Paragon Speedway

11/04/2026

Everyone thinks of Bubby Jones as a USAC or s CRA Star long before those days you could often find young Bub at Paragon . Him and his buddy Larry Cannon spent many of Saturday Night at Paragon in the tracks glory years in the 1960s and early 1970s . In these days Edd Sheppard was known to Slip Bubby and Larry Cannon motel rooms at Paragons Snoozy Motel to show up at Paragon . Here Bubby is driving the Bill Canfield car .Bubby is talking to Allen Barr not sure the year but the block wall makes it 1970 or older and . I’m pretty sure this photo is 1970 not sure who the young guy is if someone knows please comment it may be Rick King . This photo is a treasure feel free to share if . Rick Johnson photo
Billy Sheppard

11/02/2026

Yes it maybe off season… but we’re already getting ready for 2027!

This season we are putting together a better way to keep our race fans connected-

Subscribe to Paragon Speedway for race updates, schedule changes, special events, giveaways, exclusive offers and everything else happening at the track throughout the season (and this off-season😉)

And we figured we’d give you a pretty good reason to get on the list early… 👀

🎟️ Everyone who subscribes before November 14th will automatically be entered to win FOUR FREE general admission tickets to use during the 2027 season!

It’s completely free to subscribe. No spam, no blowing up your inbox ‼️ just the stuff you actually want to know about.

Hit the link below and get on the list. 🏁

We’ve got a lot planned for next season… and subscribers are going to hear about it first. 👀

Be among the first to know when the schedule, special events and major race announcements drop!

10/29/2026

Need plans for tonight be sure to go check out Bloomington speedway!!

10/29/2026

The Original Paragon Speedway Wing Warrior’s

In 1968 Paragon left the South Central Indiana Racing Association “SCIRA” and went Wing Sprint Car Racing for the 1968 and 1969 seasons .
Mooresville’s Jim Johnson in this photo was one of Paragon Speedway’s original wing warriors during that 1968 season . These years was true run what ya brung years . They are actually old advertising that says “ run what ya brung “ Wings were allowed, no cubic inch limit no tire rules .
A few of the guys running wings at Paragon in 1968 was guys like Karl Kinser and Larry Miller they ran a car called Big Bertha with a homemade fuel injection with a 427 .
Rex and Denny Mitchell ran a car called the Flying Nun with a big block 454 Chevy
Allen Barr and the Shores Brothers ran a new Shores car number 41 with a wing that pawed its way around the bottom of the track on three wheels with a small block Chevy
Illinois invaders like Raymond Cripps in a box tail super modified called Casper and Gene Henson in another box tailed super modified called the Flying Eye Ball which was a fuel injected big block Buick were also part of these new Paragon Wing wonders.
We can never forget the great Calvin Gilstrap in a car called the Red Baron with a picture of Snoopy on the wing from the 1968 season
When Edd Sheppard left the SCIRA it split the car count half the teams stayed with Paragon and half the teams went with the SCIRA . By throwing the rule book away it allowed Edd to draw more Illinois guys that was running wing super modified’s and other out of town guys . Soon Edd Sheppard would have more cars than the SCIRA on a Saturday night . It was a gamble that paid off for the good of the future of the sport .
Paragon went full outlaw wing sprint car racing long before the All Star Circuit of Champions started in 1970 and most Paragon Fans don’t realize that Paragon History today .

Billy Sheppard

10/27/2026

🏁🏆 PARAGON SPEEDWAY 2026 SEASON BANQUET! 🏆🏁

🎉 MARK YOUR CALENDARS! 🎉

It’s time to celebrate an incredible 2026 racing season at Paragon Speedway!

📅 Saturday, January 23, 2027

📍 LOCATION:
Owl Ridge Wedding Venue
Greencastle, Indiana

Join us as we come together to honor our 2026 Track Champions, drivers, race teams, and everyone who made this season one to remember! 🏆🏁

🎟️ BANQUET TICKETS: $30 PER PERSON
🍽️ Includes a delicious meal, dessert, and a cash bar!

💰 NO PAYMENT REQUIRED TO RSVP!
All payments will be collected the day of the banquet upon arrival!

📲 RSVP TODAY TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT! If you don’t, you will not have a seat!!

📱 Corey: (317) 366-2910
📱 Amanda: (812) 272-6528

📢 More details, including times and the evening’s festivities, will be announced soon!

We can’t thank our drivers, teams, sponsors, and amazing fans enough for supporting Paragon Speedway throughout the 2026 season!

We’re looking forward to getting everyone together for a night of great food, awards, laughs, and celebrating another unforgettable year of dirt track racing!

🏁🏆 ONE BIG RACING FAMILY. ONE UNFORGETTABLE SEASON. LET’S CELEBRATE! 🏆🏁

10/22/2026

One of the Original Racing Litton’s was Francis “T Tom” Litton .

T Tom was one of the original hobby stock drivers when the class started in 1974
His Paragon Speedway story started as a child picking up rocks for Edd Sheppard in the 1950s . By the time school started in the fall T Tom and his Brother Jim would wear holes in all there pants from crawling around Paragon Speedway all summer picking up rocks . When school started Edd and Belle would buy the boys some new school clothes for all the hard work they done all summer . By 1963 T Tom and His Brother Jim Sr worked full time for the Sheppard’s maintaining the grounds painting and often building new bleachers . In these days the bleacher fires was still allowed and on a regular basis fans would burn a few bleacher boards to stay warm on a cold spring or fall Saturday Night . Yes that really happened . The Sheppard’s would just replace the boards and it was the Linton boys that done that job . I was just a little kid when T Tom and Jim worked at the speedway and every day T Tom took me to the hill to probably just get in the way but I hung out with them all summer nearly every day . Basically my baby sitter’s was Jim and T Tom Litton on the Speedway Grounds in those days . All in all they was pretty great mentors when I was very young .
I knew just how much the speedway meant to T Tom and Jim so when Eddie Sheppard started the new affordable Hobby Stock Class in 1974 the Litton brothers was all in . They had went from children crawling on the Paragon Speedway to being real race car drivers . Finally the Litton boys was living a childhood dream . Neither brother owned a trailer they would just drive those old cars to the speedway Saturday Afternoon and come get them on Sunday . Many Sunday mornings some of us boys would find are way down to the pits to take a spin in those old race cars before the owners came picked them up . I’d be in those pits before the sun came up . T Tom and Jim got to taking the battery home with them on Saturday night but that didn’t do much good because we had water trucks tractors and track equipment with plenty of batteries it was just a slight inconvenience to a young teen age boy . I was the kid T Tom and Jim watched grow up at the speedway so they always just laughed at me and we had many conversations over the years about me making a carnival ride out of there old race cars on Sunday morning’s . We always laughed about it over the years .
T Tom Litton would be the first Litton to ever flip a race car at the Paragon Speedway . That was on the night of this photo was taken in 1975 when he flipped his 1966 Ford Mustang . T Tom crawled out unhurt but his wife Norma passed out in the stands when he ended up on his lid . Sunday Morning T Tom was at the speedway bright and early fixing the Mustang . That old hobby stock class was sure good for business at Clayton’s Auto Parts store that was located in Paragon during this era .
Billy Sheppard

10/15/2026

Easter Sunday April 10th 1966

Easter Sunday was a long time Sheppard Family Tradition at the Paragon Speedway . Over the years we seen Rain outs , Snow outs , freezing weather to bright sunny warm days and everything in between.
One thing for sure we could almost garrentee they would be between 3 to 4 thousand fans show up for opening day . We would have to add portable seats in the snake pit to hold the fans .
After a long winter the fans flocked to Paragon for one of those famous Belle Sheppard grilled tenderloins with those dehydrated onions that tasted like no other onions . As the gates opened on Easter Sunday Belle made sure the tenderloins were on the grill and the windows were open so the hillside lingered with the smell of her famous tenderloins .
By 1966 the Easter Sunday Sheppard Family Tradition had became a big deal it was the precursor to today’s No Way Out 40. The SCIRA had grown to a major respected series . Rex Mitchell was the defending champion of the series and he was on hand and ready to defend his title .
Cars had showed up from all over as Edd Sheppard had put up a $1350.00 dollar purse that figures in today’s money at about $13757.00 dollars in 2026 .
In early March of 1966 Edd Sheppard took me with him and he drove his 1964 Ford Galaxy 500 to Illinois to meet with many of the super modified stars in that area . He offered motels and some tow money to guys like Bubby Jones , The Cannon Brothers Larry and Steve , Raymond Crippes and Frank Hollingsworth and they all showed up.

Al King a St Louis hot shoe showed up in his familiar car called “The Flying 1 “ it was number 401. King had once ran a dirt NASCAR race in 1951 at the Arizona State Fair Grounds it would be his only NASCAR start
Another set of familiar brothers that was on hand was Don and Ron Fisher.
Ron Fisher was driving for Ray Croxton in the number 52 it was a car that was a cut down champ car that was originally built by Eddie Kuzma and sold to Peter Schmidt. Eddie Sacks had won the 1958 Hoosier Hundred in the car for Schmidt . The car was a Offenhauser power plant .
The car AJ Foyt ran his rookie Indy 500 in 1958 was another Eddie Kuzma built Offenhauser
Ron Fisher was one for the ages driving the cut down Kuzma built champ car that was still running a Offenhauser engine in it . The Offy had to be turned at over 6000 rpms to get about 450 horse power out of it . Ron Fisher had an act for that old Offy and he knew exactly how to rip the lip to get that machine to produce maximum horse power by twisting the power plant as hard as it could be turned on the top of the Paragon race track
I’m so sorry most of you never got to hear Ron Fisher make that Offenhauser sing at Paragon Speedway . They’ve never been nothing like it since . Fisher in the Ray Croxton owned machine was probably the last really competitive Offenhauser Engine at Paragon and the fans probably never realized at the time the history Fisher was making as they watched him make that Offenhauser scream
A pair of racing Cousins was on hand on opening night of 1966 Bob Kinser was driving the Lawerence Fox Travis Chassis . Fox had picked up the chassis in the Youngstown Ohio Travis shop . Cousin Sheldon had took over the famed 14 Pete Brewer car Bob had drove a couple years earlier.
The 1965 Eldora 500 winner Columbus Indiana’s Orville Yeadon was on hand as well . Yeadon was a Paragon Favorite and had Previously sit on the pole of a Midwest National Championship at Paragon . They ran a total of 3 Eldora 500s and two of the three winners was on hand Larry Cannon would go on to win himself a Eldora 500 as well .
April 10th 1966 was a cool 55 degree afternoon at Paragon a perfect day to cars to make power . Bubby Jones set fast time with his Mercury power plant .
Heats were won by Larry Cannon who became a Indy 500 veteran
The Great Don Jackson would win the second heat
Bobby Booker captured the 3rd heat race
Bob Kinser showed them in the trophy dash who the man to beat was going to be that night as he outran Calvin Gilstrap Rex Mitchell and Bubby Jones in the dash
Sheldon Kinser won the Consy with Ron Fisher also Transferring in the Offy
The feature was a battle of the two Travis Chassis with Bob Kinser edging out Rex Mitchell in a 3 way battle along with Orville Yeadon after coming from the tail after a mishap with Al King . The show of the day was Ron Fisher starting 17th and ripping the lip in the Offy that was wound up tighter than a eight day clock to finish fourth

Photo ::: Columbus Indiana’s Orville Yeadon’s 98 and St Louis’s Al King’s The Flying 1 number 401 in a tangle
On the top Ron Fisher cranks the Ray Croxton owned Offenhauser number 52 for all it’s worth around the top of Paragon Speedway during the 1966 Easter Sunday Season Opener on April 10, 1966
Billy Sheppard

10/09/2026

The Paragon Speedway Bicentennial 1976 hobby champion was the Paragon Indiana team owned by the Ray Cooper family and driven by one of the famed Ham Brothers Bill Ham .
Ray Cooper owned a small trucking company in Paragon Indiana in the early 70s and when Eddie Sheppard started announcing he was going to start a new hobby stock class in 1974 that was a affordable class Ray Cooper was one of the many guys that was all in on the ideal
Ray Cooper and Dave Sheets got together to build a Camaro for the inaugural 1974 season .
The 1974 season Cooper and Sheets came up short on a championship so by 1975 Cooper starting to get a old 327 that put some power down but by mid season Cooper put Bill Ham in the car
Bill Ham was a veteran race car driver with much experience even sprint car experience. Ham was a true gasser and held much knowledge about chassis and engines . The winter of 1975 Bill Ham and Ray Cooper started building a car that could truly compete for a champion they started building a 57 Chevy in Coopers Paragon Indiana Truck Shop . They clipped the 57 Chevy with a Camaro front stub used a big Oldsmobile rear end that would hold up all season . Bill Ham built a another 327 and the team came out of the box in 1976 winning races the point battle was tight and during the season a lot of ruff driving started to happen guys started dumping guys and taking out guys like Harold Sanders , Charlie Sentman Jr and Bill Ham was also starting to get ruffed up .
Bill Ham got junked one night destroying the 57 Chevy called Droopy . Droopy was a cave man painted on the deck lid of the 57 Chevy .
If Ham and Cooper would of missed one race the 1976 Point Title would of slipped away but Bill Ham found a 57 Chevy rear clip in Indianapolis Monday morning and a new Camaro front stub and the team worked all week basically building a new car and made it back the next week and won the main event proving they was a championship caliber team .
Cooper and Ham went on to clinch the 1976 Paragon Speedway Track Championship 50 years ago this year in the famed car named Droopy .
Ray Cooper was the father of Melody Sample that owns the property next door to the speedway and her and her husband Willard can be found every Saturday Night Supporting Paragon Speedway
-Billy Sheppard

10/07/2026

Even tho our season is over, there is still some action going on!! And you don’t want to miss this one, going to be an epic race!!

🏁🏁 4 Days Until Raceday! 🏁🏁

Sunday, October 11th is the Josh Burton Memorial at the Historic Bloomington Speedway!

$11,000 to win for the 410 Sprint Cars and lots of other money spread through out the field!

410 Sprint Cars
305 Winged Sprint Cars
Super Stocks
Bombers

Pits Open at 11 AM
General Admission 12 Noon
Hot Laps: 2:30 PM

General Admission: $20
Kids 12 and Under: FREE
Pits: $35
Kids 12 and under Pits: $15