Santa Ana Drags

Santa Ana Drags was the first drag strip in the United States.[1] The strip was founded by C.J. "Pappy" Hart, Creighton Hunter and Frank Stillwell at the Orange County Airport auxiliary runway in southern California [2] and was operational from June 19, 1950 until June 21, 1959[2][3]

Making history

Many pioneers in drag racing began at Santa Ana. Art Chrisman, Don Yates, Calvin Rice, Joaquin Arnett,[4] George "Ollie" Morris[5] and others participated regularly.

The strip was created with $1000 startup money, and charged both spectators and participants 50 cents, of which 10% went directly to the owner of the airport.[3] The strip installed timing clocks, so racers could actually get accurate times for each run. There was also a pit area, restrooms, a concession stand and primitive grandstands for spectators and plenty of parking.[4] It was closed due to pressure from C.J Hart, whose wife had hired a private investigator to determine if Frank Stillwell was stealing money from the gate receipts in 1957.[3]

Main Street Malt Shop and Santa Ana Drag Strip Reunion

Reunions are held twice a year, in April and October in Santiago Creek Park in Santa Ana, California,[6] including the April 14, 2012 event. They are now organized by Leslie Long, after being organized by Bill and Marie Jenks previously.[7]

See also

References
  1. "NHRA history: Drag racing's fast start". National Hot Rod Association. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  2. Prieto, Don (1999). "Santa Ana Drags... The End of an Era". wediditforlove.com. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  3. Wallace, Dave (July 2012). "Santa Ana Drags, 1950–1959". Hot Rod magazine. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  4. Madagan, Tom (2007). Fuel & Guts: The Birth of Top Fuel Drag Racing. Motorbooks - MBI Publishing. pp. 19–21, 33. ISBN 978-0-7603-2697-8. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  5. Post, Robert C. (2001). High Performance The Culture and Technology of Drag Racing 1950-2000. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 38. ISBN 0-8018-6664-2.
  6. Parks, Richard (2011). "Main Street Malt Shop and Santa Ana Drag Strip Reunion (2011)". HotRodOnline.com. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  7. Parks, Richard (2012). "The Main Street Malt Santa Ana Drags Reunion". HotRodOnline. Retrieved March 17, 2013.


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