(DFW) Old Pics from Green Valley Raceway

Back at the Valley. Does anyone remember the CKC racing team out of San Antonio. One of only 4 fiberglass bodied Chevy II's built by Bill Thomas race cars. They were originally built for road racing but could not be homulgated. CKC bought one of them and Dick Harrell helped them locate a 427 to replace the fuel injected 327 that Bill Thomas originally put in the cars. They picked the car up for $2500 from Thomas and converted it to drag racing.

I saw this car at least a dozen different times and it was always fun to see. It went from carbureted regular wheelbase to fuel injected to altered wheelbase supercharged. Fun Car.\

Also watched the Fenner Tubbs car out of Lubbock, Texas. First time I saw it, it was a SS/AA. Over time it went the funny car route finally ending up where you see it here. Joe Smith, who drove the car to become world champion is still working in the performance car business in Dallas.

And Kelly Chadwick is well known around Texas. He was a school teacher from Floydada who became interested in drag racing and just kept getting faster all the time..........Ran some really fast funny cars for their day........
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Another shot of Fritz Callier and the CKC car.
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If I'm correct Raymond Martin was badly injured in a race. He use to come up to Larry LaDue's shop or I would see him at Kim Barr's shop a lot. These pics really take me back. Thanks Guys for all the pics you've posted. They are awesome!

 

Correction, it was not Martin that was injured. Sorry guys.

 

I really enjoyed looking at the pics from the Trans Am race in '67. That is my father, Richard McDaniel in the #1 Mini Cooper. He was the current National Champion at the time in what was called "C" Sedan. We won the National Championship in '66, '67 & '68 before retiring the Mini's and moving on to MGB in "E" Production. I was also present that day. The Trans Am field was pretty large in those days and the top eight or ten cars were very good for that era and featured some big name stars. Fred Van Burren got his motor racing start with my father and the Overseas Motors team. Dad went on to team with Jerry Titus a year or two later in a factory supported Pontiac Firebird team in the Trans Am series. Titus was killed that year when he crashed into the crossover bridge at Brainard, Minnesota. Thanks for the pics.

 

I wish I had more T/A photos to share. Belated congratulations to your dad on his multiple national championships..........

 

I know some of you guy are huge drag racing fans but are there any more photos from the SCCA or etc... road course racing days?

 

I have looked for some but have had little luck. Maybe another forum might have some available..........I guess Green Valley has just been closed too long........

 

Great work Nick. My only query would be whether or not you are driving the correct way round the track - my understanding from looking at the photos is that road racing was run in an anti-clockwise direction. A couple of comments in one of the links you posted (to the Lotus-Cortina site, Don Gwynne's page) support this, such as a reference to the long 180 before the start/finish showing a car cornering hard to the left, lifting its left front wheel. Also several other shots (see post#92) show cars passing a service road which is coned off with trees in the background and this would seem to be on the back stretch opposite the start/finish line.

However, I'm over here in the UK, have never been to Green Valley Raceway, so there is a possibility/probability that I may not be correct. The only reason I'm reading this post is because I have come across a shot of a Formula car racing at Green Valley which I cannot identify - guess the sensible thing to do would be to post it on this thread. It also seems to be taken at the same point as the shots I mention, as there are cones visible in the foreground and trees in the background.

Best regards

Michael

PS - that will teach me to read to the end of the thread before replying! I see a few others have pointed this out. However, if anyone can help with an ID of the photo below, I will be very grateful!

Michael Oliver
Motor racing writer and historian
www.michaeloliveronline.com
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James, I don't suppose you can ID the two sports racers in this post, can you?

Many thanks

Michael

Michael Oliver
Motor sports writer and historian
www.michaeloliveronline.com

 

Michael,

Welcome to the thread. Yes, the races were run counter-clockwise. I am afraid I am of no help with car #2 in your photo.

How far back in the thread are the two "sport racers" you refer to. If I can determine which photo you are referring to I might be able to pull some of the memory cells out of the old brain and get them back into use again. I will try.......

James

 

Hi James

Thanks for your welcome. Sorry you can't ID car #2!

The post I was referring to was #89, cars #60 and #14. I think #14 is a Beach from someone else's post but not sure about the other one. Do you, or anyone you know, still have any race programs for the road racing events you attended at Green Valley?

Hope you can help!

Michael

 

I do not. Check with Digman. He may have something. He is the one who came up with the original road photos......

And sorry, I have no recollection of who those two cars might be driven or owned by.....Car no. 430 was owned and driven by Ray Brewer...

 

To NewKid:

Got your PM. I attempted to answer but you are not permitted.

I did talk to him at the races but the email address he gave me was invalid. I am sure I will see him again at the races and get a good address. If I get it I will contact you and get it to you..........
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Thanks for the memories of the Valley. I kinda grew up there and then in '75-'78 I basically lived there. My Father and I both raced (Carrol and Slats Freeland) and it bewcame a way of life until I moved to Florida.

 

What class did you run? I do not recall the name but I might remember the car.

 

Anybody remember any of these?
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I think I ran against Endangered Species once. At least was at the same event. I will post a pic of The Strip Teaser to see if it is in your memory banks somewhere.

Here are some of the ones I spoke with you about in the PM.......I believe you will know them all.
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Carrolf

Here are two photos of my last altered. I think everyone else has seen them several times so they may be tired of seeing them. Do you remember ever seeing it in the other lane from Endangered Species? I raced mostly in the west Texas/New Mexico area as I lived in Big Spring at the time. I traveled to GV a few times a year.........
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And here are the two supercharged cars that preceded the Teaser. The engine blowing just kinda popped and rolled to a stop.
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I believe Elouise Norris is driving the Datsun. Don Westerheide may be in the white colored sports racer. There were a couple of Beachs there in those days, Hugh Grammar used to drive one but this one is not his and I am not sure of the driver. Nick England has a history of the Beaches online and he would know.
(That may be Jim Hahn according to that site.)


I was a gopher on the Overseas Motors racing team in those days, just a teenager, but those were the days. Thanks to all the posters!

Andrew Sturgess

 

Here is a current (2009) Google Maps satellite image of where GV used to be. Looks like there is just a very little bit left.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=32.896176,-97.210906

 

Nothing left of it actually. I live about 4 miles south of the old location. It is now home to a whole subdivision of 2 story homes. Unless you knew it was there you could not even guess where it had been.

After the residential encroachment, Bill Heilscher moved his operation to Kennedale and opened up Texas Raceway, an 1/8 mile track. It is still open and is quite successful.\

www.texasraceway.com

 

I found this link to Green Valley. Lots of photos I had never seen. I think one is me but I really cannot tell.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dearbornflashback.com/db_bonner_greenvalley60s_02.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dearbornflashback.com/greenvalley.asp&usg=__HVM3uHywrQXvPKlbPVOmA6DQlSU=&h=735&w=1133&sz=181&hl=en&start=17&tbnid=TeWUZQrq8Lwi1M:&tbnh=97&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGreen%2BValley%2Braceway%2BTexas%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D12%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-USfficial%26sa%3DN%26start%3D12

 

And this link to Dallas International Motor Speedway near Lewisville also. I was there when Pat Foster went sideways and crashed with Schwartz. I remember the pits were still being paved and some of the teams were on the dirt.......\\



http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dearbornflashback.com/db_bonner_greenvalley60s_02.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dearbornflashback.com/greenvalley.asp&usg=__HVM3uHywrQXvPKlbPVOmA6DQlSU=&h=735&w=1133&sz=181&hl=en&start=17&tbnid=TeWUZQrq8Lwi1M:&tbnh=97&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGreen%2BValley%2Braceway%2BTexas%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D12%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-USfficial%26sa%3DN%26start%3D12

Hmmmm, do not know why it went back to Green Valley. I will try to get the DIMS link up again.

Cannot seem to make it work. Just go to the menu at the top of the page here and click on Lost Dragstrips. It will give you a good number of them to look through. Lots of good times had at these tracks. Too bad they are gone forever..........