Lost Drag Strips

[treessavoy]

When I was in Ft Hood in the mid '70's they had just dissloved the Army Racing Team but they held races down by the rail loading yards on a blocked off road.....tree and lights, the full monte, but Temple Academy was my favorite, at that time they ran AHRA.

JimR

[bluegrassx]

Planning the second Reunion for Bluegrass Dragway in 2012
Closed in 1981.

[rawhide]

Originally Posted by treessavoy

When I was in Ft Hood in the mid '70's they had just dissloved the Army Racing Team but they held races down by the rail loading yards on a blocked off road.....tree and lights, the full monte, but Temple Academy was my favorite, at that time they ran AHRA.

JimR

I was stationed at Fort Hood in 1968 and went to Temple Academy/Little River a couple of times. I remember the Christmas tree hung over the track on a cable attached to the tower on one side and a tree limb on the other. When the wind was blowing the light was all over the place. If memory serves me correctly it was a traffic light they were using but it has been a long time.
thanks, Roland

[JRyan]

Originally Posted by rawhide

I was stationed at Fort Hood in 1968 and went to Temple Academy/Little River a couple of times. I remember the Christmas tree hung over the track on a cable attached to the tower on one side and a tree limb on the other. When the wind was blowing the light was all over the place. If memory serves me correctly it was a traffic light they were using but it has been a long time.
thanks, Roland

You're right Roland. It was a couple of stop lights. I was stationed at Ft. Hood in 68' and 69'. I took my 50 Olds V/Stocker (theres a photo in Mark Yacavone's collection) down there in 1969, and won 17 of 19 Stock Eliminator races with it. Imagine a V/Stocker on a PRO TREE. Aah, but we had the tenth break-out in effect back then, and not many cars could run under the index. The other two races were runner-up finishes, as the clutch locked up once and the spider gears broke on the other, both in the finals.

I loved that track, not just because I was successful there, but because it was just a neat, tree-lined track with a shaded grandstand and always had great traction. The cows used to graze the trees during the week, so you had to police the pit area for cow pies before you pitted, but it was always lots of fun. Also, remember that it was all CLASS RACING as they didn't yet have brackets. Funny thing is, everyone understood handicapped racing back then, but now it's often used as an excuse as to why spectators don't watch us. Must have been a bunch of stupid people born in the last thirty years!!

I think the most impressive thing about that track to me was that the conditions never seemed to change. Even when it was hot, it wasn't HOT. The starting line was always shaded and so were the pits. So the traction was always consistent. Reher-Morrison used to go there to test because of the conditions, or so I've heard.

If anyone on this forum remembers those races at Temple-Academy (Little River) in 1969, I'd appreciate it if you'd PM me.

Jerry