Lakeland Raceway

The Old Days

Two-Lane Blacktop is here! Click here to see Lakeland International Raceway scenes from the movie.

Admission Ticket – Thanks Pat Toomey!

Two-Lane Blacktop – See scenes that were shot at Lakeland International Raceway.

My First Time – Read 2002 IHRA Top Fuel Champion Clay Millican’s memories of the first drag race that he can remember.

the old days 1. – This page starts out with some great mixed action primarily from the ’70’s. There are great shots from Louis Kimery, Chuck Jolliff, Chuck Schnider and Walter Harville. Also here, you’ll find some great professional shots that Louis Kimery dug up at the University of Memphis that originally ran in the old Press Scimitar newspaper. These shots include a couple neat road course photos as well.

the old days 2. Page 1 – Whoa! What else can you say about David Rubenstein’s extensive collection of Lakeland Funny Car photos. We can all be glad he carried his camera around every time he visited LIR.

the old days 2. Page 2 – More of David’s photos!

the old days 2. Page 3 – But wait, there’s more! 31 more to be exact.

the old days 3. – Travis Hinkle has raced on every quarter mile strip you can think of in the southeast. Paragould, Carlisle, Collierville, Halls and, of course, Lakeland to name a few. He has provided the earliest Lakeland photos on this site to date.

the old days 4. – A terrific group of professional black and white photos from Match Race Madness.

the old days 5. – Another great batch of early photos from Travis Hinkle.

the old days 6. – 1971 WHBQ Drag Festival action captured by Bob Kurneta.

the old days 7. – Here are some neat shots for Ford fans. Glen Patrick’s photo album is full of memories from racing all over the Mid-South. Here are some Lakeland shots from his albums.

the old days 8. – Take a look through Jack Martin’s scrapbook. He raced at Lakeland for quite a few years in the sixties.

the old days 9. – A few shots from Bobby Young Sr.

the old days 10. – Some neat shots from Bruce L. Grooms & Ken Hartsfield.

the old days 11. – Steve Wilson spent many years at Lakeland racing the Granny’s Garage cars. Here are some shots he’d like to share.

the old days 12. Page 1 – Local racer Larry Langston’s Lakeland photos.

the old days 12. Page 2 – Larry also had a number of Funny Car photos taken while they were being displayed at the old Coleman Taylor Transmission shop on Elvis Presley Blvd. & Brooks. There are also photos taken in the Lakeland pits.

Announcer’s shirt belonging to Jimmy Deese.
This is the shirt worn by Jimmy Deese when he was an announcer at Lakeland in the early ’70s. He still breaks it out when he attends the Super Chevy shows at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Spring Nationals Warm-Up – June 7th, 1967
Click to enlarge – Thanks to Chuck Schnider & Louis Kimery for this 1967 relic.

SUPER STAR WEEK – Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge – Thanks to Mark Janaky

1978 Classic Chevy Club event courtesy of Gregg Dempsey. Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge – Thanks to Gregg Dempsey

Check out this fun WKNO-TV video recounting the history of the Lakeland amusement park and surrounding amenities.