Then and Now: The Abandoned Jackson Motor Speedway, 1948-2020s

WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter this property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property.

Over the years I made a few treks thru the weeds, trees, bushes, tall grass, and poison ivy just to stand in the old Jackson Motor Speedway. All those twenty-some years ago – in the early 2000s – there were trees & weeds growing out of the asphalt, the old rickety wooden bleachers were still standing, and old tires scattered here and there.

In the 2020s, the weeds and bushes are much thicker, making the old track even harder to find and covering even more of the asphalt than ever before. A wooden wall is there, made of old railroad slats that was used for cushioning the race cars as they sped by.....it can barely be seen as it pokes through a mass of large bushes.

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Sure, we still have M.I.S., but it lacks the charm that the former Jackson Speedway had. At JMS you could sit elbow-to-elbow with friends and strangers who were all there for the specific reason to watch some great races...not to catch a glimpse of some movie star. JMS was much smaller than M.I.S. And was more relatable to Michiganders than the larger track.

Jackson Motor Speedway opened in October 1948 at 3300 Clinton Way in Blackman Township, just north of Parnall Road. Driver Carl Scarborough was the track's very first winner (NOT Cale Yarborough, who was only 12-years-old at the time). Promoting the track was fun: local businesses (like gas stations and car dealers) were eager to publicize the track by having either a real race car or a mock-up in front of their establishments.

The number of races doubled in 1949 and by 1950 it was a full-fledged race track. A quarter-mile oval was built inside the half-mile in 1953. At it's peak, JMS rivaled even Detroit's tracks, squeezing in up to 4,000 fans a night. As the 1950s dragged on the track's popularity kept growing...but once a larger company took over, attendance went down. Former attendees say the decreasing crowds were due to the corporate commercialism overtaking the original “mom & pop” charm.

Drivers began looking for other tracks and the fans drifted elsewhere. The final race took place on August 19, 1973. And that was it.

The track still sits abandoned and remains a reminder of Jackson's original race track glory, hidden among the towering foliage, with thousands of people driving by each day, not realizing the history that lies in the woods just a few feet away.

Scroll down and take a look at the photo gallery below.