Barford/Yenko Chevrolet

[markjohnson]

We've discussed this Barford Chevrolet/Clayton, MO. dealership before as a Yenko Supercar Dealer but I never recalled hearing of this dealer name before. Before my time I guess. But anyway I was at a friend's house today watching some vintage drag racing videos circa '66-'67, and there was footage of a big road course style race at Mid-America Raceway. Everything was there, 67-68 Z/28s, Shelby GT350's, Yenko's '67 coupe, and a mid-year Corvette roadster driven by Dick Durant with Barford Chevrolet sponsership. White with red stripe and a chopped down windshield. There's even a couple of the Grand Sport Corvette's included. So Barford was obviously a performance oriented dealership. With two St. Louis Yenko dealerships (Francis and Barford), I wonder if Barford became Francis by buyout,name change, etc. Clayton, Mo. and Bridgeton, Mo. are only minutes apart. I need to figure out how to post photos from an 8MM movie!

[Kim_Howie]

Mark, My 67 Yenko 241597 & 241815 were both delivered to Barford Chevy. The delivery date was 8-27-67

[Chevy454]

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But anyway I was at a friend's house today watching some vintage drag racing videos circa '66-'67, and there was footage of a big road course style race at Mid-America Raceway.

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Lemme guess, they ran through the woods?! The return road and some of the roads through the pits are on the old course...pretty wild running down the 1/4 mile straight into the woods. Sadly, Mid-America didn't reopen for the 2005 season...

[markjohnson]

Yes, it breaks my heart every time a drag strip closes. Mid-America was one of my home tracks but the houses just starting getting too close and people complained about the noise. A strange fact is that there is a large system of caves underneath it which make putting a subdivision there unlikely. The same video also featured footage of the only year they actually held a NASCAR race there around 68 or 9. It was unusual to see the cars blasting in and out of the woods over and over again. Lots of history forever.