Where exactly did the New Orleans pop festival happen in Prairieville

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Where exactly did the New Orleans pop festival happen in Prairieville
Charleston Road in Prairieville

pin drop approximation


It was a speedway/racetrack at that time. Charleston (or maybe Willow Lake) was called Racetrack Lane at one point

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There is very little info on this track out there, same with pictures. It was known as Baton Rouge Int'l Speedway, and also Pelican Int'l Speedway.

The track ran east/west, and the pit area was on the south side. The track was advertised as a 5/8ths mile, but in reality was almost 3/4 mile through the racing groove.

The track has a very checkered history; it was originally built by a man named Ed Grady; he was a teamsters boss. The track is rumored to have been built by the Louisiana Highway Department using taxpayer-bought material, under orders of the LA governor at that time. Not saying it happened that way, but it was never denied...

The governor had a kid who wanted to race, and they had the track built to give him a place to race. The kid was sponsored in part by the LA Tourism Bureau. Funny that, he hardly ever left LA to race, spent the tourism dollars in his his home state. And he could'nt drive a tricycle down a sidewalk, thankfully, he didn't last long.

The Governor, whose name I can't recall, and the kid both later did time; nothing unusual down there. The track initially ran friday nights so as not to compete with Houston, Jackson and Mobile, all half mile tracks within 3-4 hours. The friday was an issue, as the traffic from the east around Slidel hampered getting to the place.

Track promotion was itself it's own nightmare story. I only got there once, in 1979; last time it ran. It was originally built about 1966, and was off and on until 1978. The 79 race was the only event that year, twin 50 lap races won by Georgia Hotshoe Ronnie Sanders. The first event raced at the track was won by David Pearson.

The location is long gone, replaced by housing. If you go on Bing Maps, the location is easy to find. If you follow Hwy 73, aka Old Jefferson Highway southeast out of Baton Rouge, look for where it intersects Hwy 42, just North of Prarieville. You will actually be in Oak Grove. Just south of the intersection of 42/73, you will find Charleston Road running east. That was the track entrance.

On your original pic, the road that makes a curve south of the track is the now Charleston road. Just North of Charleston is a road called Race Track road;

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The track has a very checkered history; it was originally built by a man named Ed Grady; he was a teamsters boss

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The track has a very checkered history; it was originally built by a man named Ed Grady; he was a teamsters boss That would be Edward Grady Partin.

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