Lost Drag Strips

We also lost the old Islip Speedway 1/8 mile and NY National Speedway to an adult community.

 

An institution unto itself, grand old outlaw Yellow Belly Drag Strip will NEVER DIE! Known as "the gut"and famous for "no rules" racing, Yellow Belly is the Heart of the Beast.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=30028523

http://www.truveo.com/yellow-belly-drag-stripknown-as-the-gut-no-rul/id/341740320

 

This track survives today albeit as an outlaw 1/8th mile. Back in the day
hosted some of Garlits fire burnouts.

 

I have a businesscard from Dean Rollins, I believe this is who you are talking about. I talked with him a few years ago because I have a bunch of footage from Minnesota from the 60's that I want to make into a couple of DVD's and talked to him about donating some pics. He has a huge table at many of the swaps and sells pictures. I bought a few, pretty cool stuff. There's another gentleman that was going to write a book about drag racing in Minnesota that has a bunch of stuff also.

 

come back to central Indiana. We still have some of those & its like it was back in the day.

 

This past weekend my parents were in town and we were flippin through some Rodders Journals and my mom was talking about working the snack bar at Fontana and how one time they had a real bad wreck and some poor guy lost his head, literally. Any one remember that? Maybe '66 or '67?

 

That was Les Richey, shown here at LIONS in his SOHC Mustang just weeks before his death at Fontana. Les' son still tunes Gas Ronda's 2007 street Mustang.

 

Double eagle San Antonio Texas
SA's first purpose built dragstrip opened in 1957 co manged by Chuck Oliver & wife Shirley Oliver for owners Bill & Dorthy Mclure drag racing enthusiast who ownerd a dairy farm outside Fort Worth Tx.


Martindale Airstrip San Antonio Texas- Olin Davis A/Altered gold class winner with "Red Riding Hoodlum" -safari drag events issue 1955 Hotrod Magazine.


A few goodies from Texas..

 

You say it's still in operation as an 1/8 mile?

 

these pctures are a year or so old but the track has been shut down for a few years. the weeds are as high as the top of the stands now. Downed wires everywhere. It looks a lot worse now than it does in these photos

 

http://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=92140

17 page thread on another site covering abandoned drag strips.

 

Here are a few in Michigan
alot of cool old pics at the bottoms of the pages

Paul

Detroit Dragway
http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com/drags.asp?id=1335&type=6

Motor City Dragway
http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com/drags.asp?id=1334&type=6

Tri-City Dragway
http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com/drags.asp?id=1337&type=6

 

I think it BS that the public can't race here anymore!

 

That much of White Hall still exists? Why isnt the Reunion held there?

Get a weed eater and I will match race the Suicide King there next year!!

We had fun at the reunion last year, but this would take the cake.

 

Makes me sad..

 

Cool web site. You guys need to check it out!!

 

Anyone have any shots of the old drag strip in Porter Texas ?

 

A farmer owns the old track and property now and I've heard he don't want anyone on the property, When I went out to take pictures I was told by a local guy... if the farmer caught me out there he would have me arrested.... but I still thought what the heck, I wasn't going to bother anything.

When I went out on the track I noticed he had been changing oil several times near the starting line area (probably on some tractor or ?) he drained the oil on the ground and there were filters laying here and there.

I took a picture of the mess figuring if he wanted to have me arrested for trespassing I'd bargain with him by saying, I doubt my fine wouldn't be near as high as his.

 

I was told this was a track in Texas.

 

Here's Yellow River in Covington Ga.
the track is a trailer court today, the curved turn off is still at the very end of the track
As you can see the track was narrow and the spectators were way too close. In March 1969 a nitro funny car went into the crowd at about 3/4 track, 12 people died and over 50 were injured.
The track closed that day never to reopen.

 

Yes,those pics I took in the late 80's the day it was auctioned.Unfortunately
it was broken up and the shutdown area is now an industrial park.The circle
track(barely seen behind the tower) was also sold and brought back to
operation then a totally new(nice) circle track was built that ran ASA,
Hooters Cup,and hosted a lot of Nascar testing. Sadly,they just auctioned
the USA Speedway a couple months ago,right down to taking bids on the
concrete and asphalt(more warehouses). The dragstrip has been recently
repaved and updated but it seems(at least to me) that the pressure is on
to develop? there too.The warehouse outfit paid $6 million for the fiftysome
acre circle track.http://www.lakelandmotorsportspark.com/

 

This is what remains of the Boondocks.







And a link to a map on how to get there.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...0.67242,-89.756144&spn=0.003442,0.007231&z=17

Some pics of the strip from people that I know.

 

Cool and eerie at the same time. I've said it before...someone should do a coffee table book....then/now on the old strips

 

Bob's pretty spot on. Gary's been asked and won't budge. His civic pride is, uuh, somewhat lacking! coughcoughASScoughcough

 

Here are a couple pics taken in Feb. of 2007 of the Louisa Drag Strip in Louisa Virginia. It ran from about 1959 to 64-65 somewhere around there. Im standing on the concrete launch pad and the 2nd photo is looking back towards the start. Where the wet gravel starts is the finish line. 1/5 mi. track. The land is now for sale.

 

They've added more pictures since I was there last.
My Dad always wanted to take me there as a kid, but never did. Then, unfortunately, it closed. I remeber there was talk about reopening it back in the late 80's, but it obviously never happened. The timing would have been perfect since I was getting my license back in 86 (hehe).

It's no wonder I used to make it down to French Road and be "up to no good" until the sun came up back in the day (haha).

 

Cool pics it is such a shame all these places have been lost. Me and my dad talk about Fontana drags all the time as the was his local track when he was in high school in the mid sixties. He says the worst thing to happen to the track was when Mickey Thompson bought it. He says it lost its appeal to him, since it was run more like a big business rather than a a small one where everyone knew everyone.

 

There is a book that covers virtually every racetrack of ANY kind that has ever existed in the US. It has pictures, and name of the track/town, short blurb.

If I wasn't so lazy, I'd step away from the 'puter to the bookcase, but I've actually posted the book name/info in here before.

"airspeed is life...altitude is life insurance"

dj

 

Aquasco Speedway (Maryland):

www.atomicpinup.com/Aquasco_Speedway.html

-Lee
Atomic Radio
www.atomicpinup.com

 

interesting thread...eerie no doubt!