Abandoned drag srtip east of Phoenix

[427TJ]

San Gabriel was in Irwindale west of Pomona. My pin-locator is a little too far to the left--the track was along the right/east side of the drainage canal and ran towards the southwest/lower left of the image.











You had to have big brass ones to drive a FED in those days:

[John Brown]

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Following photos from the H.A.M.B. thread on old drag cars in action, a GREAT thread. Photos taken by "Mazooma1." Go surf this thread, it's a LONG one, but you will crap at all the killer old photos and Mazooma's are among the very best.

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{edit} Here is the real first page of the thread. {edit}

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...509&page=1


I've been following the H.A.M.B. thread since it started. It's awesome!!!! Please resist the temptation to hit the "view all" button as it overloads their server, and it will overload your connection too. Don't mind the red "X"'s where some of the pictures should be, since some of the pictures have been lost since the thread started. 233 pages and still counting. Enjoy!

[Mark Hickman]

I have been lurking awhile, but this thread really caught my eye.

There is one in NE Ohio, was called Meander Dragway. You can point Google maps to 41.059874, -80.831180 and see its present state. You can zoom in and still see rubber on the track.

My cousin raced here when I was a kid. One cool thing is it was an airport as well. Occasionally they would stop the racing to let a plane land.

We also came close to losing Quaker City in Salem OH, but they are still running.

[Salvatore]

man that is a real nice 68 Chevelle you got! Lets see/here more about it. Sam

[Dog427435]

Fabulous aerials Bill and those vintage shots are GREAT!!







Not much left from all the strips I grew up with on the island - urban sprawl has pretty much obliterated all my old haunts many years ago!

[427TJ]

Paradise Mesa is east of San Diego and was one of dozens of drag strips that popped-up on disused WWII military airfields in the years after the war. The strip operated from 1951-59 on the abandoned runway of the former Sweetwater Dam Naval Outlying Field (OLF) which was built during WWII as an auxiliary airfield for nearby NAS North Island. Here's an excerpt from the history of the famous "Bean Bandits" drag racing team:

"Paradise Mesa Airfield, outside of San Diego was one place where the Bean Bandits built their memories. It became their home track. Paradise Mesa was a strip where illegal racing was restricted following what, in 1951, Hot Rod called "hazards of frequent uncontrolled drag meets." Bean Bandits' president, Mike Nagem, helped form the San Diego Timing Association (SDTA) and convinced property owner Henry Adams to create a legal venue for racers to show off their abilities. He agreed and the SDTA, with the help of local law enforcement officers, organized the country's first legal drag strips. SDTA brought needed order to a world of chaos. They instituted track rules, charged entrance fees and used Otto Crocker's reliable timers. The track officially opened in 1951 and before closing 8 years later, young Arnett and his friends cleaned up with the trophies. Arnett recalls hopping into his car and racing the fastest vehicles there, motorcycles."

San Diego at left and Paradise Mesa out to the east/right:













The Bean Bandits car, lower, faced off with Dode Martin's "A" dragster at the 1953 Pacific Southwest Championship Drags at Paradise Mesa. Martin won but the Bandits set low ET of the meet.



Receiving their Low ET trophy:



An Austin Bantam and an A (on Deuce rails) face off:



Neat '35 Ford with hole-punched fenders:



More information here: http://members.tripod.com/airfields_...SanDiego_S.htm

And here: http://members.aol.com/beanracers/history.html

[427TJ]

San Fernando Airport began operations in 1939 and the drag strip, located adjacent to the airport runway, opened in 1955 and was known as "The Pond." The airport closed in 1985 and was paved-over and is now an industrial site. I am pretty sure the cars ran from the south to the north--anyone remember?





1988 USGS topo map image after the airport had closed:



Pilot's VFR chart showing layout of runway and drag strip to the west of the runway along the large drainage canal:



Some great Tommy Ivo photos, found at this site:

http://www.standard1320.com/Ivo/Buic...ngleBuick.html

Ivo's first dragster, with an injected Nailhead, seen at San Fernando with builder Kent Fuller standing and Ivo in the seat:



And in color!







And a postwar Olds woody to finish off!

[Dog427435]

[b] This was originally West Hampton Drag Strip - then changed to Hampton Auto Raceway Inc., in the
early eighties - then Suffolk County Raceway - then in the nineties to Long Island Dragway until their
close in the early 2000s.




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Some shots from the sixties -
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[427TJ]

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Look closely--I think that '61 Impala convert is an SS!

[SS427]

I made that exact same mistake Bill. Check this out just an Impala