Postby Jim Baker » Mon Mar 08, 2010 12:15 am
The answer about Tri State Dragway is there were two strips, 20 miles apart. One, the original, was in Missouri. The other, built as a competitor to the first, is across the Des Moines river in Keokuk, Iowa. It, the second Tri State, was originally Sportsman Park built by the guys that ran a 1/4 mile Jalopy circle track by the same name. Years later it was owned by Ronnie Saar and called Lee County Dragway.
The track announcer, Tony Sheffler ran it next and had asked me when he visited me in California, about using the Tri State Dragway name.
I said Yes! My name is Jim Baker, the promoter and GM of the original Tri State in Missouri in 1960. It ran for seven seasons until 1966 when a new highway was built through the shut down area, forcing us to close permanently. I am currently writing a column for DRO magazine, called "Then & Now, which will feature lots of vintage racers and events from the '60s as well as items about those two Tri States and several others.
Jim Baker