Would like to know if anyone remembers Cornhusker Raceway Park, between Omaha & Lincoln Neb.?? Pic.& stories would be neet. I raced there in the 60's A/SP It was an adventure just to get to the tract.We ground towed with a Packard ambulance.One time the Packard broke down, Unhooked the vett to chase parts for the tow car. We slept overnite in the Packard,in the middle of nowhere. There was me and 2 to 3 buddies. We would rotate.Drive, read the map and sleep. That Packard was a straight 8 with overdrive,it'd cruze in overdrive on the flat at 90 mph.People would pull over when they seen it coming behind them, then get pissed when I passed them, pulling a vette. This was a one man effort with absolutly no outside help from parents or sponsers. The Packard went to Sioux City,Iowa, Lincoln,Neb. and the Minnesota Dray Ways,where I watch Big John M. run his Willys. This story could go on and on.If there any good vibe's I may cont. it or start another thread. Hove
Hi .. search CORNHUSKER and THUNDER VALLEY we have posted some old pics from late 60's and some stuff from 70's on here .. Like to see more Guess what .. I'm from Beresford too ..wanna buy a valiant ?
There used to be a blue flame corvette that was called the pizza man.I think the car was from Souix City.He had a standing offer to race any small block.That stovebolt was fast.When I hear someone knock I6s I smile and remember that little corvette.The Kidders use to run out there too. They were some serious Mopar dudes.Had Kidders garage on 60th and L street.I think what use to be the track is now Harrison street just north of I80.Could be wrong.
The vette was owned by Earl Britt .. Owned Earls pizza in the heart of Sioux Falls , South Dakota Don't sound like much today but back then, Pizza was a big deal went there once with my uncle about 67/68 or so .. Earl died long time ago, early 70's .. His son runs a super comp dragster (at least he did?) runs couple NAPA stores back there Not only did Earl have that vette but, had a pizza man Gremlin ..think it ran same motor if memory serves .. not sure where he cars ended up
since were talking Omaha drag racing I got a car plack the other day.It's license plate size,reflector tape like a road sign with blue letters that read DODGE STREET RACING TEAM OMAHA N.H.R.A Do any of you Omaha guys remember this plack? The guy I got it from said he had it for 30 years and it's older than that.I don't recall ever seeing one around town.History?
holy crap...that brings back memories... Step brother was involved for a while with a FED...me, as a kid just had to hang out and was awarded the job of polishing the zoomies. One of my earliest memories of being around somethng loud & fast. Got to go to the track & got in free Started something that still makes my heart beat just a little bit faster
Don't let anyone stop you! Stories like that are priceless. Tell them, write them down, spread the experiences, preserve history...!
This was a great drag strip, it was down in a natural valley that made a resonating sound as the cars pounded the strip. Unfortunate for all the city grew around it and ended its run. A lot of super area racers ran there, Kidder Automotive, Holcomb/Howdy Williams, Bill Woods, Speedway motors, Raceland Speedshop, and many more locals. It drew big rails out of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and on and on. A sad note for me, my roommate Chuck Swanson lost his life leaving a meet there on his Harley when a women blinded by the sun pulled out in front of him. A concrete plant took over the space after the strip closed. I think that chevy with Mike Daly on the door was Dalys machine shop car which was fast and very cool. That was the last of the Omaha drag strips of that era. Flightland over by Blair was already gone.
The track was before my time but it must've still been around when my Dad moved to Omaha in the late 60's because I've heard him talk about it some. It was just north of the interstate the next valley over from the Millard airport. There is a concrete company and some other stuff there now. From what I was told, the racers demanded better payout, threatened a boycott and the owner closed the track and made it an industrial park.
The Vette was here in Minnesota in the Corvette collection of Steve Hendrickson (not Just Steve) in the 90's. He is the guy who has Mazmainians old candy red Vette that was in Rodders Journal. Not sure where it went after that.
Earl Britt was a big deal. I belonged to a car club called the RAITO'S. Earl provided a whole cornor of the PALACE for us to meet every week. About 20-25 guy's. The Gremlin was powered by a Pon. overhead 6. Hove
Hat Man Thank's for the pic.'s I still have a Corn husker decal,and the Packard,the 64 Vette is long gone. Hove
Know a couple guys that raced there that still reside in omaha that raced there chuck cevendy,harrold shuman,george ostranik.Also still here alot of stories about Chuck Swanson at the local body shop here he used to work at.
Wow, this takes me back a few years. I spent a lot of Saturdays at Cornhusker Raceway. As kids just barley old enough to drive we couldn't get enough of the local race scene. Many weekends we would go to Cornhusker for the drags during the day on Saturday, Playland Park ( in Council Bluffs Ia. ) Saturday nite for blacktop circle racing and Sunday nite at Sunset Speedway in Irvington for dirt circle racing. Cornhusker was always my favorite and even now I don't live far from the original site off hwy 50 and Giles. There's a concrete block company there now, but if look real hard you can still see the two lanes and here the roar of open pipes. Mike Daley is still around and runs a machine shop in the area. There were also alot of other local favorite's Williams and Sweeney, Tom Grosso, Corky East,Kenny Hecht,( K&H Performance ), Bill Woods ( who just recently passed away ) Ran a successful hot rod shop in Omaha for years. I remember seeing Frieght Train run there, a doulble front engine dragster, and many more memorable saturday afternoons. After Cornhusker closed Bill Woods, Corky East, Tom Grosso, and there was one other ( can't remember who ) Opened a new dragstrip a few miles north and west of Omaha at Scribner Ne. They bought and moved the original timing tower from Cornhusker and moved it up there where I think it still stands today.Thanks for starting this thread. Gary
I have always heard about this track, but I had never been there. I was a little too young and my folks werent into racing. I used to work at machine shop and would love to here the guys talking about the days racing there. Man I was hooked!! I wished I could have been there. I would love to here more storys.. and need more pics! jeff
If your looking for more history of Cornhusker Raceway Park. Check out my Facebook group under the same name. We have lots of photos and stories from the guys that raced there
The Jalopy Journal
