Lonsdale Sports Arena was a high-banked paved oval

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

located north of

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket ( ) is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...

, on Mendon Road (

Rhode Island Route 122 Route 122 is a numbered state highway running in Rhode Island, United States. Its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 1 in Rhode Island, U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Pawtucket, and its northern terminus is at the Massachusetts ...

) in

Cumberland, Rhode Island Cumberland is the northeasternmost town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, first settled in 1635 and incorporated in 1746. The population was 36,405 at the 2020 census, making it the seventh-largest municipality and the largest ...

, on the banks of the

Blackstone River The Blackstone River in the United States is a river that flows through Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It is long with a drainage area of 475 mi2 (1229 km2). It drains into the tidal river, Pawtucket River at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Pawtuck ...

. The track operated from 1947 to 1956. Its name was a reference to the Lonsdale historic district in the towns of Cumberland and Lincoln. A

Stop & Shop The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, known as Stop & Shop, is an American regional chain of supermarkets located in the northeastern United States. From its beginnings in 1892 as a small grocery store, it has grown to include a 365-store chain ...

plaza now occupies where the arena was.

History

The site of Lonsdale Sports Arena was originally an earthen

levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...

holding pond, used to retain water to power a local textile mill. The levee area was bought in 1934 by Edward A. McNulty, a local road builder, who first used it as a sand and

gravel pit A gravel pit is an open-pit mine for the extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may naturally fill with water to form ponds or lakes. Gravel pit lakes are typically nutrient rich and ...

. McNulty later constructed a race track on the site. Built for

midget car racing Midget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small, with a very high power-to-weight ratio, and typically use four-cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on most ...

, the asphalt race track hosted the quick open-wheeled machines during its inaugural season, 1947, as midget racing was king with Bill Schindler and his #2 car winning a season-high four features. Other winners that year were Lloyd Christopher, Joe Sostillio and Ted Tappet. Running mostly on Wednesday nights, the midgets also ran twice on Sundays and once on Fridays in 1947. The season finale for Lonsdale in 1947 marked an important milestone in the history of motorsports. The MOA (Motor Racing Association) sanctioning body organized the inaugural stock car race in the Northern United States on October 26. Fonty Flock emerged victorious after completing 30 laps. The MOA eventually paved the way for the establishment of

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

, a renowned and influential racing brand. This event at Lonsdale served as a testing ground for stock car entrepreneurs like Bill France Sr., who sought to determine the long-term viability of stock car racing. Their vision and dedication have since propelled

to become the leading form of auto racing in the United States.. A showcase for midget racing, Lonsdale's role in the post-war midget boom came to an end. The debate over

Offenhauser The Offenhauser Racing Engine, or Offy, is a racing engine design that dominated American open wheel racing for more than 50 years and is still popular among vintage sprint and midget car racers. History The Offenhauser engine, familiarl ...

(Offy) and non-Offy powerplants was a part of the escalating costs of fielding a midget racer and contributed to a great divide within the ranks. A cheaper form of racing was quickly approaching: the stock car experiment at Lonsdale proved to be it. Stock cars soon replaced midgets at Lonsdale for good in the late 1940s or early 1950s. The stock cars (also called Jalopies or Modifieds) were a godsend to the track operators. The cars were cheap, provided many racing thrills, and most importantly, the drivers and fans could not get enough of these stock cars. It was truly great racing, watching the stock cars test the high banks drew massive crowds to a facility with grandstands that encircled the entire track.

Incidents

On October 12, 1949, a driver from Harris, Rhode Island, was killed in a rollover accident during a race at the track.

Closure

Lonsdale met its ultimate demise because of the Blackstone River. Its location on the banks of the river proved problematic when the river crested, flooded the track, and undermined the grandstands. The subsequent dwindling crowds did not allow the owner to rebuild the grandstands. The track's last race saw the same racing that started Lonsdale end its tenure on the racing circuit: an ARDC– USAC midget feature held on September 30, 1956. Cliff Riggot won the final race at Lonsdale in his Wozniak Offy. The final season champion at Lonsdale was the venerable Fred Luchesi, who also won championships at Seekonk Speedway, Norwood Arena Speedway,norwoodarena.com
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Waterford Speedbowl The New London-Waterford Speedbowl is a 1/3 mile asphalt oval race track located on CT 85 in Waterford, Connecticut, just off Interstate 395. It first opened for business on April 15, 1951, as "The New London-Waterford Speed Bowl", ...

, and Westboro Speedway during this rough-and-tumble era. New Jersey's Wall Township Speedway, which opened in 1950, was patterned after Lonsdale.

Sources

* Pronyne Motorsports Museum *

References

{{Reflist

External links

Touring Series & Major Events
at The Third Turn Motorsport venues in Rhode Island Defunct motorsport venues in the United States Sports venues completed in 1947 1947 establishments in Rhode Island 1956 disestablishments in Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Cumberland, Rhode Island Sports venues in Providence County, Rhode Island Defunct sports venues in Rhode Island