Post by dragnews on Jan 14, 2012 23:12:55 GMT -5
During the sixties through the eighties most of us spent our life racing the Texan's on Saturday Night at Green Valley then coming home and racing them at Ardmore on Sunday. Probably no two tracks work together over the years in conjunction with each other as Ardmore Dragway and Green Valley Race City did.
Green Valley was the premier race facility in the South until it's closure in 1986 it could be called the track milk built. In 1960 on the dairy farm of Jack McClure's sprawling dairy farm Rt1 box 48 in Smithfield Texas. It became the host of the A.H.R.A. Grand
America series events and later N.H.R.A. Winston points series events. I could spend the rest of my life talking about the track,
but recently after 26 years since Lynn Cleghorn and I ran the final Saturday night race. Guyniece, Steve Scott and myself went on a expedition to search for the remains of Green Valley. Below are photos and comments, I hope everyone enjoys.
The McClure's who traded dairy cows for a dragstrip in 1960.
Center picture is Bobby Cross hitting the stripe and lighting the Sprite sign win light. On the left the remains of the 1320 mark and the right the post were the Sprite signs once stood.
Thirty feet before the finish line stand homes were dragster's once roared. just before the second turn off to the return road Green Valley returns to pasture. Bursy road now crosses the shutdown going up the shut down hill.
Front gate entrance, scales and later hot car staging is now
North Tarrant Parkway connecting Ft.Worth to Dallas.
Standing in the pit entrance, you can see part of the stocker staging lanes, some of the track behind the starting line and in the background Steve Scott stands on the pillar that once held the cross over bridge.
1982 I'm standing behind Gene Snow's dragster on the bridge that crossed the creek behind the starting line. Today the creek and bridge still remain.
Well I am sure I have bored you enough tonight, it took me 26 years to go back and yes there were times I had tears in my eyes. I was glad we returned workers on the property told me another housing edition was about to start and by July all of the
Raceway would be gone!
A fitting end to the story one of the workers had carved R.I.P. Racers in the staging lanes, all that's left of Green Valley.
See you in the staging lanes, Rob.
Green Valley was the premier race facility in the South until it's closure in 1986 it could be called the track milk built. In 1960 on the dairy farm of Jack McClure's sprawling dairy farm Rt1 box 48 in Smithfield Texas. It became the host of the A.H.R.A. Grand
America series events and later N.H.R.A. Winston points series events. I could spend the rest of my life talking about the track,
but recently after 26 years since Lynn Cleghorn and I ran the final Saturday night race. Guyniece, Steve Scott and myself went on a expedition to search for the remains of Green Valley. Below are photos and comments, I hope everyone enjoys.
The McClure's who traded dairy cows for a dragstrip in 1960.
Center picture is Bobby Cross hitting the stripe and lighting the Sprite sign win light. On the left the remains of the 1320 mark and the right the post were the Sprite signs once stood.
Thirty feet before the finish line stand homes were dragster's once roared. just before the second turn off to the return road Green Valley returns to pasture. Bursy road now crosses the shutdown going up the shut down hill.
Front gate entrance, scales and later hot car staging is now
North Tarrant Parkway connecting Ft.Worth to Dallas.
Standing in the pit entrance, you can see part of the stocker staging lanes, some of the track behind the starting line and in the background Steve Scott stands on the pillar that once held the cross over bridge.
1982 I'm standing behind Gene Snow's dragster on the bridge that crossed the creek behind the starting line. Today the creek and bridge still remain.
Well I am sure I have bored you enough tonight, it took me 26 years to go back and yes there were times I had tears in my eyes. I was glad we returned workers on the property told me another housing edition was about to start and by July all of the
Raceway would be gone!
A fitting end to the story one of the workers had carved R.I.P. Racers in the staging lanes, all that's left of Green Valley.
See you in the staging lanes, Rob.