Austin Raceway Park

[Bobby]

The old Diggers sure bring back a lot of memories. Damn Im old!

 

 

The cars of this era, especially the front engined rails, is really what drag racing was "about" for me. When Garlits went rear-engine the appeal just sorta went away. I know why he did it (and I hate to see anyone get hurt), but from a visual standpoint, in action and standing still, these are the cars I love.

[racer-x]

THAT GALAXY BRINGS BACK SOME MEMORIES. MY DAD BOUGHT A NEW ONE IN 62. HW ORDERED IT WITH A 3-SPEED OVERDRIVE OF ALL THINGS. I HAVE THE WINDOW STICKER.

[CuttingEdgeRacing]

Thanks for sharing these awsome photos. I'm a nostalgia nut when it comes to drag racing. I'll have my front engine digger soon enough.

 

What lead to the demise of the track?

[MOTORAustin]

Not sure about the years. One site I found showed the opend year as 1960 and the end year as 1970. That appears to be wrong because of this quote from Paul Herdez site "He was one of the officials who worked there when it opened up in 1965."

 

So I would bet on 1965 for the opening year.

 

What led to the demise? Here's an interesting tidbit from the net:

 

"The track closed because (as per the American Statesman local newspaper) there was a dairy farm nearby and the owner was convinced that the racing on the weekends made his cows give less milk on Monday? At any rate he got an injunction that stopped the racing and it was fought for a while but for whatever reason the track never held Drag racing again although there were organized road racing there for years afterward."

 

Maybe Paul/Lightning can verify this?? Hey Paul!

[PAPA]

Stupid cows!!!!

[Lightning351]

I think it opened in 65 first races in 1966.

 

Yes! Its true about the cows lol! Dont know how much of that is true or in relation to the closing but it did have something to do with it. Also, other problems between Williamson and Travis county taxes was another thing floating around??

 

A few other incidents could have contributed to its final closing like a dragster failing to stop after something?... brakes/shoot -malfunctioned and crossed onto the traffic clipping a 57 Chevy passing by according to Bruce the guy who snapped these pics.

 

Also, some guy in an autocross race died after coming out of a turn and clipped one of the beams to the tower.

 

And finally closed off completely after some other guys went in long after it was shut down, testing an early Chevy drag car and flipped it. The driver broke his neck.

 

The tower also has a story of its own -was partial blown over in a bad storm then removed. The smaller version at Truck city in the 80s was also damaged by a bad storm and also taken down. This track just has a spooky side to it!!!

 

Another fact was that after it closed down Six flags Drag Way in Victoria bought out the stands and lighting system combined with the one they already had in place for the new speedway they were building according to the local news papers when they interviewed Kup about the new speedway track.

 

 

Paul H.

[MOTORAustin]

 

 

 

 

 

The photos above are from a 1968 Hot Rod magazine I nabbed on ebay. A short summary of the article can be found here:

 

www.motoraustin.com/austin-raceway-park-1968.htm

 

Anyone have any additional information on the cars?

[bmw57isetta]

Looking through some scrapbooks and found some old ARP official time cards from when we raced in 1966 a 1962 Ford with 427 engine. My brother and I bought this car in 1966. This time card represents a race with Butch Lake. August "Hands" Hartkopf had a pump up sprayer with resin and was spraying Butch's tires for traction. I'll never forget that he asked us simply "want some?" and then sprayed it on our tires.

This was a "run what you brung" day - not an official event - Saturday afternoon.

About the tower: at the time I believe there were 2 of those around. One at Truck City on Ben White and the other at the race track. Believe they were oil derricks.

Remember one time on a regular Sunday race day the little red wagon that did wheel stands and drug tail gate got caught by the wind and was blown over.

I have a hot rod book around here somewhere that has an article of an NHRA event at the track. Probably in 1967-1968.

Trying to think of the guy's name that ran the Christmas Tree. He was a big guy and worked for post office. First name may have been Bill. His picture is in the hot rod book wearing a cowboy hat.

Rodney

 

Rodlea:

 

I may have my head bolted on backwards but I belive the guy you're thinking about is Bill Von Quintus. You described him to a T. For some reason, he may have also worked for, or logged a bunch of time, at Hal's Auto Parts on Burnet Road. Hal White owned it and opened the Midas Muffler Shop on Guadalupe after he closed the parts biz.

[txtom]

You can find Von Quintis at Austin Performance on North Lamar sometimes; or they know where to get him.

[tqj3]

I believe the track opened in 1966. I ran my first SCCA driver's school in the fall of 1966 and we raced there until 1069 or 1970. I don't remember anyone getting killed, let alone anyone getting killed in an autocross, though a Triumph TR3 did overcook that last turn onto the front straight and hit the guard rail right under the tower.

There was a lawsuit and we were told at the time it was the only lawsuit the NHRA ever lost. By the time the track closed down we had the road course at Texas World Speedway to race on.

There was also a drag strip and road course at Green Valley in Ft. Worth. It was owned by a drag racer named Bill Hielscher who also owned the dairy farm he built the track(s) on. I remember the cows used to hang their heads over the fence and watch the cars go by...

We raced at Green Valley well into the '70s and '80s. I don't know when Green Vallery opened, but I attended my first race in the United States there in June of 1962. It was an SCCA national and a lady driver from Oklahoma named Louise something won the featured race in a Lotus Super 7. The crowd was huge, and I recall them announcing attendance at around 10,000.

[jracer98]

The old Diggers sure bring back a lot of memories. Damn Im old!

 

 

The cars of this era, especially the front engined rails, is really what drag racing was "about" for me. When Garlits went rear-engine the appeal just sorta went away. I know why he did it (and I hate to see anyone get hurt), but from a visual standpoint, in action and standing still, these are the cars I love.

 

 

 

you will OD on this....enjoy

 

http://www.wediditforlove.com/

 

Jay

[txtom]

Green Valley opened about 1960 and ran under the AHRA banner from 1961 to 1976. Built and operated by veteran drag racer Bill Hielscher on his dairy farm.

 

Incidently, if you look a couple postings above at the pics from "MOTORAustin", the third one down (the early camaro) is Bill Hieschler, and he was also known as "MR Bardahl".

Hielscher died in 2002, and I believe he was the co-owner of Amarillo Dragway and Texas Raceway dragstrips at that time.

[tqj3]

Thanks for the added info, TxTom. I have to apologize to Elouise Norris, the lady who drove the Lotus Super 7 at Green Valley in 1962. My only excuse is advancing age, but it took me an hour to remember her name.

In the 1960s, Elouise became part of the most successful Datsun roadster racing team in the midwest. She was a heck of a driver as well as a pioneer.

I also came across a results sheet from a national race I ran at Austin Raceway Park in May of 1969, so we were still running there then.

I'll try to look through some of the stories from the Statesman and see it I can put together any more information about the track.

[txtom]

It is interesting that Hielscher still had dairy cattle on, and around, his property during the racing, but the farmer in Austin helped get ARP closed because he thought it affect his milk production

[tqj3]

It is interesting that Hielscher still had dairy cattle on, and around, his property during the racing, but the farmer in Austin helped get ARP closed because he thought it affect his milk production

 

Yeah, I used to think about that every time I ran down the front straight and saw the cows watching us...

[Hrodder]

Wrong again puppy breath it was Bill McClure not Bill Hielscher that started green valley he was also the 1st. owner of the Buzzard (Double Eagle). Bill McClure was a dairyman from Ft. Worth, you got that part right.

 

Orval Adams was the first manager of the Double Eagle.

[txtom]

Thanks for the correction Rodder, my old fart friend!!

 

I found so many different stories about how Green Valley started, but I did not see McClure's name.

 

When I lived in Ft Worth, a close friend lived in the shadow of G.V., and it was all there. But I was by there a couple years ago, and there is not much left. Housing is taking over.

[Modracer]

Old Fart. Thats some big words coming from you.

[dubya]

ARP at a SCCA race 1969

Taken by a San Jac Crash Rescue Member

Note Starter waving green flag from 55 gal. drum

 

[dubya]

Here are 2 pics from Green Valley road racing.

Both are 1967 - 1970 TransAm was supposed to be at Dallas Intl Motor Speedway but was flooded out.

[Chevy2Much]

 

...Trying to think of the guy's name that ran the Christmas Tree. He was a big guy and worked for post office. First name may have been Bill. His picture is in the hot rod book wearing a cowboy hat...

I may have my head bolted on backwards but I belive the guy you're thinking about is Bill Von Quintus. You described him to a T. For some reason, he may have also worked for, or logged a bunch of time, at Hal's Auto Parts on Burnet Road. Hal White owned it and opened the Midas Muffler Shop on Guadalupe after he closed the parts biz.

 

Rodlea:bill ziptach postman