After the Garnett riot in 1963 in which Ottawa Police Chief Robert Cowdin died, the report of the riot for the State Attorney General spoke of a poorly equipped police force against a huge mob. The influx of patrons in the County Courthouse Square causing disturbances, was simply too much for the officers on patrol that night. The officers on duty did their best to subdue a crowd that far outnumbered them and had been encouraged by a day of drinking, before descending on the Square. The report indicates that the blame for the riot rested solely on the shoulders of about 2,000 youths that were on the square during those hours. The most basic cause of the riot was young people’s massive consumption of alcohol. The Garnett Police Department’s lack of preparedness for the violence was due to a lack of planning. Since it had never happened before, they hadn’t prepared for the size of the crowd that the Shelby vs Yenko race would draw.
At the 1964 race, a trained and experienced police force was on duty at all times. There were isolated incidents, but nothing serious. However, after the conclusion of the races that year, the racing associations would pull the plug on the races for good as a way to reduce the opportunity for violence.
The track would be used occasionally until its last race in 1972 before being revived in 2013, 50 years after the Garnett Riot, for the Grand Prix Revival Show Car Track event, now one of the most highly attended events of it’s kind in the midwest
