPC.com. No longer online, the same text is #3 on Fort Wayne Speedway on Indiana OpenWheel.com:
A place called Fort Wayne Speedway operated on the north side of Fort Wayne just north of what is now Coliseum Boulevard and Glenbrook Square mall at KPC.news. It's now a place adjacent to a Putt Putt where little kids go to drive (very) small vehicles. The track was built in 1928 by Frank Funk, who also built other racetracks, including the former Jungle Park at Rockville and the Winchester Speedway, still operating.
When the Fort Wayne Speedway was built in 1928, the area was farmland; it remained so for most of the track's existence. Coliseum Boulevard was California Road -- a dirt road then -- and neighboring farmers probably constituted what little traffic there was. From 1951 to 1964, another race track broke the silence on the south side of town. South Anthony Speedway ran two nights a week on a 3/8-mile asphalt oval. The homes in Victoria Park are in that spot now.
Race tracks may come and go, but people's memories of them do not fade. The Fort Wayne Speedway especially is remembered for its track, which was said to be the highest-banked and fastest 5/8-mile track in the world.
As you drove into the parking lot, the huge wooden grandstand was on your right. It could seat 6,200 people; the box seats were on a platform in front of the grandstand, but they were not plush -- just six or eight folding chairs inside a railing. The track straightaway ran north and south and the banked ends of the oval topped off about 20 feet from ground level.
The parking lot, which for years was the site of the Fort Wayne Free Fair, was to the left (where Fort Wayne Lincoln-Mercury is now), and horse barns and about 40 acres of woods were to the west and rear of the lot.
In 1942, Charles ``Dutch'' McKinley bought the track. Dick Bradtmiller, his accountant, says McKinley primarily was interested in a place for his trotting horses. Auto racing had stopped during World War II, so except for the horses working out, the Speedway was idle.
In 1946, McKinley built a 1/2-mile dirt oval and a 1/4-mile midget track inside the 5/8-mile banked track. He ran his trotters on the dirt track and built them a state-of-the-art horse barn.
Harry McKinley, Dutch's brother, says the barn even had living quarters for the trainers and offices for his brother. The building, which once housed 20 to 30 horses, still stands at the west end of Stable Drive. Dutch wanted to have harness races and was trying to get parimutuel (betting) in Indiana. He knew you'd never attract enough people to harness races without it,'' Harry McKinley says.
When that plan didn't materialize, harness racing was limited to the week of the fair, though Dutch took his horses to other race tracks and often drove sulky himself, his brother says.
"The track was in terrible shape by the time the war ended; big trenches washed across the track,'' Harry McKinley says. ``It needed new tile and lots of work when Dutch decided to put it back in operation after the war.''
Sunday afternoon stock car races became the standard attraction, though numerous other events, such as thrill shows, rodeos, wrestling matches and the Clyde Beatty Circus played there.
``In the summertime, if you had a cloudy day, you'd have a perfect crowd,'' Bradtmiller says. Dick Hire raced there in the 1950s; his moniker was Rapid Richard.
``After World War II, when they opened the track up to cars off the street, you'd just go out and line up,'' Hire says. ``Then after the second year, they required seat belts. We had to go to the Army surplus store for large webbed belts. Then they required helmets, and there were no racing helmets, so we wore football helmets.
"Stock cars just took off; they were very popular locally. Dutch ran a good clean operation; he had bank tellers handling the gate," Hire says. "The most I ever came away with was a $500 purse -- that was a large purse then."
Hire says the high banks at both ends of the oval had rough surfaces.
``They were built up with railroad ties and telephone poles, and I think some of those things would deteriorate and the track suffered.''
He says the advantage of the high-banked track was that ``you could maintain greater speeds, whereas on a flat track, you have to slow down for the curves.'' Hire drove a 1934 Ford coupe; he had no speedometer, but guesses he ``probably did in excess of 100 down the straightaway.'' On the banked track, ``you had a better opportunity to pass slower cars. You could let it fly; you didn't have to follow someone.''
Bradtmiller says Dutch McKinley ``never could get that 5/8-mile track smooth.'' He says the mounded banks were filled with logs with dirt on top.
``The logs would rot and they'd fill them in, put asphalt on top and smooth it out.
Jim Hoagland, a former race driver, says driving on the high-banked track was ``like going to King's Island. . . . It was high and rough at the last.''
Hoagland says they also raced Big Cars, sprint cars and midgets and attracted some of the well-known professional drivers of the day. Sunday feature races usually were 25 laps, and he says, they often had special features, such as ``the Roaring Roadsters. That's a jalopy with no roof.''
``Every Monday after a race, I'd take a wrecker up and get the cars out of the trees and brush outside the north bank.''
He says the south bank, along California Road, was more dangerous for those who went off the track.
``If someone went over the south bank, they could get killed.''
Another one of McKinley's jobs was taking care of the grandstand.
``Every Sunday morning before a race, we soaked the grandstand down with water on account of fire. We'd soak it good and the seats would be dry by race time, but there'd be water down below. Then, after the race, we'd go in with rakes and shovels and clean up all the trash below the bleachers.
"The worst job was cleaning up at the fairs. We had to clean up after the elephants -- that was a job!"
Bradtmiller notes that Dutch McKinley had a mutually beneficial arrangement with the city.
``Dutch got cinders from the city power plant for a cinder track in the parking lot where his horses jogged. And the park board got the horse manure for park flowers.''
Even when the Fort Wayne Speedway was going full tilt, Dutch McKinley still preferred his trotters and pacers.
``When he was working out his horses, he wouldn't let the drivers use the dirt track and that caused some problems,'' Bradtmiller says. ``Then they started the South Anthony Speedway, so some of the drivers just went out there.''
The South Anthony Speedway had a 3/8-mile lighted asphalt track and ran races on Tuesday and Saturday nights. Carl Harber Jr., whose father owned the farm where the track was built, says Mason and Robert McCulloch and Ray Walter built the speedway in 1951.
``Dad leased the ground to them, then bought the lease back and ran it for about the last four years before it closed in 1964,'' he says. ``The first year, it was a dirt track; it was on the south 30 acres of our 81-acre farm. There were two roads that went back to the track. The pit road ran back along where the I&M power lines are and the main entrance was a little north of there.''
Harber says the track sat east of Anthony Boulevard, back about 600 feet. Bleachers ran along the west and southwest side. Along the backstretch, on the east and southeast side, spectators could pull up to the guard rail, park and watch the race.
``Dick Hire won the first feature race that was run there,'' Harber says.
Mike Hendricks, a weekend stock car racer, went to the track as a kid and remembers it being ``out in the country then. . . . They started in May with Sunday afternoon races, then went to two nights, then back to Sunday afternoons in the late fall.''
Jim Stovall, who raced about three years and owned race cars for 26 years, says the peak years at South Anthony were 1953 through 1955.
``Guys came from all over the country to race super-modifieds on Tuesdays nights,'' Stovall says. ``It was the only place in the tri-state area that raced them.'' He says super-modified stock cars had no fenders.
``They were the fastest in their day,'' Stovall says.
``All the best drivers came to South Anthony. The first in the country to have a wing on his car was Jim Cushman of Columbus, Ohio. He raced it at South Anthony. . . . But Saturday nights, it was mostly the local race drivers.
``In the old days, everybody built their own car. They'd get one out of a junk yard and soup it up. Nowadays people, most of them, buy a racing chassis. You can even buy one ready to go.''
Stovall says when they tore down South Anthony, Howard Bice, who had raced there, bought the bleachers and the concrete walls, which were in eight-foot sections, and hauled everything to Avilla, where he built Avilla Raceway. Harber says Bice ``also bought the guardrails, the lights, concession stands, trucks, ambulance -- everything."
No wonder Hendricks calls the Avilla track ``almost a snapshot of South Anthony Speedway.''
It, too, will be closing; Bice's widow, Barbara, has announced this is the last season at Avilla Raceways.
Daisy McKinley, Dutch McKinley's widow, says Fort Wayne Speedway closed when ``the racing business wore out and the land became so valuable, we couldn't go on the way we were. There were 80 acres all together. He sold the first lot to Lincoln-Mercury, then we put up the Arby's. Piece by piece, he sold it off.''
The Harber farm, including the race track acreage, was sold to the developers of Victoria Park.
At Baer Field Raceway, south of Fort Wayne International Airport, racing continues.
Photos posted and discussed December 7, 2017 and 1957 aerial photos were posted December 10, 2017 with a 1938 map thru present maps timelapse video by Scott Krumwiede in Comments to Randy Harter, Fort Wayne historian and author on a Positive Fort Wayne closed Facebook group.
Ft Wayne Big Track_Title01.flv by Kevin Allgire uploaded May 7, 2011 on YouTube This video is from The former Fort Wayne,Indiana Speedway and the former South Anthony Speedway(Fort Wayne,IN.). A Big Thank-You goes out to former racer and Founder of The Northeastern Indiana Racing Museum(Auburn,IN.) Paul Ladd for supplying this video so I could post it on Youtube. Also there's no sound.
1931 - Auto Race Driver Killed On Fort Wayne Speedway The Brooklyn Citizen, Brooklyn, New York, Monday, May 18, 1931, Page 2. Raymond Meyers, 31, Indianapolis, a dirt track auto race driver, was killed during time trials when his machine hurtled over a 28-foot embankment.
1954 - Damages From Storm Run Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars NE Indiana Speedway The Commercial-Mail, Columbia City, Indiana, Thursday, July 22, 1954, Page 1. 1 dead, 38 injured, 20,000 telephones out, 20,000 power customers out of service, television station off air indefinitely because transmitting tower bent out of shape. Six planes overturned at Smith Field. St. Paul's Catholic Church steeple felled. Half of grandstand at Fort Wayne Speedway roof blown off.
