Heres a few shots taken at Somerset Drag Strip that was located a few miles west of down town Somerset Kentucky on rt 80. These were taken in the summer of '65. Check out the home built dragsters. One with Chevy 409/425 4 speed and factory chrome dual snorkel air cleaner and the other looks like maby a nail head. Anyone that knows anything about the track or any cars that ran there please feel free to reply and add your stories, pictures. If you have anything, photos, newspaper clippings, trophies, memorabilia or just stories let me know.
if you didn't see the impala and stuff you'd swear it was around 58 or so.... did you guys ever go to manchester and climb the hill.....?
in '65 Somerset was about like other parts of the country were in '58. Thats not a slam on Kentucky by the way, I love it there & always have.
a buddy of mine that ran there , told me of having to be pulled up the hill to get to the track. but as a side note...the HILL is a local track that has been open since 53.... called thornhill in kenton ky. still running from april til end of october. a shot from 05... this track also used to have a pair of large timing clocks instead of a christmas tree. they were sold in 94 or 95 ish , after the original owner died. brandon
I never had the opportunity to go to the Somerset track, I have heard bits and pieces about the track, I think from what I've heard the track closed in the late 60's. Got a good friend in Somrset, I'll do some more checkin' .I found this little jewell at a swap meet in Bowling Green!
olddrags, I just now saw your reply ( I know i'm a little behind to say the least). If you ever want to sell that trophy i'll buy it. I've been looking for one for a long time.
i love thornhill, thats one of the last good old dragstrips around. just about anything goes, ive run my 63 top-down no seatbelts and no helmet. gotta love a good laidback dragstrip
Wow somerset drag strip was a fun place in the early 60's thanks for posting brings back a lot of good memories. John Corbin Ky
anyone else got any old Somerset, Campbellsville, Cedar Creek, Bluegrass photos? Old Kentucky dragstrips that are long gone.
Wow, thanks for sharing the photos. Yes, that's Peanut Moore he always ran Pontiacs. I don't know whose 55 that is though. I have a few more pics & will try to post them soon. I go over and drive down the track every time I am in Somerset. Anyone know what year the track closed, I know it was in the early 70s because my uncle raced his new 70 SS 396 chevelle there before it closed.
Anybody know where the Peanut Moore Willys is today. A few of my closest friends are into Willys in a big way, one of them owns Fred Hursts old car.
Have no idea, there was a Willys many years later in the area painted Blue that was the same front end on it.
There is also a Racetrack Road north of Somerset. We saw it both times we went to Somernites. Anybody know anything about that? Great pics BTW!
Race Track road north of town is where the old dirt oval track was. If you turn onto Race Track Road, go over the railroad track the road goes up hill then turns sharply to the left, right there on the left is where the dirt track was. The dirt track ran on Friday nights and the drag strip ran on Saturday nights. The old drag strip is on old 80 west of town and is a trailer park now and is named Raceway road.
I looked on Google Maps before we went up there this year. It looks like a new interchange has wiped out the remains of the old dirt track,but I will look again. You could kinda see the outline of the old track before,but not now. Thanks for the info!
Cool photos and stories.Those two dragsters sure are cool, bare minimum design.I wonder if you would be allowed to race something like that now?
would love to find some old photos from there plus Campbellsville Dragway, Cedar Creek Dragway & Bluegrass Dragway, all closed for many years.
I also would love to see any photo or here any story about campbellsville dragstrip. I know where dragway lane is and it still has 2 strips of blacktop there but some nice houses back there now.
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