De Soto Airport (Mansfield)

The airport three miles northwest of Mansfield, built in 1944, hosted an NHRA regional championship drag race on June 27, 1954, written up in the 1955 Hot Rod Annual. The Shreveport Timing Association ran monthly races in 1955, opening the season on February 20 and racing every third Sunday, with trophies for class winners. On March 13, 1955, Robert Saunders of Houston won top eliminator at 123 mph in his dragster. A big race on May 18, 1958 drew racers from Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.

In 1958 the races ran monthly, sponsored by the Mansfield Jaycees, run by the Shreveport Timing Association and sanctioned by NHRA. The Jaycees spent the profits on playground equipment for every school in De Soto Parish and started a fund for a school for special needs children in Mansfield. In June 1960 Al Browner set a track record of 127.86 mph in his ‘26 Ford roadster. That year the Ark-La-Tex Timing Association ran races on the third Sunday of each month, and by the Louisiana Championship Drag Races on October 16, 1960, the record stood at 153.32 mph. Racing may have gone on until 1962, but records are thin.