Selinsgrove Speedway was built in 1945 under the supervision of Joie Chitwood, a Hollywood stunt man and race car driver from Denison, Texas. The land had previously been a family farm owned by the Allison and Davis families of Snyder County. They sold it to the Dauntless Hook and Ladder Volunteer Fire Department of Selinsgrove in 1941 as a permanent home for the fire company's annual carnival. The first race was held on July 20, 1946 as an American Automobile Association sanctioned event. The winner was Bill Holland, who would go on to win the Indianapolis 500 in 1949. Placing second was Red Byron, who won the first NASCAR-sanctioned race ever, held on February 15, 1948 at the Daytona Beach Road Course and would go on to become the first champion of the NASCAR's Strictly Stock division, n