Story written on July 25, 2004
Ardmore Raceway Around For 50 Years
By Bill Baker
Sports Writer

The Ardmore Raceway, located seven miles north of Ardmore on U.S. Highway 77, is celebrating its 50th year of operation. Only one other drag strip, the Inyokern Racetrack in Ridgecrest, Calif., has been in operation that long. Both drag strips had their first race in 1954. Therefore, they jointly lay claim to "the oldest continuous running dragstrip in America."

  Local drag racer Ricky Carroll prepares for a run during a recent card of racing at Ardmore Raceway.  

The Ardmore Raceway has races on the first and third Saturday and Sunday afternoons from March through October, although they are open for races on Sundays only during July and August because of the heat. According to Raceway owner Johnnie Laird, the operation continues to be a popular sport that got its start at what is now the Ardmore Downtown Airport.

Laird spoke of how ironic it was that the Ardmore Raceway took over what was at one time a landing strip for the municipal airport when it moved to its current location. Later on, the former race track location evolved into the Ardmore Downtown Airport.

"The 'Slow Pokes' car club got together as early as 1953, and work was begun on the track in the fall of 1954," Laird said. "The first races were conducted in late 1954. The original strip was dirt, and many people worked to keep the track in racing condition. Some time later, Jim Ragland, a club member, hauled several loads of hot oil in, and that made the track considerably better. Later a 50-feet concrete starting pad was added."

The 'Slow Pokes' received their charter in 1955, and Norman Flowers was the first president. In those days, according to Laird, most of the early racers were flat head Fords, Mercurys and six-cylinder Chevrolets.

"One of the early 'hot dogs' was Mike Henderson," Laird said. "He was racing a 1936 Dodge with a 1951 Oldsmobile engine. When the Chevys, Fords and Pontiacs started showing up with the overhead valve V8s, the whole world changed. Races were started and judged by flagmen since this was before the electronics we have now.

"One of the newspaper articles estimated the crowd at 2,000 with 47 entries. Memories of the old track are very precious to many of us. It would probably be embarrassing to know some of the elapsed times and miles per hour. But it was exciting to race on a real drag strip and to hang out with real 'hot rodders."

When the Ardmore Army/Air Force Base at Gene Autry closed, it freed up landing strips that could be used for civilian aircraft destined for southern Oklahoma. That freed up the landing strip at Springer that was formerly used for civilian traffic. The Raceway relocated their operations to their current home just south of Springer. When the first races took place there, the asphalt came apart. Three club members, J.R. Shaw, Joe Carrell and Dennis Lavers put their names on a loan from Mrs. Carol Daube Sutton and formed the Ardmore Timing Association.

The loan enabled the operators to resurface the runway and buy the first set of Chrondek timers. According to Laird, Carrells's father built the original buildings at the Raceway. This included the building that housed the timers and public address system, a concession building and a couple of outhouses. These buildings no longer exist and have been replaced with modern structures.

OG&E built a line to furnish the tower with power, but the light sources for the photo cells were powered by six-volt car batteries. The operators had to install a one-inch cable running through wooden posts down both sides of the track to serve as a protective barrier to satisfy the insurance company (Lloyd's of London).

"Late in 1970, Lonnie Sears and I bought the operation," Laird said. "Being a track operator wasn't very glamorous, but the love of the sport by the two of us and the racers kept the operation afloat. During this time, we've made a number of electronic advancements. Lonnie and I applied for a NHRA sanction and received it on Jan. 1, 1975. We kept the NHRA sanction until Billy Myer took over the IHRA. We decided to go that route with our race track.

"Lonnie and I kept things rolling along with Jerry Matthews doing the electronics until the late '70s. Jerry converted the old tickie tocks to dual lane E.T. timers with no mph. Lonnie and I built our first two-story timing tower and the first set of bleachers. In 1979, Jerry bought Lonnie's half of the operation, and Jerry and I formed a new partnership."

According to Laird, the '80s were good years for drag racing because the oil boom was alive and well in southern Oklahoma. People seemed to have money to pursue their favorite hobbies. But when the boom went bust, everyone could see how closely related drag racing was to the oil industry.

"I can remember worrying a lot when gas prices rose and we had the fuel shortage, but drag racing continued to do pretty well," Laird said. "Jerry and I had the track re-surfaced in 1979, and shortly thereafter purchased our first set of modern clocks. We bought a set of old Chrondek Selectras from the track in Liberal, Kan. For the first time, we had e.t. and mph in both lanes. We also had a store-bought christmas tree."

Laird assumed sole ownership of the Ardmore Raceway in 1995, and he is particularly proud of the fact that both his former partners still play an active roll in the raceway. The popularity continues to grow, especially with modern advances in electronics and automobile engineering. Saturday afternoons, according to Laird, is more laid back. Anyone with a drivers license and a street car can compete on that afternoon.

Junior dragsters, half-size scale of a regular dragster, can be raced on Saturday and/or Sunday. These dragsters are powered by Briggs and Stratton engines and can go pretty fast, according to Laird. Kids aged 8 to 16 can participate in these events. Safety requirements include SNELL-approved helmets, fireproof driving uniforms, chassis that meet national hot rod specs and a driver's restraint system.

"Sunday racing includes anything from the junior dragsters up to the full-size dragsters, including street cars and the modified street cars," Laird said. "These cars can reach speeds of 180 mph in ¤ mile. In 1997, we had to cut the track to Ž-mile long. For a long time, it was ¤-mile long, but we had to shorten it. When the cars get as fast as they are now, you really need the increased shut-down areas. These cars have the parachutes and everything you see on television.

"We have complete bracket racing on Sunday, and everyone is handicapped off their own performance. This makes all the races very exciting and competitive. The driver's skill comes into play, and that normally determines the winners."

Laird believes drag racing will continue to grow because most people have a natural love for speed.

"Everyone has a little drag racing in them," he said. "If you're setting at a traffic light, and you're trying to beat the guy in the next lane to the next light, you've got the itch and you need to find a legal race track.

"A lot of people still have plenty of disposable income to spend on their hobbies, and that's why I see the sport continuing to gain in popularity. We're blessed to have a great family atmosphere here. It's a fun place to bring the entire family and watch racing. Everyone here is competitive, but they're ladies and gentlemen."

The cost to someone interested in pursuing drag racing can range from a few thousand dollars to almost a hundred thousand, according to Laird.

"To modify a street car, get the safety requirements attached and get a pretty good thrill out of it would probably run a person around $4,000," he said. "Once you get into the big cars, you're talking about a trailer to put the car on and a vehicle large enough to pull it. Then you're looking at $60,000 to $70,000.

"There are race tracks at Tulsa and Noble, and at Denton and Wichita Falls, Texas. A person can go and race at those locations on the days we're not racing here. And with the bigger cars at the NHRA Division races and national races, they travel all over the country."

Fees for race cars on Saturdays are $15 for a car and driver, and spectators are charged $5 with kids ages 11 and younger admitted free. Sunday's charges for a car and driver are $20. The charge for the larger cars with driver are $50, and spectators are charged $10 on Sunday. Again, ages 11 and younger are free. Racers compete for a combination of trophies and/or money.

"The reason we've survived and done so well for 50 years is because we have a great group of grass-roots racers that have kept the track alive," Laird said. "We don't book any big shows. Most of our participants and spectators are within a 100-mile radius.

"It's phenomenal when you think about how we started on the old dirt track south of town, and now we're the oldest track in the country. The Ardmore Racetrack was built by racers, for racers, and I truly believe that's what makes it stand out above all the rest."