by Owosso Speedway
It came as a surprise to many in the racing community when the announcement was made that the Owosso Speedway would be in action on Memorial Day in 2025. Some events around the United States are run on Memorial Day itself, but for several years the Owosso Speedway didn’t even run on Memorial Day weekend!
After two straight years of great turn outs on the weekend, the Speedway is doubling down with a special showcase event for the weekly Modified division on Saturday, May 24th, and then quickly turning around to Memorial Day Monday, May 26th for the eighth edition of the Big O Classic, featuring the first of three appearances for the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour. But this is not the first time the Owosso Speedway has been in action on Memorial Day!
First a little history about the holiday itself. Originally called Decoration Day (because of the tradition of decorating the graves of fallen soldiers from the Civil War) it began on May 30, 1868. In 1873 New York was the first state to commemorate the date as a holiday. The holiday was on May 30 annually until 1971 when Congress dictated the holiday would become placed on the last Monday in May every year.
In 1957 drivers from all over lined up for a 100-lap feature on the still relatively new half-mile dirt oval. Some of the biggest stars of the day were in the field. The first-ever Owosso native driver to win at the Big O would end a years long winless streak when Windy Daley (who has a relative still racing at the Speedway in the Street Stock division, Chris Daley) took the popular victory.
The race was not without controversy as on a mid-race restart Bud Shepard was leading when a wheel fell off, and while the flagman threw a yellow, the field did not yield so an urgent red flag had to be thrown, jumbling the field.
In the end, Windy Daley took the win, but it wasn’t until a later date when second and third place finishers were determined after the scoring had to be reviewed. While today we have electronic timing and scoring, hand scoring was the only way in that day.
In 2025 Memorial Day will see the Big O Classic run for the eighth time. Canadian hot shoe Chase Pinsonneault picked up the win in the 2024 edition of the event, joining names like NASCAR Cup Series driver Erik Jones, legendary late model racer Brian Campbell, Outlaw Super Late Model standouts Chad Finley and Kyle Crump, and Modified veteran Travis Eddy as the previous winners of the event.
Joining the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour will be the inaugural visit for the CRA Street Stock Series, their lone appearance in the state of Michigan, and also allowing Owosso Speedway to be one of very few tracks to host all the series under the CRA banner.
