Pacemakers Dragway Park

[fairlane]

along time ago they used to race dirtbikes on sunday on the hill through the woods.keith colopy ran a slant six with a four speed, in the same wagon he as now. what a diffirance a couple of years makes.bill webb ran a red convertible dodge dart.dick ruddrick had the same car that he has now,kevin moore ran a cuda funnycar, which is now his raodster.the sutton faimily had a wheel standing camaro, which i think butch has now.mike smith malibu used to be white with to fours out of the hood with hammertime on the side.mike wright had a ford galaxie that he started with.and the merkles still changed cars like i change underwear. its amazing what a little time can do,sometimes for the wores and sometimes for the better. if i can remember more about the track ill get back.

[fairlane]

one more that i remember linn bebouts green olds used to be a full bodied car, that he ran daul line locks in super pro i beleive he did the most changing.

[avenger]

Anybody remember Larry Morgan hitting the rear bumper just before half track in the rod shop dodge?

[Malaby Racing]

Thanks for the information! I'm looking for more information with dates (can be year if you don't remember the date) and pictures to post here on the Track History page.

Thanks again guys and keep the stories coming...

[BuzzBomb]

I do i won street on 1 of those nites. Igot in the National Dragster because Larry won that same nite. You know the front wheels were way up, doesnt a Challenger have a short tail. I believe the early 80s, the Buzz Bomb Pinto was a 4banger then. V-8 now Ive had the BuzzBomb since 1979, just passed the 2500 run mark and my 25th year. Did I just age myself
J Edwards owner of the BUZZ BOMB

[fairlane]

i know that john was wanting the history of the track and we have been talking about the racers and the cars. but that is the history of this track, the racers that have been there week after week year after year.there is no other track out there that has the qaulity of racers and such good people.pacemakers is so hard to discribe the history, because of all the good memories.so many good memories, its hard to remember.

[Wright Motorsports]

Fairlane, Your right the racers are the history of the track we like. I was playing with my kite in the back yard .But I have heard some stories of Harlon Updikes Hudson Hornet. I know Dave Merkle had some pretty good machinery too. I have a picture of Butch Lechler racing a 57 Fuel injected Chevy when the flag man was still there. He was in a Blue 64 Chevelle that he built. I think the date on the photo is 1967. And you know Dick Rudrick was right in the mix. These and a many more fine days should always be remembered and respected. This time of racing and racers is still very much alive. Mike.

[DHuff]

I to raced at Pacemakers 1959 into 1960s. Raced B/A a club project car belonging to The Quarter Milers Car Club New Phila. We raced a lot the track and have lots those times to remember. A lot of the members have moved away and some passed on. I think I am telling my age also like some of the others I have read about. I still enjoy Drag racing yet and plan on hanging in there a little longer. Good Lord willing. I ask John Force how old he had to be before he would stop racing, His reply was when I get to old to eat. Hope to see you all if the rain ever lets up.

[79DISCOSLED]

Do you have any old pics of your hotrod and or pics of the track from back in the day?

[Dhuff]

[NEAL]

OK GUYS AND GALS,
THERE ARE A LOT OF OLD MEMBERS OUT THERE FROM PACEMAKERS WHO KNOW A LOT OF HISTORY AND HAVE LOTS OF PICTURES TO POST. YOU ALL HAVE HEARD ME RUN MY MOUTH ABOUT THE OLD DAYS AND I GO BACK TO ABOUT 1960, WHEN I WAS ABOUT 16 YEARS OLD WITH A 4 DOOR 6 CYL 57 CHEVY. MAYBE SOME OF THE OLDER GUYS HAVE NOT GOTTEN INTO THE COMPUTER AGE. EARLY 60S WE RAN CLASSES IN STOCK AND SUPER STOCK,GAS,MODIFIED,TOP ELIMINATER DRAGSTERS MTHOUGH THERE WERE VERY FEW AROUND AND MOST WERE FRONT ENGINE CHEVYS AND CHRYSLERS WITH ON FORD A 460 LINCOLYN FROM WALHS FORD IN UTICA. THERE WERE SOME FAMOUS VEHICLE HERE SUCH AS THE GREEN MONSTER WITH THE ALISON AIRCRAFT ENGINE AND ONE OF THE FIRST RAILS COULD NOT MAKE THE TURN ON TO TRACK SO YOU HAD TO LIFT UP THE FRON AND MOVE IT AROUND. RACER OF NAME LIKE LARRY MORGAN ,JIM HEAD,ARLAN VANKE, JEG COUGHLON SR. JACKCHRISMAN,BILL JACKSON,SHROYERS SHAKER, RAMCHARGERS SS CARS,BOB MARSHALL,BILLWEEKLY (running a hemi dodge), THE FINK BROTHERS OUT OF ZANESVILL, AND MANY OTHERS THAT I PROBALY DONT REMEMBER. THE MOUNT VERNON NEWS RAN A 2 PAGE SPREAD WITH PICTURES OF A GAS ER MEET WE HAD AND IF SOME ONE WOULD GO TO THE LIBRARY YOU COULD PROBALY FIND THE MICRO FILM. THE TRACK WHEN 1/4 MILE LONG WAS ONLY 28 FT WIDE THE FINISH LINE WAS ABOUT WHERE THE FIRST TURN OFF IS NOW. THE FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE WAS A CHRONDECK SYSTEM AND WE CONVERTED OUR CLOCKS TO MATCH ITS WIRING AND USED THE SPEED CLOCK AS THE SECOND ET CLOCK. THE PHOTO CELLS WERE IN THE CENTER OF THE TRACK AT THE QUARTER MILE AND AS YOU MIGHT THINK IF SOME ONE GOT OUT OF SHAPE IT WAS A REAL PROBLEM. THROUGHT THE YEARS THERE HAVE BEN A SURPRISINLY FEW ACCIDENTS EVEN WHEN IT WAS 28 FT WIDE. I THINK PROBABLY THE MOST SPECTACULAR ON THOUGH WAS DAVE BRASKETS IN THE OPAL A FEW YEARS AGO. I MISSED ABOUT 14 YEARS OF RACING INFO FROM 74 TO 88 SO CANT TELL YOU MUCH ABOUT THAT PERIOD. AS YOU ALL HAVE PROBABLY FIGURED OUT I AM AND OLD FART BUT HAVE BEEN A FAN FOR A VERY LONG TIME AND THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE PACEMAKERS FOR GOOD RACING AND FRIENDLY PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT ONE ANOTHER EVEN IF THEY ARE THE TOUGHEST OF COMPETITORS WHEN RACING. THERE IS NOT A GROUP OF RACERS ANY WHERE LIKE THE ONES WHO RACE THE LEGEND.

[79DISCOSLED]

DHUFF......good to hear you were running a pontiac back in the day hehehe....although from what i know the sd pontiac of the early 60's were a tear on the track......although drivers like arnie beswick helped a bit too......i read about hyde park.....ive have heard old strory from an uncle about a track that the shut off area went up a steap hill and some folks had issues keeping the cars on the ground.....not sure if he was pulling my leg but is that true?
Shannon C

[dhuff]

You are right about the shut down at Hyde park. It did run up a steep hill with a hard right at the top of the hill back to the pits. Some went over into the orchard on the other side many times. I remember one tuff car and driver there , a T roadster Drivers Last name was Andrews . Anyone remember him? Back to Pacemakers it was 1/4 mile and was and still has a bunch of good drivers always fun to race their. Its a long drive down but when you can stay over nite and leave in am you can enjoy the evening and see lots of fast cars. See i didnt say i didnt like to go fast i,m just happy racing the the Vega in PRO class and foot braking. I even get lucky once in while.

[79DISCOSLED]

Wow i thought my uncle was b.s me about cars launching off the track in the shut down area....He told me a story of a car somehow jumping over a power line.....no there is now way i can imagin this but i guess maybe it was possible...however i still find it hard to believe.....is there still areas of the track still left......and what other tracks were in ohio thats closed up...someone told me about one on the ohio river somewhere but i have forgot the location...any idea....talk to you later
Shannon c

[Nitro Joe Jackson]

Man, I need to set down and dig out old photos cause I was there right after I was born, in 1962, Dad ran a '62 Corvette in B/MP and my mother was running a '58 Pontiac Chieftain in D/SA, in the following years, she moved up to the '65 Hemi Coronet that Wes Coogle owned (before dying of cancer) and called it "Go Hummer", while my father started running a C/A '34 Bantam, in 1968 they both made big steps up, as my mother received a '68 Hemi dart from Chrysler and my father bought a B/SR '23 T Roadster and also bought a second B/SR that would be a famous final round at Pacemakers in 1972 as Dad traded the one roadster to Jack Dearman (of Mansfield, Oh) for a 72 Nova, Jack turned the car into a A/SR, anyhow, on a Saturday night at Pacemakers, it came down to the pair in the finals of modified eliminator (yes back then they ran Modified, SS & Stock every weekend). When the tree came down, dad left first, well the car went about 5 feet in the air and turned left (he was in the right lane) took the tree out and as Jack was leaving the line, Dad came down on Jacks front fender, well us kids was standing on the hauler (which they use to make us go in that little break road on the right side) sparks went everywhere and as the old saying go's the crowd went wild. Anyhow in the mid '70 we started running the Nova's one in F/MP and the other in SS/EA and we ran those cars until Pacemakers went into the new bracket era. That’s where I started racing down there in 1978, they had brackets that was 8.00 - 8.50- 9.00 - 9.50 ect, ect. I use to run the 10.00 flat bracket and had a good time, I progressed up to my Roadster that I ran there going 6.0's having one crash while running there as my steering went out one night in 1984, then racing my dragster down there before retiring from driving in 1995, my parents still try to get down every once in awhile as they are now racing 2 Monza's in SG and 2 dragsters in SC. This track has some real history behind it and I'm proud to say the Jackson's Scratcher family cars have been there for a long time of that history.
John, I'll see what I can come up with picture wise.
_________________
Nitro Joe Jackson
Home phone:
419-994-4993
Cell
419-512-1677