Santa Ana Drags The History of Drag Racing Santa Ana, California would become the first place that a commercial drag strip would come to exist. C.J. “Pappy” Hart and his colleague Creighton Hunter recognized that racing in the streets was dangerous and illegal, and wanted to legitimize the sport. Before the airport was known as John Wayne International, an unused runway was being used to hold drag races on Sundays during the 1950s. Hart became the sole owner of the strip within the first month of operation and he also ran a gas station in Santa Ana. His first goal was to establish a distance for the cars to race. This way things could be measured and a real winner could be discovered. He decided to use the Quarter-Mile based upon its accepted use in quarter horse racing. He then was able to establish different classes of cars based upon their abilities in order to make races fair. The cars were split up according to axle ratios, year, make, engine displacements, and safety equipment. Races were $0.50 and nearly 50 cars were competing every week – business was booming! Eventually the good times had to end and the airport’s extension in 1959 ran the drag racers off their course. It was not long before the Lion’s Drag Strip at the Orange County Fairgrounds was open for business and drag racing could continue. Pappy had become a racing icon and went on to hold multiple positions within the NHRA. His love for high speed thrills continued well into his old age and he was even ticketed for going 85mph in his motor home.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 01:37:23 +0000
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