South Glens Falls Dragway

Post descriptions or photos of old cars, friends, or family members you are trying to locate.
alliecat
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Joined:Sat Dec 06, 2008 6:02 am
Location:Salem, NY
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Glad all is not lost.

Postby alliecat » Sat Mar 21, 2009 10:16 pm

My father was one of the owners of the SGF Dragway. He doesn't talk about it much and has not been to the museum or the reunions. I'm not sure why and I don't force the issue. I'm glad to see others trying to revive the old memories and friendships. I was very young when he had the strip. It was shortly after he raced at Daytona and I was like 10 years old when he built it. I remember some of the names mentioned in this forum but most of all remember the concession stand as thats where my mom worked and where I hung as a youngster. I remember Bud Gilman one of the announcers and his Vette, which I believe he still had last I knew. I remember Jack Krause (spelling?) one of the other owners and forgot who the third owner was. My dad sold out at some point and the strip survived a number of years and even had snowmobile drags at one point.
Allie G Swears II
ô¿ô

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dragking
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Location:Upstate New York
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Postby dragking » Sun Mar 22, 2009 11:06 am

There were alot of issues that arose with the track in later years Allie. A local gent sunk basically his whole life savings into the track to upgrade it and turn it into a state of the art facility only to have the state come in and shut it down for "PCB Contamination." He tried to fight the state but it was a lost cause and the strip was shut down. The gentleman never recovered from his losses and was very bitter about the track's demise and the lack of support he got not only from the local community, but also the racing community that he worked so hard to support through the years.
The last time I saw the track in a complete state was back in the early 80's. The concession stand was still up, the scoring stand was still there and the strip was still complete. As you can see from the images above, the only thing left of the strip is the runoff at the end of the lanes.
The state claimed the land was contaminated after using oil from the local GE plant that they donated. The return lane and the dirt in the area surrounding the track was sprayed with the oil in those 55 gallon drums and it soaked into the ground.
Rumor has it that several years ago a land surveyor was out there trying to mark the parcel of land and in a thick overgrowth he found about 100 barrels of leftover oil that was used to oil everything down. The state came in then and removed the oil stash and I guess it was at that time they decided to tear the lanes of pavement up to ensure noone tried to resurrect the strip at a later date.
I did find where the Christmas tree was mounted and even found some odds and ends like hose clamps, an old Cragar wheel that was broken, probably from an unfortunate mishap with the guidewires, and a few other automotive related items. There are still some boards left from the scoring stand as well as the concession stand, but unfortunately, that's about all that's left.
As I said, any info I can find and memerobilia from the track would be greatly appreciated. I would ultimately like to establish a museum dedicated exclusively to the old raceway so people will always remember how poplular it was and how much it is still missed today.
Later,

Bri

"Take life a 1/4 mile at a time!"

jvore
Posts:4
Joined:Mon Oct 27, 2008 6:15 pm
Location:Roy, Utah

SGF photostory!

Postby jvore » Sun Mar 22, 2009 11:56 am

Hey Gang, sort of reached an informational wall on SGF, so I posted what I have to Youtube for all to see. It contains a lot of info, so don't be afraid to pause the clip, maybe once you run through it , to read the info gathered, so here is the link. Jim. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQtDBRtHYok
"A DROP OUT FROM OLE SKOOL"

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dragking
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Location:Upstate New York
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Re: SGF photostory!

Postby dragking » Sun Mar 22, 2009 12:05 pm

Hey Gang, sort of reached an informational wall on SGF, so I posted what I have to Youtube for all to see. It contains a lot of info, so don't be afraid to pause the clip, maybe once you run through it , to read the info gathered, so here is the link. Jim. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQtDBRtHYok

Sorry...the link is no good.
Later,

Bri

"Take life a 1/4 mile at a time!"

jvore
Posts:4
Joined:Mon Oct 27, 2008 6:15 pm
Location:Roy, Utah

SGF Dragway!

Postby jvore » Sun Mar 22, 2009 12:11 pm

Hey Alliecat, please let your dad know that there are a lot of people showing interest in the old strip, and a lot has not been published! Show him my photostory if possible and have him visit www.doverdragstrip.com, maybe we can re-spark some interest in him, and share some stories and hopefully some pics, thanks, Jim. :D
"A DROP OUT FROM OLE SKOOL"

alliecat
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Joined:Sat Dec 06, 2008 6:02 am
Location:Salem, NY
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PCB's

Postby alliecat » Mon Mar 23, 2009 9:33 am

I did know about the PCB problem, but not till it it the news. I remember playing in that dirt and coming home all black and smelly. No cancer yet.
Also worked at GE when they still used it.
Speaking of GE, my ex father in law was the one who delivered the barrels of oil. Rest his soul. I believe they also had a permit. It was also spread on all the dirt roads in alot of towns but not much was ever said about that and nothing was done about it. So they tried to make an example out of a privatly owned Corp. that spread less than the towns did.
I'll work on my father and see if he has any items he can donate.
ô¿ô

Pabstman61
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Joined:Sun May 03, 2009 11:17 am

Postby Pabstman61 » Mon May 04, 2009 10:57 am

There is alot of vintage film of the Drag-O-Way on 8mm, but the person will not part with it at this time, not sure of his name but there are guys that do know it. His brother is the host of Glens Falls North News TV 8 coverage of the Adirondack Nationals that is reaired on there station.. I am not sure why he will not release it, hopefully it is properly stored so someday it can be transfered to DVD... let`s all hope soon...

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Dino
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Joined:Fri Jan 25, 2008 10:00 am
Location:Rockingham,N.C.

Postby Dino » Wed Jun 24, 2009 1:21 am

Got A heading for it in our Forum under "Bench Racing" ...might connect up with our guys posting ...www,doverdragstrip.com ..Have a bunch of ads and stories from Eastern drag News -Drag Times still to post on the track.
http://www.doverdragstrip.com

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dragking
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Joined:Tue Sep 23, 2008 10:46 am
Location:Upstate New York
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A Quick Update

Postby dragking » Sat Jul 18, 2009 12:24 am

Just a quick update to let everyone know I am still trying to locate authentic artifacts from this old drag park.

One thing I'm having a hard time with is collecting verifiable proof of the big names that used to race there. Alot of old racers have said guys like Ronnie Sox, Don Nicholson, Gene Snow, Hayden Proffitt and so forth raced there, but I can't locate any proof to back the claims. Pics of the Sox & Martin cars as well as the other big names that ran there would be extremely helpful.

At this point, none of the racers who ran at South Glens Falls have mkuch of any desire to talk about the history or share memories of their time spent there. There is ALOT of bad blood and bad feelings over this place and it seems to bring out the worst in people so far. It's disappointing as I would sincerely love to bring the past back to the newer generations who never even knew a dragway existed in this area. :(
Later,

Bri

"Take life a 1/4 mile at a time!"

Bucksnort
Posts:3
Joined:Sat Nov 15, 2008 9:19 pm

Re: South Glens Falls Dragway

Postby Bucksnort » Tue Jun 15, 2010 10:29 pm

I am trying to locate any information on the now defunt South Glens Falls Dragway located in Upstate New York.
I have found very little information about this strip either online or anywhere else for that matter. This drag strip was a very popular place in the 50's through the late 70's and even into the early 80's before the local government shut it down for alleged PCB contamination from oils used on the track and the run back road.
Names such as Sox & Martin, Muldowney, Garlits, Proffitt, Nicholson, Jungle Jim, Prudhomme and many others from the golden era of drag racing raced there on more than one occasion.
I am trying to assemble a collection of history and memerobilia from this track in the hopes of preserving some drag racing history and heritage. If anyone has any information whatsoever about this strip, please let me know!

Thanks!!!
Raced there for years.Still alot of the guys around .We have had a few reunion type get togethers.A friend put together a pretty good history of the track.Got lots of pics,trophies,class winner jacket and decals,etc.
Google'The H.A.M.B'
Search for a post-Eastern Drag News-lots of stories on SGF and northeast tracks.
My brother is the one with the films and he is bogarting them but we have managed to piece some good footage together from other sources and have a good film.
I can help you on who was there and who wasn't there.
Ol'Bucksnort


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