Eastern States Exposition
1305 Memorial Ave.,West Springfield, MA
1917 – 1968
A typical venue for auto racing during its formative years was at a horse track or fairgrounds. West Springfield’s Eastern States Exposition oval hosted racing from around 1917 until it was dismantled in 1968. The ESE began its traditional fair in 1912. Initially a half-mile dirt oval hosted racing through September 25, 1937. Racing did not occur in 1938 due to the hurricane that swept through New England, which caused the demise of the Readville oval near Hyde Park. The fair weekend of 1939 saw racing return on September 22nd. Normalcy continued until September 20, 1941. With the auto racing ban during World War II, the site was used during World War II. Racing fans would not see racing at the Big E again until September 19, 1947.
The track would take on a new look for 1948 as it was now a 5/8 mile configuration. The dirt would remain through the September 20, 1952 race. The dirt surface was paved over for the 1953 fair and racing occurred there between September 25, 1953 and 1968, when it was dismantled.
Captions:
- 1951 at Eastern States: AAA Sprint Cars take the green from starter Don McDonald (Vintage Racer Magazine – July/August 2003).
- Postcard showing the track during the pavement era (Nicholas Teto collection).
Race Winners at “The Big E”
Special Thanks to UltimateRacingHistory.com
| September 22, 1951 | AAA Sprint Car (Eastern | Tommy Hinnershitz |
| September 25, 1953 | AAA Sprint Car (Eastern) | Joe Sostilio |
| September 23, 1954 | AAA Sprint Car (Eastern) | Bob Sweikert |
| September 24, 1954 | AAA Sprint Car (Eastern) | Bob Sweikert |
| September 22, 1955 | ARDC Midget | Nick Fornoro |
| September 21, 1956 | ARDC Midget | Dutch Schaefer |
| September 22, 1956 | ARDC Midget | Dutch Schaefer |
| September 19, 1957 | ARDC Midget | Jiggs Peters |
| September 24, 1959 | ARDC Midget | Bill Randall |