"Race the family car." - wonder how many youths got into trouble for doing that without permission? Click to enlarge.
This is the second in a series of articles on former automobile race tracks in Chattanooga. In case that you missed the first installment, it can be found at www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_169388.asp.
In the 1950’s, a burgeoning adolescent population with a burning desire for speed made a dangerous combination. City streets often turned into drag strips, and became the scenes of traffic fatalities. Civic leaders formulated plans for dealing effectively with the problem.
One of the safety crusaders was John “Buddy” Houts, an engineer at WDEF radio and later, the automotive editor for the Chattanooga News-Free Press. In a July 13, 1986 News-Free Press interview, Mr. Houts recalled his struggle to get support for a solution to teen drag racing. “I was just about thrown out of every meeting,” he said, referring of his talks to civic and government groups.
Buddy Houts then decided to promote the idea of building a drag strip whose proceeds would benefit charity. The Brainerd Optimist Club embraced the notion. On May 10, 1957, a Chattanooga News-Free Press article appeared with the headline, “Beasts Will Roar Every Sunday on Drag Strip Built by Brainerd Optimists with Police Okay.”
A 3,160 feet long, 40-feet wide drag strip was to be built, and would be open to the public. Herbert L. Walker, president of the Brainerd Optimists, said “A lot of drag racing takes place on our streets and highways. A lot of it is done by the kids. Some of the adults get into the act. This strip will provide a safe and supervised place for the fellow who wants to burn up the road.”
The site selected for the drag strip was Crabtree Road, just off Hixson Pike in Middle Valley. At the time, this area, north of Hixson, had none of its present-day subdivisions. Residents lived on small farms, and considered themselves to be very distant from the noise and congestion of the city.
To build the track, trees were cleared from former farm land. Buddy Houts and the Road Gents Automobile Club, a group of boys between the ages of 16 and 21, supervised the design and construction. The course would be sanctioned by the Automobile Timing Association of America, and would feature electronic timing equipment. The Brainerd Optimist Club expected to recoup its investment of $20,000 in about three months, and then use the profits for charity.
Construction continued into the summer. On Sunday, August 11, 1957, the Brainerd Optimist Club Drag Strip of Middle Valley opened its gates to its first racers and spectators. More than 5,000 spectators paid the 90-cent admission – children under 12 free – to witness the carbureted carbon-burning car event.
The News-Free Press reported that there were no accidents on the first day, and that each car was inspected by mechanics prior to the race. Winners by class were David Prater behind the wheel of a 1933 Ford, Archie Morris who drove a 1934 Ford coupe, Jimmy Hammontree in a 270 horsepower Chevy, E.C. Farris with his Chevy Corvette, David Longmire who streered a fairly new 1957 Chevrolet, and Alvin Debord in the stock car class with a 1950 Oldsmobile.
The final paragraph of the newspaper coverage was ominous: “Traffic in and out of the drag strip area was directed by auxiliary policy officers who also had the task of preventing spectators from crossing the fences into the trace area.”
That was a hint of problems to come for the Middle Valley raceway. By the end of its first 30 days of operation, the course had garnered news coverage for opposition to its existence. Julius Parker wrote in the September 11, 1957 News-Free Press that one hundred neighbors of the drag strip had banded together to hire an attorney, Joe Van Derveer. “The speedway has shattered the peace and quietude of the area,” said Mr. Van Derveer.
The anti-drag strip group soon held at meeting at the Ed Allison Grocery Store, located on the southwest corner of Hixson Pike and Thrasher Pike close to the offending site. Marvin Rawlston chaired the session. Complaints of traffic jams, noise, and depreciated property values were voiced. Though the location was generally rural, there were people living within one hundred feet of the drag strip. The loudspeaker could be heard all around the area, and the group’s attorney estimated that it could even be heard downtown at the Hotel Patten.
By 1963, John F. Flewellen had acquired the property, and constructed the Dallas Bay Skypark. The small airport is still in operation today beside the Middle Valley Recreation Center.
In 1981, the Brainerd Optimist Club celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of a new drag strip on Scruggs Road, off Ringgold Road.
Over the years, I’ve heard residents of Middle Valley, as well as former auto racers, recall the days of the drag strip. It was a simpler time, when unbridled youth and unleashed automobiles burned up the track in Middle Valley on a Sunday afternoon.
If you have memories of the Brainerd Optimist Drag Strip of Middle Valley, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@bellsouth.net.