The site of Lonsdale Sports Arena was originally an earthen levee holding pond, used to retain water to power a local textile mill.

[1] The levee area was bought in 1934 by Edward A. McNulty, a local road builder, who first used it as a sand and gravel pit.

The debate over Offenhauser (Offy) and non-Offy powerplants was a part of the escalating costs of fielding a midget racer and contributed to a great divide within the ranks.

A cheaper form of racing was quickly approaching: the stock car experiment at Lonsdale proved to be it.

It was truly great racing, watching the stock cars test the high banks drew massive crowds to a facility with grandstands that encircled the entire track.

[2] On October 12, 1949, a driver from Harris, Rhode Island, was killed in a rollover accident during a race at the track.