Vintage Dirt Track Hot Rods of Central Kansas Page 1 of 5
Most of the photographs below were taken at Cejay Stadium which was located at 2700 SE George Washington Blvd. on the then southeast edge of Wichita, Kansas from 1945 through 1955.  Racetrack owner and promoter Carl Johnson's initials were the insperation for the name of the facility.  In viewing the photographs, it helps to know that Cejay Stadium was unique in a number of ways.  It consisted of a 4/10 mile dirt oval racetrack with a round dirt 1/5 mile racetrack on the infield and sharing one end of the larger oval.  There was some banking on the shared end of the racetrack while the other end of the larger oval was almost flat.  The grandstands were on the curve outside the shared end of the racetrack with the start / finish line in front of the grandstands thus, in the middle of the shared curve of the racetrack.  Heat races were run on the 1/5 mile track while feature events utilized the longer oval.  The design required feature race participants not only to jump the 1/5 mile banking onto the larger track but also to fly over another higher speed jump at the end of the other straight away to re-enter the 1/5 mile track and immediately negociate the curve in front of the grandstand.  Thus, as you will see, much of the racing action took place near the start / finish line and right in front of the grandstands.  Today, the only visible sign of the existence of this historic racing facility is a short section of the first turn crash wall.           Some of the remaining photographs here were taken at the Jayhawk Amusement Park Speedway, a 1/3 mile dirt racetrack at Newton, Kansas that ran from c1948 through c1958; and on a 1/2 mile racetrack at the Concordia, Kansas fairgrounds.
	Bob Tatro with a track hot rod he built with Edd Sneary c1955 – Lyle Sneary collection
		Will Forrest wins one in the Ted Kammerer and Al White owned #24, Cejay Stadium Wichita, Kansas - 1949 - Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Bob Moffitt in the Moffitt Brothers' Special, Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - c1949 - Anthony Miller collection
		Paul Kammerer, right, and Don Allred behind the wheel of a Ted Kammerer owned                                track hot rod in 1951 - Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Bob Thorne with the Al White and Ted Kammerer owned Mercury powered track hot rod Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - 1949 - Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Will Forrest with the Al White and Ted Kammerer owned track hot rod. The track hot rod visible in the background at right was owned by Earl Mills, Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - 1949 - Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Racing before a small crowd on a cold day at Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas. The #6 hot rod in the middle was owned by the Wilkinson family and driven by Bob Murra - c1949 - Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Noel "Shorty" Jones at Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - 1948 - Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal KammerercCollection
		J. D. Hanna in a J. R. "Bob" Cox owned hot rod at Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - 1949 Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal KammerercCollection
		#8 Red Taylor of Chapman, Kansas at Jayhawk Amusement Park Speedway, Newton, Kansas - 1948 Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		#8 Red Taylor, #24 Bob Thorne, #713 George Truier, Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - 1950 Jim Edwares photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Hiram Allen "Hi" Mesel in his Mercury hot rod, Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - c1949 Jim Edwares photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		#94 Hi Mesel and Buddy Quick (center) watch Warren "Al" Puckett flip his track hot rod Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - 1949 - Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Track hot rods, Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - c1949 - Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Bob Murra in a Wilkinson family owned hot rod, Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - 1949 Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Brian Corrigan of Wichita, Kansas in a 59A style Ford flathead powered track hot rod that was owned by M. G. Trabue, Cejayay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - 1949 - Jim Edwards phot from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Bub McHenry in Earl Mills' Chevrolet powered track hot rod with a "Wayne Head",                        Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - 1949 -Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Bub McHenry in Melvin Widup's Mercury powered track hot rod, Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas 1949 - Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Don Thornton, left, racing Bob Thorne to the finish line on the last lap of a race,                Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - 1949 - Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Cejay Stadium, Wichita, KS - c1950 - Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Left to right: Ted Kammerer, Bob Thorne, and Al White with the #24 track hot rod that Kammerer and White co-owned in 1950 - Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		An unidentified driver and crew with their 4 cyl. "Miller" Ford - 1949 - Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Will Forrest in the first race car he ever drove.  It was a 4 cyl. Ford “Miller Schofield” owned by his brother, Carrol Forrest, Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - 1949 Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Mickey McCormick with his GMC powered track hot rod at Cejay Stadium,                                              Wichita, Kansas - 1949 -Jim Edwards photo
		Bob Thorne, inside, and Red Taylor lead Harry Everhart at Jayhawk Amusement Park                                         Speedway, Newton, Kansas - 1948 - Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		If you recognize the driver of this hot rod at Cejay Stadium in Wichita, Kansas taken c1950, please contact Bob Lawrence Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		Jerry Shumaker in the #920 Hudson powered track hot rod he owned and drove at Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - 1949 - Jim Edwards photo
		J. R. "Bob" Cox in his Mercury V-8, Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - 1950 - Jim Edwards photo from the J. R. Cox  collection
		Bob Murra in a hot rod owned by Frank Amos at Cejay Stadium, Wichita, Kansas - 1950 - Jim Edwards photo from the Paul & Opal Kammerer collection
		#49 J. R. "Bob" Cox lined up inside second row at Jayhawk Amusement Park Speedway, Newton, Kansas - 1949 - Paul & Opal Kammerer collection

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Vintage Dirt Track Hot Rods of Central Kansas

Brian E. Corrigan, Jr.