Tri-State Dragway....Kahoka, MO

[RandyOldgeek]

So is anyone out there old enough to remember Tri-State Dragway in Kahoka, MO??? Back in the 60's.

Well it was a great time back then. I was in highschool and my buddies and I had a car club called the Ishtar's Car Club and we worked at Tri-State Dragway just for the fun of it. That is where I first saw Don Garlits and Curt Wasson......I can't remember if Connie Kalita and Don Prudhomme were there or I saw them at Cordova.....well it was one or the other.

It was always a blast when Curt would come up from St Louis. There were always a lot of local favorites there like Gordon Selkirk from Peoria.....Ed Brugie ( I am probably spelling these names wrong )....Gabbie Bleaker.......jeeze......there are a bunch of other guys....I will have to ask my old buddies about them.....they can remember all those names better than I can.

I remember when Curt ran that Gold Corvette.....my god.....that thing would scream.....it seemed like it was hitting 10,000rpm all the way down the strip.....of course Tri-State was only an 1/8 of a mile strip so I am sure he had it geared pretty low. Anyway that damn vette seemed like it would jump straight up when he hit it......like a damn frog jumping.......at least that is the way it is in my mind.....ha.

They used to have a small tower at the finish line, they didn't have timing lights back then, and we would be in the tower watching the runs and we had a switch that we would flip one way for lane 1 and the other way for lane 2.....ha.....that is the high tech we had back then. But it was fun.

Well I will try and come up with some good stories of the strip for you guys.......if you like to hear old farts ramble on.

[Dennis Doubleday]

Is that a different drag strip than this,which was referred to as 'Keokuk' in this issue of Drag World ? Dennis Doubleday


[img][img]http://www.dragsim.com/uploads/U765-1183048591.jpg[/img][/img]

[jim sanders]

thanks Dennis... yes 2 different tracks from what i have learned..

[RandyOldgeek]

Yep......Jim is right.

Keokuk is about 20 miles from Kahoka....in Iowa.

Tri-State would have been in Clark County, MO.

Nice picture though....thanks Dennis.

So when did Curt switch to that Camaro....Jim?

[jim sanders]

man i am so bad with dates/years... still trying to put all that together.... maybe Bret will jump in... Dennis has been a great help with his drag papers.... did you ever see the camaro Randy ?

[Dennis Doubleday]

Jim,the earliest photo I've found of the Camaro is this one from a June 13,1969 Drag World.I seem to recall seeing the car at Connecticut on Memorial Day Weekend of 1969.Curt must have been a favorite of Frank Maratta,because I saw Curt several times between 1969 and 1972 at Connecticut.SEVERAL times.Jim,what was Curt running in 1968 ? I haven't found his name in any race reports from that year.Thanks. Dennis Doubleday

[img][img]http://www.dragsim.com/uploads/U765-1183053821.jpg[/img][/img]

[jim sanders]

I have no recollection of a car between the vette and the camaro so i guess unless he drove something for someone else in 68 but i have never heard anything....

[RandyOldgeek]

I never did see the Camaro Jim. I was surprised to see it. The last time I saw Curtis was in Kahoka with the Vette......then I left Kahoka to go in the Air Force around 1965.

The camaro looks nice but it just doesn't have the IT factor that the Vette had......In My Humble Opinion...

[Iowa Al]

I was to both Kahoka and Lee County.
You can still see where the strip was at the fairgrounds in Kahoka. About 5 years ago the lights (what there were) were still there and on.
I went down to Kahoka for a gasser meet. Lots of good cars and good racing.
I went to Lee County (Keokuk) in the 80's with Vern Moats when I was crewing for him. I have a shot of Bill Kuhlman in a rear engine dragster I took there. We were to match race the Rainbow Connection car of Howard Poepping, but it rained out. Tony Shepller ran the strip.
IA Al
Also an old fart

[RandyOldgeek]

Hi Al

I knew there had to be someone around that had been to Kahoka.

The old strip is just used for parking for the County Fair now.....oh yea and some kind of Mule Extravaganza...ha. That is what the drag strip has come to.

My dad ran a restaurant in Kahoka for over 30 years....on the east side of the square. He used to sell hamburgers on Drag nites......a bag of 5 for a dollar...ha.

I would love to come to the Drags in Eddyville on the 13th....what goes on at the Draglist get together. Just racin, eatin and visitin????