Dino, I was checking out the old drag strip forum,the Montgomery airstrip brought back some good memories. It got me thinking about an old circle dirt track in Poughkeepsie N.Y. called Arlington Speedway. Sometime in the late fifties or early sixties, they made the front stretch longer, and held drag races on the dirt. An old family friend, Rush Greenough Sr, ran there and won his class at least twice. Rush passed away a few months ago, but I bet there are pics out there somewhere. Mike (Mikey) McDermott.
Dino:
The old Arlington Speedway was adjacent to my grandfathers farm on Van Wagner Rd. in Arlington/Poughkeepsie. When it closed in the early ’60’s they built a radio sub station with a tower on the infield, then in the mid ’70’s put a big strip center on the land. The drag strip started on turn four through the front stretch and extended past turn one (DIRT!!). I was just a kid about twelve, my cousins and I used to sit on the Rail Road tracks that were elevated about twenty feet above the ground and watch for free. My older brother Vic (8yrs) raced his 1950 Merc. there I’ll ask him today for any info he may remember. I seem to remember it was 1/8 mile.
Rich
I think the radio station is the K104 station.It’s still there as far as I know.I seem to remember it was a flat piece of property with scrub brush type vegetation.There are shopping centers all over the area now.
J~~~
Just wen’t outside to open the WH, had to go back in to get a jacket it’s 58 out!!!!! Anyway called my brother Vic and got him thinking 🙄 He thinks Arlington drag strip (if you could call it that) was open in late 1958 or ’59 and closed shortly after Dover opened in ’61 or maybe ’62. That sounds about right cause I was eleven or twelve. He says it was a 1/4 mile and DIRT. The ovel was open a few years earler.
More to come now that he is thinking about those days.
Rich
TIM HERE, ED RYAN was the promoter at arlington, he knew me from stock car racing at arlington prior to moving to CONN. he called me to bring THE ALLEY OOP dragster to the track and make a couple of exhibiton runs. they had a pretty big bump where you left the first turn to the shut down dirt rd. no clocks, but i was able to pull a couple of rolling wheelies on dirt. and we got a couple BUCKS!! as my pit crew used to say to me at MIDDLETOWN dont forget to STEER INTO THE SKID. TIM HALLOCK
timh.
dino