Onondaga Dragway

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gtdart

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For the Michigan Mopar guys/gals

Just got done looking up and watching some vidoe of Onondaga Dragway. I'v heard storys about this place way out in the county. I guess at one time it was the place to come to race. I heard even the Big Dogs would race there and it was the starting place for allot. I remeber when I was growing up my brothers and a bunch of them would head over every sunday to and race. I can remeber my brother uncapping his header and head out.
Well what I can tell it's going to reopen. For right now I guess it's only a 1/8 mile track.

If anybody else can help on anymore intel lets get it there.
:eek:ld_school:
 
Yup. When/if they open it, you can bet I'll be there every weekend. It's only 4 miles from the shop that I do all my work at, and that's where my Dart is stored.
 
Well I figure I've never taken a car down the strip before so a local 1/8 mile would be a great way to get into it.
 
HAHAHAHA wow....this is so cool.

you have no idea how much this means to me.

My dads uncle use to own that dragway!!!! they originally closed it down because the farmers voted it shut down because the noise kept there cows from producing milk!

I have old metal pin from WAYYY back in the day that are gold plated and say onondaga dragway in red with a red silohette or a drag card on it.

I have heard sooooo many storys from my dad about that place and would love for it to open back up.

my family is friends with the current owner but we have heard nothing about it opening back up......he normally only lets a select few friends and family members privatly use it.

my dads uncle use to let him have a key to the gate at that place and him and his buddys would get drunk and head over there at 3AM and race whatever they were driving at the time rather it be a VW bus or there mopars or camaros or whoever brought whatever to the track that night.

The original owners son (my dads cousin) is a mopar guy....he has a 70 hemi orange duster and a custom 73 dart sport aswell as a few other mopars.

this just got some stories kicking up in my head....lol

Im in the jackson area.....vandercook/brooklyn area to be more specific....so I am not too far from there
 
Sorry for long post but this brought back a lot of great car memories for me. I grew up in Jackson (East Jackson actually) and spent many a Saturday night from 1972 through 1975 at Onondaga Dragway. My brother in-law used to race there. My first trip to the Dragway was in 1972 to watch him run his 68 Coronet 440 R/T, the car I credit with my lifelong obsession with Mopars. He later bought a 69 Dart Swinger 340; this car forever etched the legend of the 340 and A-bodies in my brain.
The Swinger was a drag car from the day it rolled off the assembly line. Heater and radio delete with a LD-340 intake, headers, 4-speed, Holley and 4:56 gears. The car ran in Super Stock and turned consistent 13.0 and occasionally dipped into the 12.90 range. My brother and I were his pit crew, for a young kid of 15, I was in heaven. This was the early 70s and he was a grass roots racer with very little money. He used an old pair of slicks that had seen their better day. I also remember watching the PF Flyer and Hot Fudge make passes. The PF Flyer (68 Hemi Cuda notch back) was freakin awesome, it would carry the front wheels through the entire 60’, I lusted after that car.
After I got my driver’s license in 74 my brother in-law let me put plates on the Swinger and take it out on the streets on a Saturday night. We bolted up a pair of cheap header mufflers and washed and waxed the car. I remember passing the local cops and pushing in the clutch so I could coast by them without making too much noise. I wasted many a Chevy that night. Those were the days of street racing on Michigan Ave (east end) and late night grudge matches at Micor Park, just off of Highway 27 north of Vandercook. Good times.
I made my first “legal” ¼ mile pass down Onondaga in 1975 and have been hooked on drag racing and Mopars ever since.
 
great story.....some of you may have crossed paths with my dad or his cousin even!!!!!

I live in vandercook and I have done my fair share of drag racing on micor....its pretty dangerous though (the sharp curve at the end of the strip so many people have neglected to slow down before) and its pretty bumpy now adays (high street needs a repaving BADLY.

I have done quite a bit of cruising up and down MI ave.....for a long time it was devided terratory...all the rice burners would park in e MI ave meijer parking lot while all the muscle car guys would park across the street in performance automotive parking lot and we would all sit and hang out and call one another over to drag race down on micor or some times at the 1/4 mile drive in front of DAWN bakery.

lots of fun times.

we need this drag way back!!!!!
 
A good friend recently attended some sort of meeting about re-opening Onondaga. I just saw Matt today but forgot to ask him about it. I did not race at Onondaga back in the day but have fond memories of Ubly, Detroit Dragway, and Lapeer.
Bob
 
I live a about 1/2 hour from there and I would to come down to watch and run the wifes 67 dart down. Still working on my 65 b-body.
 
I was just browsing when I saw this. Brought back memories. I grew up in Jackson, would go there just about every Sunday back in 62-63. Then raced there and @ Milan dragway in early 70's. Now I live in Texas and am working on a 69 valiant with my son and grandson.
 
Hey Demon408 What is your name? My dad still owns Hot Fudge it is now a street car. He never detuned it though it can still run 11's at the track. He lives in North Carolina now.

Dirk
 
I have heard mixed things on onondaga drag way now.

I heard it opened back up, and I heard they were working on leasing the land behund it toextend the 1/8th into a 1/4 and I heard that they had already repaved the return lane and were working on doing the strip and that consession stands and seating were in the works.

but then I also heard that they were shut down again do to the city putting up a petition due to mostly noise complaints so I have no idea where the track stands as of now but i am hoping they keep it open so I have a short drive to get to a track.

plus with my family history there and what not.
 
actually the full 1/8 is paved along with the return road, guardrails and they have put in a brand new concrete starting line. I do not know about plans for lengthening the track later though. If you go to www.dragaction.com and click on link 3 there are pictures. I was out a couple of times this summer and it is very cool to see it happening. I was out there as akid since my dad ran SS/EA out there till it closed.

Dirk
 
Bump to top

I was over there this summer and spoke with the owner. He told me they are good to go. They have to fence off the front along Bellevue and make it private so not to distract people driving by. It is 1/8 mile and I believe it is going to stay that way (not for sure) but that is what I was told. They do have the guardrails, blacktop and burnout boxes in as well as a paved return road. Timing devices are in the works but is a large expense so it may be a while yet. They have car shows and what not to raise money for improvements so "support your local dragstrip" is essential for us locals here. The previously posted links have good info as well.
 
Still in limbo. The township is still undecided. To many local residents don't want it, it's a shame. I'm still waiting on news from the vote the other night, might be a while.
 
???

everything I have heard says it back up and running already.

there have been car shows there, they have been doing drags there,they paved a new return lane and put in a new concrete divider and paved the track and added a tree and they were talking about budgeting in new bleachers and concessions and what not.
 
They have done a lot of work, and have run some and had car shows. In order to drag race "officially" they need a special use permit from the township, which was recommended for denial the other night. The board is set to vote on it on the 9th.

As far as tree,I don't know it wasn't there last fall when I was over there talking with Dan.

More to come.

http://www.theleslieweeklyguardian.com/volume 3 issue 33/June 2 2011 page 1.pdf

They are even trying to recall board members that are in support of the track.
 
The vote was on the 9th, and it was voted down. No special use permit granted = no racing.
 
I just heard that today......its total BS.

and after they just invested all that money in preperation into getting the drag strip ready to go to.

this is a HUGE disappointment.

all because of a few people who "don't like the noise" now there will kids who just got their licenses and don't know how to respect a sports car out drag racing on the street rather than on the strip where its safer and legal.

also it would have brought business to the area ,rather it have been jobs the strip created,more consumers getting gas in the town due to the added traffic in the area,any other business's in the area rather it be restaurants,parts stores,auto parts stores and so on would have likely seen some sort of increase in sales.

this is a bummer, I was really looking forward to getting my duster out there for the nostalgia of it all being that the strip used to be owned by my family and that my dad use to run that strip when he was young.:angry7:
 
I gotta feelin Dan won't let it lay. Somethings got to give, it's utterly ridiculous to ban something for no reason.
 
I sure do hope he fights to make it happen. It would be an awful shame that so much time and money was invested and for no reason.

Ill be waiting to see what comes of it.
 
Supposedly there will be a rally at the track the weekend of the 23-24th. Channel 6 news will be there covering the support for the track. We need all you local guys to show up in your cars. There will be no racing. Let's get out and support the track guys and gals.

I will post further info when I get it.
 
badsport said:
Supposedly there will be a rally at the track the weekend of the 23-24th. Channel 6 news will be there covering the support for the track. We need all you local guys to show up in your cars. There will be no racing. Let's get out and support the track guys and gals.

I will post further info when I get it.
Click to expand...

Good to know, keep is updated
 
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