Greenwood Army Airfield

Closed

Racers took over the runway before the city approved it

Raced: 1963
State: Mississippi
What's left: A good length of the old track surface is still there, in poor to good condition.
Raced on: A military airfield
First race: March 17, 1963
Last race: 1963
Surface: Runway
Location: East-west runway of the old army air base, Greenwood
People: Moose Lodge, leaseholder and operator (1963)
Elevation: 143 ft (44 m)
Coordinates: 33.49259, -90.08335

In early March 1963 a few men asked the Greenwood city council to allow drag racing on the east-west runway of the old army air base, which teenagers were already using without permission. The council said it had to check with the FAA and the Mississippi Aeronautics Commission first. Racers showed up anyway on Sunday, March 17, and the next Sunday more than 400 cars came to race and watch, from Mississippi, Tennessee and even Texas. The city had posted closed and no-trespassing signs, but police said they didn’t have the manpower to stop it. In late May the city leased the airport to the Moose Lodge to run weekly races. A Greenwood woman complained to the council that the races were loud and held during morning church hours. Racing seems to have continued at the airport through 1963 but not after.

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