Main Street Auto Speedway On Old Main Street Rd.

[Highrise Tower]

I was looking at a few HAIF threads combined with looking on historical satellite images, and I found this obscure race track.

Looks like, in present-day, this is located at Kirby Drive & NRG Parkway. Makes me think this was having to deal with the Astrodome design/festivities.

In the year 1944, you can see the race track was grown-over with grass.  I'm thinking this was active in the 1920s.  I wonder if this was a test track, or related, to the Arrowhead Speedway a few miles away.

This could also be apart of a horse stables property. A horse riding track?

I also didn't know that a portion of Old Main Street Road turned into Kirby Drive.  I thought it was a Fannin Street swap?

Arrowhead Speedway shown at the top of the image located on Old Spanish Trail near South Main Street.

In this image, you can see the 4 oval race tracks:
Left: Houston (Bellaire) Speedway
Bottom: Unknown on OMSR
Middle: Arrowhead Speedway
Top: Unknown on OMSR

[Highrise Tower]

This race track was called South Main Speedway.

Houston Adjacent Subdivisions Map 1930.

Printed on front: "Compiled from data and information furnished by City Planning Commission, City Engineering Department, resident engineer of State Highway Department and other sources by W.G. Jones, Secretary-Manager-Motor League of South Texas and R.M. Stene, road log enginner."

Shows city blocks, named streets, major highways, proposed highways, subdivisions, bayous, and ship channel. Includes lists of schools, hospitals, and cemeteries and index guide to streets of Houston. Title from title block. Scale of map is approximately 1 mile to 2 in.

This race track was across the street from either the Houston Main Street Airport, or Sam Houston Airport. The speedway is located within the Well's Flying Field and Curtiss Wight Flying Service Airport complex.

An article in a newspaper dated April 4, 1930.

Killed In First Race.

Making his first race as a professional driver, William H. Posyer, 32, an electrical contractor and resident of Houston for the last fifteen years, was fatally injured Sunday afternoon on the new South Main Speedway.

Poyser was turning south bend of the track abreast of another driver when his car, racing sixty miles an hour, ran off the track and crashed into a private car. He died about 4 o'clock in a hospital.

The fatal accident occurred in the first of a series of races scheduled Sunday on the new speedway.

[Highrise Tower]

Found another name for this racing track.  Or maybe it's the proper name? Or maybe a whole different race track!

A company's city directory of Houston in 1931 specifies the race track called Main Street Auto Speedway. Located at South Main & Brays Bayou.

Morrison & Fourmy's Houston (Texas) City Directory 1931

- Main Street Auto Speedway, es Main 1 s Brays Bayou

[Dave W]

3 hours ago, Highrise Tower said:

Found another name for this racing track.  Or maybe it's the proper name? Or maybe a whole different race track!

A company's city directory of Houston in 1931 specifies the race track called Main Street Auto Speedway. Located at South Main & Brays Bayou.

Morrison & Fourmy's Houston (Texas) City Directory 1931

- Main Street Auto Speedway, es Main 1 s Brays Bayou

Must be the same track. East side of (south) Main, 1 (mile?) south of Brays Bayou.

[Highrise Tower]

I'm late to the party, but I just discovered the cartoon-but-accurate map that the publication called Houston Gargoyle Magazine put out in May 1, 1932.

Within the map, it contains the race track on Old Main Street Road, written as Old Main Road.

The map is actually just amazing! It's of the whole "south main corridor" as you might say.  Very cool!!

If you would like to zoom in, you can go to the original rice link:

https://ricehistorycorner.com/2016/11/29/houstons-cradle-of-culture-1932/