What was then known as West Michigan State Fairgrounds featured a 1.125-mile dirt oval from 1903 to 1937. The quarter- and half-mile Grand River Speedrome was built on the site in 1950 with NASCAR Grand National races held on the longer track in 1951 (won by Marshall Teague) and 1954 (Lee Petty). The tracks were paved during the 1960s, before the speedway ran its final races on 30 July 1966. The State Highway Department had bought the land for the construction of US Interstate 131 through Grand Rapids.