Closed dragstrips

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33IMP

33IMP

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So, how many dragstrips have you raced on, that are closed (and how many still open?)
I've got: speed world in az, old Irwindale, new Irwindale, Carlsbad, lions, ocir, rialto, banning, lacr, fontana, riverside. Turned a tire at one time on all of em.
Still open, pomona (sort of, haven't been able to use since the nineties, f#@k nhra) Bakersfield, barona, and Las vegas.(I'm not counting Chuckwalla, I don't think they have clocks)
Current tracks are a minimum of 120 miles from either of my homes in Az or CA. Except for the one that's ten minutes away, of course. F#@K the nhra!

It's hard to believe that the L.A. area, at one time the center of the hot rodding world, with TEN million people in the area, doesn't have a dragsrip within a hundred miles with a regular schedule.

Edit: forgot one I raced at, terminal island/brotherhood.
 
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The race track with my fondest memories..... Hawaii Raceway Park closed in 2006. The last time I raced there was in 1996 just before I moved to WA State.
 
-Boosted- said:
The race track with my fondest memories..... Hawaii Raceway Park closed in 2006. The last time I raced there was in 1996 just before I moved to WA State.
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We lost two in the last ten years here in N.J. and it still hurts !!! Raceway Park ( Englishtown ) and Atco .. I always enjoyed running at Atco especially when they ran the 11.50 Index Class... Same with RP I attended every Mopar Atlantic Nationals ( except a few that rained out ) almost all 32 of them ...and had a few Eliminator Wins over the years including 2014 when my close friend drove my Dart to the 11.50 Index track championship
 
Their are about 12 with in 200 miles of Tuscaloosa, Al. and 4 within 80 miles
 
Lake Geneva Speed Center (Lake Geneva, WI. Dragstrip shut down in 1977, remainder of tracks closed in 2006)
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Oswego Drag Raceway (Oswego, Ill. Closed 1979)
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Great Lakes Dragaway and Wisconsin International Raceway are still operating.
 
In my area, one has closed, Osceola, and another has opened, Onandaga.
All the others remain open, and in most all cases are very healthy
 
P.I.D. Pittsburgh International Dragway. Went with my brothers from 1966 to closing.
Closed in 1975ish for a housing project. Never happened. Never reopened.
There are You Tube videos showing the overgrown track.
 
On Long Island, NY, West Hampton raceway.
Big name shows back in the old days, Bjg Daddy, etc…

Englishtown, Raceway Park and Atco, both in New Jersey.
 
When the price of real estate outweighs, the profit of the drag strip, 1 has to start thinking about the financial benefit for themselves. A business owner may want to keep it open despite the rising cost of real estate, which may end up heavily outweighing the revenue he makes yearly.

Our old truck in West Hampton Long Island held out to the point where it became a retirement fund for the owners. Participation was very low and must have been running at a deficit the last few years.

It’s a real shame too because the only alternative is going to New Jersey where two out of three tracks are now closed. There is only island dragway in Northern Jersey. And getting their as expensive and very heavy on traffic going through New York City.

And Long Island is used to complain that driving an hour or an hour and a half out to East Hampton was too much of a pain in the ***. Now the nearest track is four hours.

At all you hear is is is cry.

As of recent, though not a proper track or sanctioned by any governing body, they started using the airstrip that used to be owned by Grumman. These air strips would launch F-14s and Hawkeye radar planes.

Most of the land is not buildable because of the toxic chemicals in the soil, as well as a high probability as worn by Grumman, of live unexploded ammunition in the area.

There’s a high high high high probability that it will never never never be built on.
 
Raced on: Old Irwindale and Orange County International Raceway (OCIR)
Crewed at: Famoso (Bakersfield) and Los Angeles County Raceway (LACR/Palmdale)


33IMP said:
It's hard to believe that the L.A. area, at one time the center of the hot rodding world, with TEN million people in the area, doesn't have a dragsrip within a hundred miles with a regular schedule.
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^^^ Although the former center of the hot rodding world, the population and the value of land for housing, commercial and industrial use is the reason there are no local dragstrips. It's the same reason for the demise of all other racing venues in the area, including what were the outstanding Indy/NASCAR oval tracks in Ontario and Fontana.
 
San Antonio Raceway I-10 near Marion.
Royal Purple in Houston (Baytown).
Mom and pop track south of the airport Manhattan Kansas.
Red Line Raceway I-30 east of Dallas.
 
Open, New England Dragway 80 miles, Lebanon valley, NY 135 miles. Closed Atco, English town. Land values, liability insurance and NOT in my back yard top killers..!! Very lucky to have the first two tracks listed..!! Swingn’
 
US-30 in Indiana and Milan Dragway in Michigan....
 
3 sort of. Detroit Dragway, Motor City Dragway and Milan Dragway. Milan is open again now with a new owner. He's a great guy.
 
ocdart said:
Raced on: Old Irwindale and Orange County International Raceway (OCIR)
Crewed at: Famoso (Bakersfield) and Los Angeles County Raceway (LACR/Palmdale)



^^^ Although the former center of the hot rodding world, the population and the value of land for housing, commercial and industrial use is the reason there are no local dragstrips. It's the same reason for the demise of all other racing venues in the area, including what were the outstanding Indy/NASCAR oval tracks in Ontario and Fontana.
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The new Irwindale was built in a city of 500 people, 99% industrial, next to a giant hole in the ground, and Fontana was built on condemned contaminated land from the old Kaiser steel plant. Both were about the only practical place for a race track, and both the dragstrips just happened to be there, in the far corner, cause of a decent sized parking lot for the roundy-round tracks.
And STILL they managed to disappear.
OCIR was sold to build a housing development (as was riverside) until they found out they couldn't build there because of the airport glide path. It's now just a weed covered field.... and has been for 40 years.
 
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33IMP said:
The new Irwindale was built in a city of 500 people, 99% industrial, next to a giant hole in the ground, and Fontana was built on condemned contaminated land from the old Kaiser steel plant. Both were about the only practical place for a race track, and both the dragstrips just happened to be there, in the far corner, cause of a decent sized parking lot for the roundy-round tracks.
And STILL they managed to disappear.
OCIR was sold to build a housing development (as was riverside) until they found out they couldn't build there because of the airport glide path. It's now just a weed covered field.... and has been for 40 years.
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OCIR is an industrial mall and a shopping mall was built on a portion of the Riverside race track area
 
ocdart said:
OCIR is an industrial mall and a shopping mall was built on a portion of the Riverside race track area
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I was not aware. Last I heard, it was a field. Haven't been in that area in a loooonnngg time.
Was aware that riverside was developed.
Thanks ocdart.
 
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