Mississippi

From the travels and adventures of the “World’s #1 Trackchaser”

All-Time Favorite Mississippi Track:

Attala Speedway

Current lifetime trackchasing state rank: 3

My first stop at the nationals saw Ronnie Shuman win in 1979. On this visit in 1982, my stepfather Bill and son J.J. came along.

Best Memories:

I’ve got a great memory from my visit to the Attala Speedway down in Kosciusko. This was the first track I had ever seen in Mississippi. The year was 1987. Our son J.J., then aged 12, was with me. We were in the general area because he was headed for a week of space camp in Huntsville, Alabama.

We ended up winning a free $5 food coupon from a local restaurant in a lucky fan drawing at the track. I sent J.J. down to get our prize. The announcer asked him where he was from. When he replied, “California” the announcer had a quick comeback by saying, “Folks, we’ve got fans coming all the way from California to see our races in Kosciusko”! By the way, Kosciusko is the hometown of Oprah Winfrey.

On another night I spent the better part of the evening, at what was then called the Swinging Bridge Raceway in Jackson, speaking with a pastor who wanted to support the track’s promotion team. I shared many of the things that I had seen successful track operators do. The pastor was a novice with racing. It was a lot like trying to explain short track racing to someone who had never ever been to a racetrack.

On another trip, I was trying to find the Mississippi Motorsports Park in Long Beach, Mississippi. I stopped at a convenience store to ask for directions. I ended up figuring out that the track was about three blocks from the convenience store. Nevertheless, the store clerk didn’t know where the track was located. She told me, “she wasn’t from around here”. When she said that I wondered, “How far are people willing to travel for a minimum wage job in Mississippi?”. This situation is not unique to Mississippi. With GPS I rarely stop to ask for directions anymore. However, when I was doing that it was amazing how many people working in a small town didn’t know where the local racetrack was located.

If you see a track link in the above list simply click on it to be transferred to my Trackchaser Report. Here you will be able to read about my adventure at this particular track. Not only will you learn about my time at the track but you’ll hear about all of the interesting people, places and things I encountered during the entire trip, coming and going, to that speedway. Most of my Trackchaser Reports will also include a photo album and YouTube video. Check it all out. Don’t be afraid to use the “search” box in the upper right corner of my website’s home page. Just type in the track name or whatever and you’ll be directed to the place you want to be.

Below is a key to surface types and track configurations so you can understand the above list just a little bit easier.

Surface types:  D-dirt; P-paved; M-mixed

Configuration types:  O-oval; RC-road course; F8-figure 8 track