Kentucky Drag Strips

Open

Beech Bend Raceway Park, Bowling Green
Bluegrass Raceway Park, Owingsville
Lake Cumberland Dragway, Jamestown
London Motorplex, London
Mountain Park Dragway, Clay City
Ohio Valley Dragway, West Point
Thorn Hill Dragway, Crittenden
U.S. 60 Raceway, Hardinsburg
Windy Hollow Raceway Park, Owensboro

Closed

Bluegrass Dragway, Lexington
Campbellsville Dragway, Campbellsville
Cedar Creek Drag Strips, Mt. Washington
McCracken Co Drag Strip
River City, Ashland
Richmond Dragway, Richmond
Somerset Dragway, Somerset
Sturgis Dragway, Sturgis
Tompkinsville Drag Strip
Otter Lake Drag Strip, Madisonville

Kentucky Oval Tracks

Open

Beech Bend Raceway Park, Bowling Green
201 Speedway, East Point
Barren County Speedway, Glasgow
Bluegrass Speedway, Bardstown
Clinton County Speedway, Monticello
Cool Springs Motor Speedway, Milltown
Corbin Motor Speedway, Corbin
Fleming County Raceway, Goddard
Florence Speedway, Union
Half Mountain Speedway, Salerville
I-75 Speedway, Mt. Vernon
Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway, Calvert City
Kentucky Motor Speedway, Owensboro
Kentucky Speedway, Ft. Mitchell
Lake Cumberland Speedway, Bumsiel
Lightning Valley Speedway, Junction City
Mudlick Valley Speedway, Maysville
Paducah International Raceway, Paducah
Perry County Speedway, Bulan
Ponderosa Speedway, Liberty
Richmond Raceway, Nicholasville
Soggy Bottom Speedway, Morgantown
Thunder Mountain Speedway, Wurtland
TK Raceway, Benton
Wayne County Raceway Park, Monticello
Western Kentucky Speedway, Madisonville
Willard Speedway, Willard
Windy Hollow Raceway Park, Owensboro

Closed

Louisville Motor Speedway, Louisville
Fairgrounds Motor Speedway, Louisville
Dixie Speedway, Valley Station
Central Park Raceway, McHenry

Early History

Ohio Valley Raceway

1965-1970 

     Ohio Valley Raceway was built and opened in the spring of 1965 by my brother, Jim, and me, Wayne Williams.  Jim passed away in 2003 which leaves me to try to recall how it all got started, forty-five years ago.  Jim and I always shared a love of fast cars, but in order to watch, or participate in drag racing we had to travel to Hardinsburg, Sturgis or Seymour.  From our teenage years of cruising the parking lots of drive-in restaurants, we knew there were as many fans of hot cars in the Louisville area as anywhere else, but who had nowhere to legally drag race.  We heard opportunity at the door but until we opened the gates to our track that first night, we could not have imagined how loud it was knocking.

     Jim was twenty years old at the time and I was twenty-six.  Together, we could not have scratched up enough money to build a go-cart track, let alone a drag strip.  So we approached our father who was certainly no fan of fast cars.  Over the years, any time my '57 Chevy or Jim's 409 powered Corvette pulled into the parking lot of his hardware store in Orell, KY, he merely shook his head.  It took many grueling sessions with our dad to convince him that this was a viable venture, but in the end, he conceded but with strict provisions on a pay-back schedule.

     The grass airport off Dixie Highway on Katherine Station Road was owned by a man named Huff.  We knew him as a customer at Dad's hardware store.  To us it seemed an ideal place to build a race track and after several weeks of negotiations, we agreed on a price.  Around Christmas of 1964, we put shovels to the ground.

      Everything we were spending was borrowed so it was low-budget all the way.  We painted the old aircraft hanger and house.  Excavating and paving of the main strip, return strip, and a few other small areas was finished as soon as weather permitted.  We built a 16'x16' wooden two-story tower near the starting line.  The windows were simply plywood flaps that opened to the inside and left the operations crew exposed to the elements.  We used farm fencing to separate the spectator areas from the track.  The Christmas tree and timer was a home-grown monster and the source of many headaches later.  In mid-April of 1965 we opened on a wing and a prayer.

       Absolute pandemonium would probably best describe opening night - total chaos.  Katherine Station Road was the only access to the track and it was at a total standstill by 6:30 - cars with nowhere to go, double-parked all the way back to Dixie Highway, the south lane of which was at a standstill all the way back to Al's Bait Shop, a distance of over two miles.  So, with nowhere else to turn -we went to racing.

       The farm fencing we installed to keep the spectators safe, was about 15 feet from the track. By the time we started a match race between two wheel-standing "A" gassers, "spectators" had broken off every T post at grass level, flattened the fence and were standing with their toes on the edge of the pavement.

       From the git-go, this opening night was a family affair - our wives running the concession stand and friends selling tickets and directing traffic.  Needless to say, we were sorely understaffed.

       The next Monday morning brought the need for some changes - in a hurry.  A new 7-foot chain-link fence was installed from the start line to the finish, keeping the fans off the track.  We opened more entry gates for the pits and increased the waiting area.  Security was a big problem so we hired two of the hardest-nosed security people we could find, solving, forever, that glitch.  A tribute here to Emmet Crane and J.T.S. Brown.  They kept me in beer. In the weeks, months and years to follow, other problems were solved by updating everything, it seemed.  A new timing system solved the Christmas Tree snafu.  More paving improved the staging area.  A more powerful PA system allowed everyone to hear.  A professional announcer kept things running smoothly.  The competition procedures were enhanced.  We improved everything to the point where we thought we might get the nod for a NHRA sanction.  With the help and guidance of Bob and Eileen Daniels, Ohio Valley Raceway became the first sanctioned 1/8th mile track - anywhere.

         I would like to list some of the high points over the years in no particular order:  The concession stand developed the best chili dog I have ever had, to this day.  When the floods came, so did the snakes:  Big Daddy Don was there and so was Grump. There were many more national heroes who passed through the Valley, too many to mention.  I especially remember with fondness, the deer that crossed the track during eliminations, and Jim Cusic's big left turn at the finish line at 100 mph.  And who could forget the night we searched in the weeds for 15 minutes, for Bill English after his brakes failed. We got to see Frakes & Funks' twin-engine Chrysler-powered front engine car, John Carter's Willys eating up the first third of the track on rear wheels only.  We were the origins of "Honest" in John's Carter's name.  The Valley went to National Trails and impressed everyone at the first 1/8th mile Championship.  Many national record holders came from the Valley because fierce competition breeds champions.

        There were some low points, most, better forgotten, but the name Ed Payne always comes to mind.

        In 1970 we sold the track to a great racer and good friend, Jesse Ballew.

                                                                                                      Story by Wayne Williams

                                                                                              1/27/2010

                                                                               US 60 Raceway

     US 60 Raceway was opened on July 31, 1964 by Hardinsburg resident and future Kentucky Motorsports Hall of Fame member, Keenan O' Connell. O'Connell stated that he was invited by a friend to attend the drag races at the old Owensboro Dragstrip. As he sat on top of the hill watching the cars and the people pour in to the racetrack, he saw the possibility of a good financial opportunity along with bringing the sport of drag racing to the Breckinridge County area.
     At that time O'Connell owned a go kart track that he had purchased from the Ditto family and decided that the location would be a good place for the dragstrip. Although he did not know at the time where the financing for the track come from, plans were made to build US 60 Raceway.
     On opening day, O'Connell stood at the gate and looked up and down US Highway 60. As far as he could see in both directions, cars were lined up to enter the racetrack. He knew then that US 60 Raceway was going to be a success.
     Farm fencing had been installed to keep race fans from getting to close to the dragstrip. Before the racing had started, fans had pushed the fences down and where lined up right next to the racing surface as cars blasted down the track. Chainlink fencing was installed in short order.
     Many of the sports top drivers of the day appeared at US 60. Some of the more notable were, Pro Stock superstar Bob Glidden, Super Stock ace Herb McCandless, Top Fuel driver Dale Funk, Top Gas star Gordon Collett, Modified and Comp eliminator driver Joe Williamson, Funny stars Randy Walls, Bruce Larsen and Kelly Chadwick, Bill "Maverick" Golden, driver of the famed wheelstander, "The Little Red Wagon" and scores of others.
     The first 1/8 mile Nationals were held at US 60 Raceway with cars appearing from 37 states.
     O'Connell recalled some of the more memorable events that occurred at US 60 such as the night the lights went out as two dragsters crossed the finish line. The two cars bumped together in the dark but were bought to safe stop by their drivers.
     Another time two dead heats occurred between the A Street Roadster driven by Jerry Basham and the A Gas Henry J driven by Doug Greenfield. A third runoff was held with Greenfield taking the win.
     Match racing was big at the time and the fans at US 60 Raceway enjoyed some of the best in the country. 
     Match races between the Golden Angel owned by Ed Payne and driven by Henry Putman and the Roadrunner Henry J   owned and driven by Doug Greenfield were crowd favorites.
     O'Connell operated US 60 Raceway from 1964 until 1974 when it was then leased to Dallas Jones who now owns and operates Beech Bend Raceway.
     The track was leased to several different operators over the years including Noel Davis, Kevin Brown, Harvey Davis, Eddie and Bruce Lampton and J.D. and Judy Snead. The track was sold to the Sneads who continue to operate it to this day.
     O'Connell stated that there was a lot of joy and a lot of heartaches to running US 60 but it was a great experience and he still loves racing and drove a race car until he was 73 years old.

                                                                              Story by Eddy Kannapel