charlstown RI drag strip

[51 pickem up]

any of you older new englanders rember the drags at the navy air field in RI in the 50's?

[The37Kid]

There was a feature on it in Hot Rod around 1961-62, and it's mentioned in Cool Cars Square Rollbars.

[Bangkok Dean]

Picture Charleston RI staging crew 1962 and 1963.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/deanscorvettecoupe/Bangkok%20Dean/CharlstownRI.jpg
This is me^
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/deanscorvettecoupe/Pictures/Eliminators_Pawtucket.jpg

[hoop]

I raced a B-gas 33 Ford 2dr sedan there in !961.

[harpo1313]

i went to the reunion a few years back, got some pics but not digital ,very cool bunch of guys there

[Paul2748]

any of you older new englanders rember the drags at the navy air field in RI in the 50's?

I worked tech in the morning - started when it opened and worked until Conn Dragway opened. Its been a long time (40+ yrs) since I've been there.

[Angry Frenchman]

WOW what are you doing in Bankok? all the old cars are over herePicture Charleston RI staging crew 1962 and 1963.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/deanscorvettecoupe/Bangkok%20Dean/CharlstownRI.jpg
This is me^WOW what are you doing in Bankok? all the old cars are over here
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/deanscorvettecoupe/Pictures/Eliminators_Pawtucket.jpg

[Bangkok Dean]

WOW what are you doing in Bangkok? all the old cars are over here

You have the old cars for sure but over here we have the young babes.;)

[51 MERC-CT]

Remember going there in the late 50's with my '51 Merc.:):D

[NH-USA]

I went there! I went there! LlOL

I put the following in a CT dragway thread --


I have some 8mm movies (not super 8) that I took at the Charleston RI drags and CT drags in the early 60's. I am hesitant to let them out of my hands but also don't want the history they might represent to be lost.

The vehicles I seem to remember but can 't be sure they are on film were the Tasca Ford, Yankee Peddler, a blue pontiac ventura, and Don Gartlets. There also was a little A Gas Angela that was towed by a Ford coupe that broke and the guys ran the tow vehicle instead. (That one may have been at Charleston.)

One idea was to transfer them to a CD/DVD but I have no idea how. Time and money are limited so I can't do it myself and can't afford to have someone else do it.
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[Ken Hamilton]

......any of you guys remember the "El Diablo" rail? I've got a short 8MM film I converted to VHS a bunch of years ago. I'll have to dig it out and see if I can get some stills from it. Probably from around 1964 or 65.
Running across this old thread borught back some kool memories.

[aaggie]

I was stationed at Quonset Point NAS in the '60s and raced at Charley Town and later at Connecticut Dragway. Lots of memories.

Charlestown was an auxillary field for the pilots taking off from Quonset Point that had trouble and couldn't make it back to land. They tried to set it down at Charlestown before landing in Narraganset Bay.

I went back to Rhode Island for a visit several years ago and the whole area is different. The base at Quonset was closed and local civilian businesses have taken over. About all that remains of the Navy base is the golf course.

[Chevguy37]

The El Diablo dragster was run by Jimmy King from Warren, RI. He went on to later fame with the King and Marshall funny car.

[long island vic]

strange fact..r i was the first state with a race track in the u.s. and now is the only state without one

[F&J]

strange fact..r i was the first state with a race track in the u.s. and now is the only state without one


Wow, never knew that.


I think the old strip was where the town now has a recreation area? I saw where the hangar door tracks were in concrete footings...So I guess it must be the place.

[Bangkok Dean]

I went there! I went there! LlOL

I put the following in a CT dragway thread --



The vehicles I seem to remember but can 't be sure they are on film were the Tasca Ford, Yankee Peddler, a blue pontiac ventura, and Don Gartlets. There also was a little A Gas Angela that was towed by a Ford coupe that broke and the guys ran the tow vehicle instead. (That one may have been at Charleston.)


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The tow car was a 39 Chevy that he had raced before he raced the de-stroked 265 Angela, that was Charleston, I still remember the car and that day.

[andy checchia]

Half of the base has been taken over by the town. The Senior Center is there. The other half belongs to US Fish and Wild Life (Bird Sanctuary). The main runway where we used to race has been torn up and is now part of a walking trail. In the summer the town hosts a circus, Sea Food Festival and Rythm and Roots Concert there. Hang on to those pictures they are history.

[CTFuzz]

Here's Jimmy King today.....................still wrenching on the dragster
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n317/CTFuzz/100_5144.jpg

[CTFuzz]

Here's a pic of Jimmy, me and a few good friends at the drags in VT last year..................