Your right the flood did some damage but it wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed, I really think because the circle track is doing so well it's just a good reason for the owner not to bother with the drag strip. The last time I was down there the strip looked normal but I had heard they were running go karts there.
I recently had the chance to visit Maryland where I grew up. One of the things I really wanted to do was find my old house in Monrovia. I found it and then traveled a couple of miles down the road to the 75-80 Drag-O-Way. I remember my dad racing the 1969 Nova "Turbo Terrific" there. It was sad to see the dragstrip run down and not in use. I remember spending lots of time there and watching dad race. I guess you have to hold on to the memories. Here's a few shots of 75-80 in Maryland.
thanx for the pics and i remember the turbo terrific. maybe a guy named manfred? and had a little shop over by flower ave in takoma park when i was a boy. tell us about the nova. and show some pics. maybe that was carroll ave in taoma park? the guy was nice to me and answered my questions. i worked at Murphy auto parts at the time.
Holy crap. This is depressing.... old strips can't operate because of noise, neighbors and liability and NHRA no longer operates real quarter mile strips for the big dogs no wonder another kid was killed here in L.A. street racing today
It's tough seeing 75-80 in that condition....I had a lot of good times at that place. -Lee Atomic Radio www.atomicpinup.com
I miss 75 & 80 drag-o-way as well, it sure is a shame to see it sit there. at least i got a chance to run there for the last four years it was open though
Rock Port, TX drags strip (old runway) near matagorda bay on TX 35, Rodd Field Dragway in Corpus Christi, TX, Harlengen Dragway in Harlengen, TX (old runway near TX 77), Victoria Dragway near Victoria, TX on old TX 77, all gone now........
How about the Niagra Drag Strip in N.Y..I grew up there not to far from the strip.But my father wasn't into racing and I was just wet behind the eras.My friends fathers use to tell stories of how they raced there.I was born 10 years to late.
A friend Chuck scraped some rubber from the track and has it in a bottle . we were just talking about it last night at work WOW
Willie Fesler helped put that Reunion on in Seneca IL, It was a big hit the first year, I heard it rained the second year. As far as I know it never happened again. One of the best Drag Strip Reunion's in Illinois is held at White Hall IL in September. Well worth the trip.
Seems the last (final) 'reunion' was in 2006 --> http://www.geocities.com/grc46250/us30-reunion.html After all, why keep it up ... most of us have inhaled so much (body) lead, bondo and asbestos dust, tobacco smoke, 'Dulux' and Lacquer fumes. We're 'checking out faster than the few remaining WWII veterans!
PS: RE: Drag Strip 'Reunions' Last one I attended (York US 30) was almost as much fun as visiting your local/friendly senior center ... cept the 'honorees' were closer to death than most hospice residents. And it was notta pretty picture at all! See more if you're 'brave' @ --> http://www.yorkus30.com/ ... Oh yea, you guessed it -- I'll most-likely go again in '09!
I finally made it to the York 30 show in '08. Well worth the trip. -Lee Atomic Radio www.atomicpinup.com
I live a few hundred yards from what is left of Green Valley Raceway. There is still a small portion of track there but mostly houses.
I was by there last week for work, it's hard to tell where the track used to be. Is that little strip thats left part of the shut down area?
These are the first photos I've seen of 75-80 since the last race! Wow, what a sad sight! I started there in '65 and the following pic is my car at the last race Oct 2005. Hundreds of nights spent there and a million memories. RIP 75-80, Dave
I also raced at the last race that was held at the Valley (Sad day for me as the Valley was my home track). We were part of the bought in show, 4 alky funnies and 4 alky diggers, my car was one of the diggers. The Valley was the first drag strip where I actually attended a race, but I can't nail down the year 1960 or maybe 61 and it was like a National event. All the heavy hitters from across the country were there, Garlits, Bob Sullivan and the list goes on and on. That was the day when I became addicted to dragsters and Nitromethane. Less than a year later I was dragracing at Forest Hills (South East of Ft. Worth. I did'nt even have a drivers license. I drove my gas coupe all the way from the North East side of Ft. Worth (Grapevine/South Lake area) to Forest Hills with open headers every week. I would use a bumper jack and change to the cheater slicks after getting to the track. The first thing I did when I got out of the Army in 1968 was started building my first dragster. Injected gas, then injected fuel, to a Top Fuel digger and and then Top Fuel flopper (then pocket book got light), so back to injected fuel and Blown Alky. Then a bunch of us got fed up with NHRA's Bull$hit so we formed the Alcohol Dragster Association in about 82 or 83 and alligned with the Alcohol Funny Car Association. We were averaging about 10 races a year in Texas (2 at San Antonio and 2 at Amarillo every year), Missouri (1 Springfield), Lousiana, Mississippi Gulfport or Biloxi and Monterrey Mexico and making more money than we ever did running NHRA's Points Crap. Oh' and we had a hell of a lot more fun. I was reminded of some of the fun we had last weekend at the Ol' Timers Drag Racers Christmas Reunion held in Sachse Texas. Surely we did'nt do that kind of crap, it must have all been a bunch lies the guys were telling. I had crew members that really did stupid $hit and would occasionally embarrass me with some of their shenanigans. We ate a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (Thanks Charlotte) you made the best. I have recently came into posession of some old 8 mm footage that was shot back in the injected gas and injected fuel days at Freidrich Okla, Green Valley, Caddo Mills, Oklahoma City (Sand Valley track) and some other tracks that I am in the process of trying to cleanup, slow down and transfer to DVD. I remember sitting through many many National Anthems suited up and strapped in waiting to be pushed off at many tracks over the years. Nuff rambling of the good ol' days.
was there three years in a row first time it rained and the last if I remember right,had some cool stuff there the short fed in the grain silo was a good one,and hearing the the guys that run the nostalgia class complain that ones guys clutch can expired in 67!oh and don't forget meadowdale in carpendersville,some of it is still there and the rest have been turned into a forest persevere
Yea Dave ... sad sight. I'm sure we met on a few of those "Hundreds of nights" -- by the way, I wonder if 'Jake the Flagman' (seen below) is still 'around.'
lost drag strips from my past I grew up in a little town below Rolla Missouri called Salem. here is my list of missing tracks salem- 8th mile 66 mustang Sullivan 8th 63 comet Q stock auto we raced on Friday nights(I think).We would take 5 or 6 car loads of people to the races and on the way home have bottle rocket fights going down I-44. west plains 8th st geneveve 8th (never there) pevely 8th(spent my honey moon there) 55 chevy Vates and doss car 265 doug nash 5 speed and a 650 gear in the dana. Bob Fink ran it then. raced on sundays unless it was super hot then Saturday nights. The swamp, east side, gateway, east to west west to east. not missing but has changed alot assumption 1000 ft( best hooking track I ever saw,first time I saw the 55 on the back bumper for 2 gears)the first person we talked to was Crazy Charley. Alton (never was there ) We had alot of fun racing back then. I dont know were we ever found the time or the money to do it.
Is the track surface still there? Thats sad they closed this down, especially since there is no housing nearby for people to bitch about the noise.
Bob Fink and my Dad are close friends, they used to announce together all over. Bob lives in Washington Mo. today, goes to Bowling Green with us and comes to our reunion every year. He's still Hell on the mic!
Lincoln air base had a drag strip on the one runway it is still being used for planes.In the 50s until Lincoln air base closed it was the home of the Lincoln timeing assoc. Dick wells raced ther and a few others. Dick wells also help formed the Rebels of Lincoln not to be confused with the Lincoln rebels auto club.
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