Lost Drag Strips

[Redman Div 3]

for those old div 4 guys.austin racewayand the old san antonio raceway.

[fatdsoto]

How about South Glens Falls, N.Y. An outlaw track when I ran there from 73 to 77. My buddy built the tree for them. Basically if you were dialed wiyhin 3 to 4 tenths of each other you were running heads up. We ran stock in a black '72 Demon 340. No money just trophies, drove them in, uncorked the headers and put on the slicks.

[chris3racing]

No North Carolina tracks posted? I believe, and stand to be corrected by Mr. Bret Kepner, North Carolina has had more drag strips than any other state. Remember:
Sanford, Easy Street, Broadslab, Concord, Red Springs, Holly Ridge, Shuffletown, Union County, Fayetteville Airstrip, "original" Piedmont and lots more. I remember other tracks that we raced on, I'm just too old to remember the names.

Right now there are still over a dozen tracks operating on a week-end in North Carolilna

[Adger Smith]

Quote from Jim (Cimo):
Here in East Texas:

Hallsville
Interstate 20/Tyler
Cherokee County
Whitehouse
Gilmer
Winnsboro
Midway Dragstrip/Como
Caddo Mills
Green Valley
Forrest Hill

Some of these have been closed for decades.
Adger, do you remember all of these?

Cimo,
Just saw your post. yes, I do remember, Esp Whitehouse. I didn't advertise the last race there. I didn't want it to take away from the move to I-20 (Tyler)
I sold the first set of timers from Whitehouse to the Como track. I was lucky enough to have raced at all but the Gilmer track. I think I made the last Forrest Hills race. To branch out a little from Jims list we had some Ark. and La. tracks that have gone away.
1. Hope Ar. (airport) I got my start there.
2. Carlisle Ar (airport) "In The Day" there were some real Good races and racers at those two tracks.
3. Prescott Ar. (airport) the other strip at Prescott I helped build in 1978 is still operated there by Jackie lewis. Prescott is where I put all the "Stuff' from the Whitehouse track.
4. Haynesville La. (airport)
5 Two tracks in Shreveport La. The one in the industrial park and the other out east of town by the road race track. The memories are faded on those two, Need some help on info about them from La. racers.
6. There was a track near Alexandria La that we raced som modified and Gas meets at. I think it was Cen-La ??
7 Then there was the Gulf freeway track near Baytown Tx.
8. Can't leave out the East Tex Dragway there was some great racing there
I noticed Redman beat me to the old San Antonio Tx track...oops, He had a better reaction time. :~) I would say a fair share of "long Necks" have been consumed at that track. How about that, Redman?

[Jim Cimarolli]

Adger, after I've had a bit of time to recollect, I was in reference to the "Cedar Hill" track instead of Forest Hill.

[Adger Smith]

That didn't sound right, but I think you are right. Wasn't that was one of "The Hall's" first go at strip ownership? I think the Cen-La track was at Forrest Hills near Leesville, La. (alex area) That was where I Attended last race. They gave out rain checks and never opened again.
Wow, this is getting into some cobwebs in my mind...I might have to think, recollect a little more...

[Mack Reeves]

Originally Posted by chris3racing

No North Carolina tracks posted? I believe, and stand to be corrected by Mr. Bret Kepner, North Carolina has had more drag strips than any other state. Remember:
Sanford, Easy Street, Broadslab, Concord, Red Springs, Holly Ridge, Shuffletown, Union County, Fayetteville Airstrip, "original" Piedmont and lots more. I remember other tracks that we raced on, I'm just too old to remember the names.

Right now there are still over a dozen tracks operating on a week-end in North Carolilna

Adding to your NC list are East Bend and are they still running at Wilkesboro????

[Paul Ceasrine]

Originally Posted by fatdsoto

How about South Glens Falls, N.Y. An outlaw track when I ran there from 73 to 77. My buddy built the tree for them. Basically if you were dialed wiyhin 3 to 4 tenths of each other you were running heads up. We ran stock in a black '72 Demon 340. No money just trophies, drove them in, uncorked the headers and put on the slicks.

Upstate New York,,,,,,,,,it was either Fonda or South Glens Falls,,

Fonda Speedway,,,,,,,,,, (Montgomery County Fairgrounds)
21 South Bridge
Fonda, New York

* About 30 miles west of Albany, New York

The Fairgrounds was used as a dual-track, with a 1/2 mile Dirt Oval for Stock Car Races.
and a Drag Strip.

The Drag Strip was opened in 1957, as an 1/8 mile track,,,,,,,,,
then converted to a 1/4 mile track in 1959.
It was closed in 1968.

NHRA Drag Rules

Race Days; Saturday Night

Home of; The Muldowneys (Shirley and Jack), Chuck McJury, and Grant Speed Shop's.

Pretty much an 'Outlaw Track', that drew alot of 'backwoods drag racers'.
The Drag Strip portion of the track and surroundings were kind of rough,,,,,,,,sometimes being labeled 'a dump' by racers.

Famous for home-made diggers, and rough-n-ready gassers.

But for Mid-Upstate New York, it was the only game in town.

Pulled in 'local racers' from Montgomery, Schenectady, Albany, Schoharie, Ostego, Herkimer, Hamilton and Delaware counties,
but mostly from the Tri-Counties of (Montgomery, Schenectady and Albany).

[terrylee]

western Pa. and east Ohio
anybody remember the Greeks operated strips in mercer, Pa.
and drag city, in east ohio.

pittsburgh international dragway

sunshine dragway, new castle, Pa.

won alot of races at those old tracks

[Mike Carr]

Originally Posted by terrylee

western Pa. and east Ohio
anybody remember the Greeks operated strips in mercer, Pa.
and drag city, in east ohio.

pittsburgh international dragway

sunshine dragway, new castle, Pa.

won alot of races at those old tracks

-Alex Theopolis (sp?) ran Sunset in the Mercer PA area, and Ohio Drag City in Meander Ohio. Alex passed away a few months ago. Sunset has raced the past few years as an outlaw track. Meander has been closed for several years, and when it closed, there was a clause in the contract that said the new property owner(s) could do anything they wanted with it, EXCEPT have a working drag strip.

-Skyline was the track near New Castle. My dad's uncle helped build Skyline.

-P.I.D. closed in 1976.

Sadly, I am too young (age 31) to have been to or raced at any of these tracks. Another area track closed down is the Fairmont (formerly Eldora) Dragway in Fairmont WV. We had several S/SS races there from 1995 to 1999. It closed in, I think, 2000. Nice little down-home 1/8 mile track.

Other area tracks that have closed over the years that I have heard about. Peterson Memorial in Altoona PA, one in New Bethlehem PA, not sure if the track in Erie PA still exists or not. Or the one in Steubenville OH, an outlaw 1/8 mile track that also hosted several of our S/SS races from 1997-2002