History Old drag strips texas, name them

Here's some aerial views of Wall Dragway southeast of San Angelo. It is still up and running. It's had several names that I'm aware of over the years, Wall Dragway, San Angelo Dragway, Double A Raceway and probably others. As you can see, it's not a bad strip, it has a pretty good tower, grandstands, snack bars, a big pit area. nice guard rails. The strip on the right is not used at all. The two black streaks are black streaks and the pits are to the left. I heard they used to race where the pits are now with a flag start.

It was originally a part of Goodfellow Field in San Angelo. The Air Force used Wall for a flight training strip.....I think they would "touch and go" You can see three landing strips, taxi ways and the like. I don't know the name of the planes, but they were blue and yellow bi-planes with big ass radial motors and sliding canapes.

It is owned now by a cotton farmer who had it given to him by the government when flight training ceased after WW2. The farmer is hard to get along with I'm told. He likes the lease money, but don't want anyone out there. Supposed to be a real dick.

Me and my friends raced there for several years. As soon as I can scan some photos I'll post them up. The return road is that loop to the right of the track. I went through the traps once, passed the return road, and eventually went through the fence at the end of the track. I had just put a fresh motor in my car and I could tell it was "on a pass."

They had 60's funny cars there as well as jet cars, wheelie trucks and all that shit.

Some very funny stories. And some characters who ran the track.

 

Who I remember best from the Circle dragstrip in Dallas was Orville Davenport and his amazing '54 Ford gasser. He made that Y block every bit the match of a small block Chevy, and I can't understand how, even today.

 

Yeah, people seemed to have more of that in those days!

I remember the day when Rasmussen broke the 8 second barrier at Green Valley Raceway in 1961. When the announcer called it out there was a long stunned silence and then a roar from the crowd. Now they go faster than that in door slammers. I remember Rafael Shields' black '57 270 horse 150 sedan in C/S, The '58 pontiac "Rapid Rabit", the '58 Ford "Tankersley's Tank" in sportsman, "Ernie's Journey". Back to Forest Hill there was Holderman's '58 Edsel in C/SA. I used to run the same class in my '60 Ventura tri-power. We were usually the only two in that class. I'd beat him and the next week he'd run .2 faster and beat me. He was cheating. The next week I'd run .2 faster than him and win. I was cheating too. Finally C/SA was running low 14s and a protest was filed for a tear down. That ended the fun we were having, but it's great memories. One night a dealer sponsored out-of-towner trailered in a SS '63 Ford with a factory fiberglass front end and a high rise 427 etc. He easily took SS and met me in stock eliminator. My C/SA got five car lengths spot on him (one for each class and one more for automatic), and at the end of the track I still had a car on him. He went into the tower yelling "There is no &% stock Pontiac automatic in the world that runs like that one!!'. He was right of course. He didn't have time to wait for a tear down so he left feeling he'd been brother-in-lawed. He was right of course. I feel bad about that after all these years, but it was funny at the time.

 

Charlie Taylor of the Wash Redskins was a regular there too with his gas coupe.

OH yeah, another strip: The more I think back, the more I remember. Kennedale Raceway was a busy place for many years in the mid and late '60s. It took over from Forest Hill gradually.

 

Did you happen to go to HS with Janis Joplin?

 

Do you remember the white '58 Impala called "Casper" that ran there?

 

Benny Bishop...from your posts here,I assume you are orig from the DFW area....If you run a pontiac in sure you run up against
Emmit Latham or Homer Kellum or Geo Hardeman.....Lyman Kidwell from Lawton,Okla also ran in the DFW area...all Pont guys....Even Charlie Adams at Custom Automotive(along with Monk King of Hine Pontiac)had Smokey Yunick build a 60 Poncho for Daytona for them...They also kept Smokey in a stock of cowboy hats.
Rafael Shields is also here on the HAMB........

 

Would love to check those out post them up sometime.

 

The "Double Eagle"

 

Was Yello Belly a quarter mile back then?

 

Sorta, with about 3 feet to stop in...

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88985
Check this topic out got a few from old international off 45.

 

Yes and I was almost entirely a Forest Hill racer. I actually felt guilty about going to Kennedale Raceway! I was smalltime and local and didn't know those other Pontiac guys. I talked to Don Gay about parts from time to time, but that was it.

 

Here is some photos from the mid seventies The first one is Doug Wright (right) and "Loose" Bruce Cole in Doug's front yard, obviously working on the car. Gary Parmer's 'Vette and Doug Wright at Sportsman's Park Dragway (Wall, Tx.) outside San Angelo.

Gold Dust was a bantam roadster with a dual quad 409, but we haven't yet found the driver of this machine. We love the spaceman bubble head gear, and he's really leaning into it.

 

was there when the jet was there, the McNeeley car, i'm sure it was pyote, can rembember the old tech building in background, it's still there today, then the road races, when aj showed up and won everything,

 

I remember seeing the Lava Machine at Wall. Saw another jet car there but can't remember the name. That was in the early '80s.

 

Yea, Blew rocks all over the front of my Falcon and I was 200 ft behind it in the staging lanes and how about the potholes in the return road that you could loose an 18 wheeler in.

 

andrews texas, at the airport, just a few times in the late 60's

 

Anyone have any info on old drag strips around Longview, Tx?

I used to race at Hallsville in the late 80's but it has been torn down now. All that is left are the lanes. It is sad to see these strips go away. Old drag strips are like old people, they all have so many stories to tell. With today being New Years 2010 it just makes me look back that much more at the old days and when drag racing was somewhat more affordable, the competition was always close and all the good friends i made.

Thanks,
ZM

 

I was one of those kids there on wednesday night hanging out there and not at home doing homework lol

 

do anyone remember Midway drag strip, somewhere between dallas ft. worth.
Ed Mabry told me of a trophy he has at his shop that he won but can't remember where it was.
charles

 

My cousin used to race at green valley, had some trophies too, but I see you already have that one.

 

come on old timers any guess. this is an old trophy.
charles

 

Chas,They used to race somewhere out by Grand Prairie ,south of and paralell to Jefferson Blvd.I was never there however....

 

I came across this a couple weeks ago...

 

I'm searching for pictures of that car...........got any?

 

This is just a guess but wasn't the track at Como-Pickton called Midway drag strip for awhile? I seem to remember seeing a trophy from there that had midway on it.

 

just a guess, but was it where LTV was?..lots of runway space there...

 

Orville was indeed "the" Y block man. He used to come in the machine shop
where I worked (J&J Auto Parts in Oak Cliff) all the time.
He lived in Pleasant Grove down the street from J&J's main engine builder
at the time, Joe Athey (B/G Stude sedan).
Orville did the techs and flagging at Cedar Hill at the time. He was also running
a green and white 2 door '57 Ford with a 312 at the time('62-63?).
I hear Orville's son has a machine shop in Pleasant Grove now days.
Tinker, your dad(the "real" Tinker) also worked with us in J&J's engine shop for awhile. My name is Mickey Davison. I spoke to Tinker Jan.12 in Sachse.
BTW, is Benny Bishop possibly of Bishop Auto Parts down by the levee?
Anybody know what happened to Joe Athey?
He was almost killed in a wreck new years eve '65(?) coming to a party at
my house. I had to go to the Vietnam thing and lost track of him.
Cheers...MickeyD

 

BlackRat40,,To answer one of your questions above,,,The Bishop Auto Parts down by the levee and That is Jimmy Bishop....Benny no kin, And i probably sold you guys at J & J hundreds of parts back then.....