Us 30 drag strip12/7/2023 Smith Auto Company dealership, Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins who was Technical Director of the track went on to become a World Champion and National Champion on multiple occasions, Larry Lombardo drove the Jenkins cars and became a World Champion in his own right. ![]() The track became the proving grounds for World Champion drag racers, Dave Strickler of York, PA who ran his popular Chevrolets from the Ammon R. The event was and still is the largest one day drag race to be presented in this country! Others followed but none ever attained the notoriety or attendance! The most notable was the 1965 Super Stock Nationals which immediately assumed the name “The Woodstock of Drag Racing” due to the overwhelming attendance achieved. “York” as it was and still is commonly called in drag racing circles presented some of drag racing’s greatest events. In 1960 Holz assumed the operation of the York site as York US30 Drag-O-Way and thus began the significance of a drag racing operation that became world renowned. The South Penn Hot Rod Council first ran drag races at the airport on a limited schedule from 1955 until 1959 when a promoter by the name of Bill Holz who was operating a drag racing operation at Garden Spot airport in Lancaster, Pennsylvania encountered legal problems with a neighbor chinchilla rancher who experienced a problem from the noise of the drag strip causing the chinchillas to bite their fur. The dragway was located at the York Airport in Thomasville, Pennsylvania, and operated at an active airport site from 1965 until 1979 with the business prowess of Oscar Hostetter who had the foresight to recognize the significance of the sport of drag racing that was sweeping the West Coast. Sit back and enjoy this marvel of the good old days.It is forty years this year that operations at York US30 Dragway ended. ![]() Paul Longnecker had a couple of bullets go through his trailer, and one exploded a battery."įunny Cars were king at US 30, but in this rare video, the Top Fuel dragsters and Pro Stocks took center stage. "There were several shootings that night I went. "You know they used to bet heavily there, and if someone lost a bet, he'd just shoot the guy he owed," Dakin said, with a serious look on his face. Those who raced there pointed out as much as $500,000 could change hands as a result of what happened on the track. US 30's reputation was built largely on its weekly Nitro shows but even more because of its major betting in the grandstands. ![]() "It was definitely an experience," Dakin said with a smile. Pat Dakin only raced US 30 once, and the experience was more than enough to last a lifetime. There was some bullets flying from time to time too." "There was a lot of betting going on there. "It was probably more dangerous outside of the car than inside," Top Fuel racer Luigi Novelli said with a laugh. US 30 Drag Strip in Gary, Indiana was an experience indeed, with the grandstands and the pits more entertaining with its betting and fanfare than anything else. Travel back in time to a race track located 30 miles outside of Joliet, Illinois, where match racing was king.
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