A Different Kind of Jungle


When we think of a jungle... most of us think of trees, bugs, birds, a maybe a monkey or two.  We think of movies like "The Jungle Book", "Tarzan", or even "Apocalypse Now".  
What we don't think of is race cars.  

In 1926, a man named Earl Padgett decided to open a sprint car track in Parke County, Indiana. It was a 1/2 mile, squished circle track (not quite oval, not a circle) on the banks of Sugar Creek, on the edge of Turkey Run State Park.
Map of area where Jungle Park is located
Jungle Park Speedway became a notoriously deadly race track.   But it was also known as one of the starting points for 8 Indianapolis 500 winners, including Wilbur Shaw who won in 1937, 1939 and 1940.

Along the track, runs Highway 41 one one side, Sugar Creek on another, and woods on the other.  Those three elements are a portion of what made the track deadly.  The straightaways were paved, and the corners were gravel.  The sides were high banked.  
Often, crashes would happen in the corners.  As a story goes, a car crashed and ended up on 41 coming out of turn 4.  More often than not, the crashes sent cars and drivers into the 'jungle' of trees nearby.  

Safety precautions were not in place at this time.  The stands only had a 3 1/2- 4 foot high concrete barrier with hog wire fencing above to protect the spectators from the passing cars on the track.  
The park was closed from 1941-1945 because of World War II.  Once re-opened, it ran until 1955 when a spectator was killed.  It re-opened again in 1960, but was closed after only 1 year because of another death.  

 But now, nature is reclaiming what was once a vivid place in racing history.  The stands (seen in their glory above) are now being taking over by birds, rodents, vines, and some trees.  Only one set of stands remain of the 6 you can see in some  photos.  The center field now houses the canoes for a local rental place. 

 Here are some of the photos taken 6/4/16 on a trip made "into the jungle".  For further viewing, and a video of the area, visit the Indianapolis Star 
http://www.indystar.com/story/life/2016/05/25/legend-notoriously-deadly-jungle-park-speedway/83040816/ 



Welcome to the Jungle

I wouldn't sit down if I were You

All that remains
The Light was bright once

Don't sit here anymore
The path out of the Jungle

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