Tri-City Dragway Information

GARY BOGUSZ: Chuck- What was the circumstances of lawsuit, race related? Chuck Kurzawa: Logghe stopped building cars because of a lawsuit my Dad was their chassis builder and told me the circumstances of what went on GARY BOGUSZ: does anyone know why Loggie chassis works stop building chassis. I always heard that it was do to a lawsuit. Bill Ross: This is for Terri. I know Dick Ross.In 1994 my wife and I moved to N.C.,I grew up in Flint,Mich. I was very good friends with Dick and his wife Shirley. We shared the same last name but was not related! LOL. I graduated in 1971 from Kearsley and went to work full time at Automotive Parts and Machine Shop on Davison Rd. Dick lived on Risedorph Rd. off Covert Rd. Automotive use to drag race a yellow 53 Studeabaker in C/Gas called "Jungle Crusier".The entire front of their shop had trophies,at least 150 of them.They did a lot of Dicks machine work.I remember buying parts for my Camaro from Dick. At the time Dick had a Nova,either a 68 or 69 named "Protest Too" that ran in NHRA Div.3 Pro Stock.The body was multi-colored,black vinyl top with a big black hood scoop.It was a big block chevy,tunnel ram with 2 holley carbs and 4 speed. I have a photo taken in April 1970 at Lapeer Dragway when Dick came off the line in a rear bumper scrapeing wheelstand and came crashing down hard enough to bend the front suspension outward.Needless to say that ended his day. I also remember a purple 68 or 69 nova Dick had that ran B/Stock. Open chambered alum.head 427 chev,4 speed.He sold it to a guy who tried to drive it on the street. Automotive had photos of local drag racers on a cork board and another car Dick had was a 66 or 67 Nova,multi colored called "Deuces Wild". Dick had a lot of drag cars.We kinda lost touch and i''ve often wondered what ever happened to Dick Ross. If anyone knows,e-mail me at " llro47@hotmail.com ". Hope this helps Terri. Tony Angelucci:  This is for Chuck kurzawa, All the cars that your dad built at loggie, did you know that when they stoped building cars. my dad went over their and bought the gig table that the cars where built on. and the arber. along with other stuff. and we still have it and use it today. My dads dragster which we still have and race was the last loggie car built in 1978. He has the last bill of sale and cost.
Your dad came to work for my dad in 1980 to 1984 at Angelucci Performance Products, that is where they built the new gig tables for Olstrander car Connie and Scott Kalitta, Stan Rosen, along with many other Altered funny cars , Fiat body cars can''t remember all the names. We have the short and wide gig table that they were buit on also, because the old loggie table was to short. Plus the cars were now 250/ 280 inch & the old table would only fit cars 180inch and shorter. My dad also bought ramchargers old fueler heads the round port westlake hemi heads that they ran. When they retired from racing. Along with many other items. The car probe from Gratiot Auto we have the front wheels from it the Aluminum bell housing and clutch. heads and valve covers. and I think the helmet that was used by Gratiot auto in the 60s When ever a local racer stoped racing my dad always bought their used stuff because we were running gas and we didn''t make the power they did on nitro along with many old speed shops. We bought out. Bobs drag chutes I think he bought alot of his old stuff to that he still has youll have to ask him (My dad ).If it was rare we bought it back then. now the stuff is really rare. Chuck your more that welcome or anybody to stop by and see the old loggie table and the last loggie car (dragster) built. its a beautiful car just 30 years old. If you need further info you can email me @ dfd88@rocketmail.com
Take Care hope to hear from you
Tony
Unknown: There is a website for the track, it is http://www.tricitydragway.com/
It is a picture of the tower, that''s all. Bob Leets: Hi,
Tri-City Dragway brings back some great memories for me, since I was an account executive (advertising salesman) at WTAC Radio in 1968 and ''69.
"The Big 6" was used heavily to advertise the attractions at Tri-City, as the listenership of the station was the Top 40 crowd of young drag racing fans.
I had the pleasure of being assigned to handle their advertising and, as part of the deal, got FREE passes to the entire facility each season. This included pit passes, as well as unlimited time on top of the scoring tower.
In addition, I had the pleasure of "voicing" the majority of the Tri-City Dragstrip radio commercials that aired on WTAC. My partner in that caper was on-air personality Gary Raymond who, tragically, died in a home fire several years ago when his Christmas tree ignited.
The list of fabulous cars that I saw run at Tri-City is virtually a "who''s who" of drag racing. Kalita was a regular and, of course, started the career of Shirley "ChaCha" Muldowney. Dick LaHae, from Lansing, was also there most every weekend. Previously mentioned Dick Ross also was a consistant winner.
Some of the "big" names included The ChiTown Hustler, The Bounty Hunter,
The Hawaiian, Sox & Martin, and many others too numerous to mention.
Watching the flames coming out of the headers during burn-outs from on top the scoring tower was unbelievable! The noise, to say the least, was incredible. Ear splitting!!
I came close to tears when that place closed down.
Later, while working at WTRX Radio in Flint, I was the local advertising account manager for Michigan International Speedway. The station carried all the races live and, as part of the package, the station got some FREE deluxe grandstand seats. I remember to first race I attended at MIS very well ''cause I had to be talked into going. After all, I was a Tri-City Drag fan, and couldn''t quite understand what could be exciting about watching cars go ''round and ''round in a circle for 400 miles. Needless to say, that changed in a hurry!
Just a few great memories from the past.
May Tri-City always have a soft spot in our racing hearts!!
Best wishes to all. Terri: As I was doing some research on a car I have I ran across this discussion. It gave me a bit of an insight into the history of this car which is just what I was looking for. I have a 1969 Nova SS - the one Dick Ross broke some records with back in the good ole days. I read that some of you have actually seen the races and was wondering if anyone had any photos of this car or any information regarding it. Any help would be appreciated. Tobinns - 11/21/2008 The Tri-City dragway was located in Saginaw MI. It was built in 1965, (as a 1/4 mile dragstrip) NOT a converted air strip. It Opened in 1966 and closed in 1978. Tri-City closed down due to terrible management. The manager(name respectfully withheld since he has passed) was also a corporate pilot.

The hands off owner of the track also owned a very large successful Saginaw GM dealership (son still runs it). The manager had little or no customer(racer) relations skills and cared little for any racer input or comments on how to improve the sportsman (or any) program.What brought it to a head in the spring of 1978 was several consecutive weekend rain outs and no compensation for the entries fees that had been paid. Any efforts by the racers committee to either up the pay out or get a free pass fell on deaf ears. A boycott was planned by a large group of racers.

On that fatefull weekend, all the racers were instructed to pull into the spectators parking lot until the manager came out and talked to the group about some remedy. After several hours of silence from the still locked track, the manager came out and said if we didnt pay the entry and race he would close the track for good. At this point the majority of us (Im guilty)thought he was bluffing and pulled out of the facility thinking the next weekend he would be begging for us to return. Guess what, he wasnt bluffing...and the rest is history.The track remained in semi-race ready condition for years and was used by GM for testing purposes.In the 90s a local drag racing family (with significant financial resources) tried unsuccessfully to submit a plan to the Tri-City Airport board to reopen the dragstrip. Their permission was needed because the majority of the pit area of the track was leased from the airport(bet you didnt know that), only the track and parking area were part of the privately owned facility. Without their permission, the reopening was dead in the water.

After several professional presentations demonstrating total financial backing to rebuild the track, economic impact projections on the local economy from large (points or national) events and NHRA involvement, the airport commission voted NOT to lease the property needed for the reopening. The project was DOA.Sometime in the late 90s, the airport bought the property from the owner. The ''offical'' end of an era. Wayne Kingham: ***Remembering Tri-City Dragway***
Back in 1965, I went to the Seventh Day Adventest school on Sarle Rd., and I remember seeing the track being built. I was about 11 at the time. After it was built, the school recieved a free open pass to the track, and one time the principal took us there. Of course the principal thought it was too worldly, and never took us again. But it was too late. I was hooked!!! I lived 10 miles east of the track, and I could hear the top-fuelers when they made their run. When I was 14, I picked potatoes, strawberries, and any other way I could earn money to buy a car. I found this 1958 Ford 2-Door at the Ford Dealer in Bay City With a rodnock (Death Rattle). My friends, and I worked on it for a year, and then when I was 15, I was to young to race it, so we talked Marv Baken into driving for us. We took it out to Tri-City on a chain, I remember seeing the car coming out of the staging lanes, and making it''s one, and only run. It blew the motor at the other end of the quarter mile. "We didn''t care, It went 15''s". I went to the Marine Corps when I was 17, and I could''nt wait to get back to the track, after I got out, I raced a 1963 Dodge Dart, then a 1970 Z-28. In 1979, I bought the Original Nasty Nash from George LaVictor, and I still have it today. My son Ryan, 16, races the cloned version of the Nasty Nash at Ubly Dragway. I only wish he could have experienced TRI-CITY DRAGWAY, "SATURDAY NIGHTS, UNDER THE LIGHTS". Mike Pingel: Wow, Looking at all those pictures and reading everyone''s memories brought back some thoughts of younger days and great times. I worked at Tri-City the summers of 74-75-76 and 77 along with Don Morse and Jim Hargreaves who were classmates of mine at Freeland High. Don''s mom got us in and we did anything that needed to be done. Some nights it was the tech shack with the white shoe polish bracketing the race cars. One night I was in the staging lanes. Don got to help crew for Shirley Muldowney when they were short a person. We were all afraid of Connie Kalitta..!!!! He was a pretty firey guy in those days.......I will never forget his burnout at a match race where he turned on the Union 76 light at the end of the quarter mile....awesome. Or Poncho Rendon making 2 runs in his brand new AA/FA..****without a license ***. Track Manager Bill McKenna got up in Poncho''s face and basically told him to "Get the H-// out of here and dont come back. His 2 runs were more on the grass than on the paved surface. Saw a rocket dragster go 338 mph and never would have believed to see piston driven dragsters going nearly that fast today. I got to see Tom Hoover,Dick LaHaie, Pat Dakin,Shirley Muldowney,Jeb Allen,and living legend Conrad Kalitta all back in the day. Don and I still attend a few events in Phoenix and rt 66 in Joliet and the Finals in Pomona. Still lots of fun but not like the Tri- City days. MP rara4k: looking for any pics of a 68 NOVA car named PROTEST TOO owned by DICK ROSS I own the car and trying to put it back in early stage thanks phil 410-320-7018 Doug: I have lots of memories of Tri-City both as the place where I saw the best NHRA-sanctioned racing in these parts, plus it''s where I made my licensing runs for our A/FD in the early 70s (story at haze.wdgordon.com). They always had good shows there on a Saturday night, bringing in the UDRA top fuelers, AA/FAs, or funny cars. In fact, it was Jim Nichol who signed my license forms while he happened to be in McKenna''s office picking up his check after a match race. I doubt he even noticed my runs, but they were pretty casual about that stuff in those days.

I drive past that exit on I-75 pretty often these days and always think of the track when I do.

doug@wdgordon.com tim brill :  I believe Don did own half of Brainerd but sold it a couple of years ago. One thing I wish he would do is make it a NHRA track and get a stop on tour here. The only thing is it would have to be built out in the sticks somewhere because of the noise. Where he is talking about putting the track is really only good enough for a eighth mile track because of the size and it is in the city. I dont know about anyone else but eighth mile racing sucks and will never work. There are alot of fast cars in and around the flint area so if he is going to do it do it right. Any way if it does happen its been along time comming for sure. Joel Bramblett: I am thrilled that they are building a new drag strip in flint .. Don Williamson owns Maple Grove in Minnsesota I believe and is a huge drag racing fan . I can`t wait to see where this goes. yooperboyka: Anyone have an opinion about the proposed drag strip in the center of Flint? Doug Sedlow: I ran a "70 Chevy Nova at Tri City in the early 70''s. My Nova ran O/FX, and I still have the trophys I won. It was devaststing when they closed Tri City down, I will never forget the Saturday njghts and many weekends I, and my family, spent there!! Brian Eggers: I was about 10 years old when my uncle Russ Eggers first invited me to Tri City with him. At that time he was racing a Charlie Altered 58 orange Corvette named the "Gorilla", I quickly became a hooked drag racing fan and he became my hero. I think I was 12 when he sold the car and I thought it was the end of the world.
That winter he bought a wild A Altered Fiat which was named the "Bandito". He went on to campaign the car at most NHRA division 3 national events and we went to Tri City every Saturday night for years. I was lucky enough to travel with him and earned the right to help out in the pits. I started keeping the tools clean and organized then worked up to putting the shoe polish on the wheelie bar wheels. By the time I was 13 I was on the line squirting the raw fuel into the Hilborn Injectors, helping get the car started and pouring down the sticky VHT for the burnouts. In those days there was no hose in the beach box, everybody broght thier own bottle of traction compound. More than once I remember slipping and falling on the line behind the car and getting covered with the sticky black goop. Russ exceled at many national events but Tri City was our backyard and he always did well there. I remember camping overnight at the track during points meets and sleeping in the truck waking up to the sweet smell of nitro and pungent smell of gear lube, I loved it! McKenna''s ran a great track, they always had top name national racers.
By the time I turned 16 Russ had sold the Bandito and I started to race there in my 63 Corvette with a group of buddies including Brian Moss in his Z28, and Dave VonBerg in his 69 Judge. We would drive to the track every Sayurday and unhook our headers, let some air out of our rear tires and have a blast bracket racing. When we were done for the night we would leave our headers open and cruise Bay road, one of us always ended up with a ticket for excessive noise. We were there the night the track closed, I remember sitting in my car waiting for the gate to open and talking to Mr. McKenna, he was dispondent as many of the racers wanted to get in free because the prior weekend was a rainout after we paid. I would have gladly paid to get in that night but many protested and that was the end of racing at Tri City Dragway. It was a matter of economics, it was a business after all and he needed revenus to pay his bills.
I would love to see any pictures of the Gorilla or Bandito if any one has any. Feel free to contact me. Brian tim brill :  I remember going to tri city when I was around 4 or 5 years old. My dad would take me to watch my uncles race a 66 straight axle chevelle called IRON MAN and they had a funny car called BAGATOR any one stumble across a picture of one of these cars please let me know I would be very interested. Thats the reason I have the hot rod itch and been racing and toying with cars since I was 14 or 15 . I was very young but I remember the atmoshpere well and till this day wish they never closed. I dont know what it was the hot summer nights and tri city was just so cool you cant describe it but had to be there. Any one with pictures or anything with tri city to sell please let me know. TIm Brill 810 342 9552 Dave Katt:  I started going to Tri-City in the late 60''s. After I graduated high school in 1970 I began racing my 67 Chevelle in Stock class, then in 1973 I hooked up with Greg Luneack of Tri-City Competion Service in Breckenridge. He helped several of us build cars for legal "stock eleminator" racing. I raced a 69 Camaro Convertible in J/S and sent a national record there at a NHRA points meet. We would race there on Saturday nights and after class and eliminator we would head to Milan for Sunday racing. Tons of fun, but a lot of work. I recall that if I got beat early in the evening, I could make it home in time too watch that new TV Show, Saturday Night Live. I usually did pretty good though and did''nt get home untill 1 or 2 in the morning. We always hoped to get "in the money", in elimations.
Tri City had big names just about every weekend, they put on a great show. I also saw a lot of local boys (and girls) that had great cars. The "preporatin H" modified production Maverick, the "sugar Rat" 57 chevy, and so on. I will have to dig out my old pictures. Does anyone know what happened to that 57 Chevy Sugar Rat car? I still think about the tine that race driver was killed there. I was in the staging lanes in my car and watched it happen. After that happed there was a long delay to take care of everything. I was the next car down the track after that accident. There were still parts in the grass. Bad deal.....
I am always looking for Tri-City Dragway stuff so if anyone still has anything they might part with, email me at racerkatt@hotmail.com . Greg Kidd: My Dad used to run 0s/a i believe it was a 1957 chevy sedan delivery, His name was Ken Kidd from Otisville The car was named instant replay, if i remember correctly. At the time he ran around with Al provost, And Vic sunquist from the best of my memory. I would love to hear anything about it wether it be pictures or memories....

He raced Lapeer, tri-city and detriot dragway

Greg Paul - 6/17/2008  I knew Chuck Kurzawa, and Richard Place also, was there the night Richard was killed. It was the last time I saw either of them. My brothers and I ran a front engine car and we raced Chuck and Richard both at different times and places. I always had a lot of respect for Chuck, he was quiet, clean and very professional at work and at the race tracks. We only raced a couple seasons, mostly at the local midwest tracks. I have some old photos somewhere from 40 years back of a lot of those guys. I remember meeting Richard''s Dad a few times, one car they had was a front engine car with a Keith Black engine, and it ran very well. I think Dad was footing the bill for Richard at that time. Paul Childers, of Childers Brothers Top Fuel Car, now residing in Wickenburg, Az. jan1paul2c@cox.net Chuck Kurzawa: this is to Anders Hamilton I am the son of Chuck Kurzawa and Richie was my Dad''s best friend my Dad was there the day he died.My Dad drove the Bob''s Drag Chutes top fueler and was at Tri city when it happened.My Dad retired from driving that day and came back in 79 and drove a car called Ego Trip until 83.My Dad built chassis at Logghe during that time and told me the situation of why the car crashed.My Dad died a couple of years ago but I have a couple of pics. of Richie from the late 60''s early 70''s if you want you can give me a call at 586 871 3266 and I''ll tell you what my Dad told me about that day and that car Rich was driving Anders Hamilton: I am related to Rich Place. I was only a child when he died. I would appreciate contact with anyone that knew him. Thank you! T.R.Marr: My dad''s best friend Jim ( Sonny) Fritz used to race his black 57 Chevy at Tri City in the sixtys. He drove it back and forth to Malleable Iron the rest of the week. My dad & I used to watch him from the stands. They''re both gone now ( Sonny was killed in an automobile crash in 1988 at age 47) but I hope I''ll always remember the "Saturday, Saturday, Saturday Night (s) AT TRI CITY DRAGWAY"! Buzz Sodeman: The black & white photos taken at Tri-City that I have are Neumann''s BB/A Opel, "Wild Willie" Borsch''s AA/FA, several shots of Saginaw pawn shop owner Ron Ellis'' A/FC "Trick AMX", Saginaw car dealer Russ Egger''s A/A "Bandito", a shot of two match race wheelstanders, the "Little Red Wagon" and a rear-engined "Fugitive" Corvette, Connie Kalitta''s "Bounty Hunter" on the starting line as McKenna stages him, and another shot of Connie doing a burnout, and a shot of me and a guy named "Stosh" on the starting line. At least one of the photos was taken by Wuepper Sports Photography.

Also have newspaper accounts of Tri-City''s "first serious mishap." A C/A driven by Phillip Friedman of Flushing left the racing surface about 3/4 of the way down the strip before flipping several times. Another newspaper account talks about "a busy 1970 season" and mentions Ron Ellis, Karen & Vic Sonnquist, Vic Weiner, Ben & Dave Wenzel, Al Provost, Chuck Krueger, Russ Eggers and Gary Tompa. At that time most of the racing coverage was done by Dennis Casteele.

In another article, probably taken from National Dragster, they highlight a Funny car show that included Ron Potter''s "Golden Nugget," Frank Huff''s "King Cobra," Bud Richter''s "Golddigger," Ken Safford in "Mr. Norm''s" Charger, Gary Bolger, Connie Kalitta, Larry Arnold, and Al Marshall. It also mentions James Dreyer (C/Dragster), Larry Littleton (B/Gas ''Vette), Dan Parker''s B/A, Mauri Rose, Jr''s D/Gas ''Vette, Rich Rosebush''s "Shaker Automotive" Chevy II, Al Seeger, Dee Griffin and Dave Bennett.

I have an article about Ron Ellis'' "Trick TX" 1923 "T" and a race with "Ohio George" Montgomery. Montgomery would set a National record in the last race of the event, narrowly beating Ellis. Ellis would also debut a "Trick Truck" Vega panel truck which set a "Top Speed of the Meet" of 177.51 mph at Bison Dragway in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

I can be reached at (775) 727-7186 or choz33kat@yahoo.com jason dreyer: My cousin had permission to hunt on dragstrip property when Draper''s still owned it in the early ''90s. The tower had a bunch of old time slips in it and the track was being used by police for training purposes. My father used to race at the track and my mom has a bunch of good quality, large photos; he was a car fanatic. I will go through the pics and list what is there. Jim Martin: Lee and Bob, Lapeer Deagway will be open i was on their site and they have their 2008 schedule up.you can check it out at www.lapeerdragway.com Bob Jarvis: Lee, i hope Lapeer is open this year i have been racing there for 41 years. I would be lost if they closed Randy: The track WAS indeed open last year and as far as I know, it will be again this year. Running weekends LEE ALMON : I ran at tri city and lapeer all the time in the 70''s been out of it for 25 years.I heard Lapeer dragway is still open every weekend.if this is true i would like to get back racing.If anyone knows please let me know.thanks Lee John McLellan: Looking for info and/or photos of ''62 Dodge originally lettered as "62 And Even" and later as "Universal Machine" and raced at various drag strips by Lortz and Frazier from, I believe, the Flint area. John Ramey: Nice web site. Used to race at Tri-City in the 70s. Had a 70 Ford Torino 429 CJ. We pack the kids up every weekend and head to Tri-City to race. Lots of fun and memorys. Bill Layton: Help!!!! I am looking for the Mystery Mover, Yellow Corvair Van wheel stander from the mid to late 60''s. It was built by my Father Jack Layton and driven by Bob Ries also from Howell. We ran against Bill Maverick Golden with the Little Red Wagon and beat him side by side all the way down the track. Any pictures or leads to the whereabouts appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill Layton 517-861-7308 Dean Gaul: Don, When do you think you may get the photos uploaded? I am very interested.

Dean Don Ruppel: I have many more photos from the 1960''s through 70''s of Tri City and other dragstrips in Michigan and Indianapolis. Haven''t had much time to scan them into my computer and upload them to Webshots.com or this site. Hopefully soon I will get time to share more memories of our youth. Don Ruppel donruppel@netscape.net Brent: All of the pit passes i had advertised are gone. Thanks to everybody that asked about them. Bobby Hill: WOW!! I am so glad I stumbled on this page. My dad ran at Tri-City, Lapeer, Milan, and Detroit Dragway. He was good friends with a lot of the guys who ran at those strips. Dick Ross, mentioned in both this and Lapeer''s page, is still building race and street engines. He built a 327 for me back in 1989. I grew up calling him Uncle Dick. He still owns those Novas that he ran back in the 60s and 70s. I have a lot of pictures from Lapeer, Milan, and Tri-City. I even have the jacket my dad won at Tri-City. He still has hundreds of trophies that he won at those old strips. So many memories... Fred Dempsey: Thanks Bob - I hope you find some as I have very few pics of my cars from that era. I was too busy racing to take pics, and I am sorry for that now. I had so much fun back then. While I am still active in racing, its just not the same, of course nothing is! Brent: I was at Tri City Dragway many Saturday nights in the 1970''s with my Dad and ''m looking for any videos, photos or anything else about Tri City Dragway. I have many Pit Passes from there for $10.00 each including shipping if anybody is looking for them that didn''t save them when they were there. Email xlcrmoemoney4@charter.net BOB JARVIS: Fred, we raced at Lapeer Dragway every sun in thoes days and i remember your Victor George olds. running at Lapeer Dragway a lot. I will look through my old pictures and let you know if I have any. Bob Fred Dempsey: I think about my fun times at Tri City dragway often, and wished I would have taken more photos back then. I used to drive for Victor George Oldsmobile during the late 60"s , early 70"s, and also drove the Dempsey/Taylor chevelle. up till track closing. If anyone has any photos of any of my cars from that era, please contact me. Bill Ross - You mentioned you had a photo of one of the olds from the Carl Casper car show at the IMA? If so, I would gladly pay for a copy of it or any others you might. Please contact me! BILL MURAWSKI JR: MBS airport , is this the land where they are putting the new airport?? I wish the guys with the millions could have got this strip. man what history that can never be reopened. Lou: Merry Christmas Tri-City Dragway fans...Boy I love saying that. How'bout at the very least us fans of Tri-City Dragway holding some sort of Memory Reunion sometime in the Saginaw area? I bet we could get a nice place to hold it, and I'm sure enough of us have contacts that we could get some of the old stars to come and share some of their memories. We could set up some displays to show off all of our old photos', slides, you name it.. If we can't reopen the track, we could at least for one night, open our hearts, minds and memories...Think about it, what a way to spend a cold Saturday night in the Tri Cities.... Happy Holidays Lou Dave Gray: Bruce and Ron, you wold be wasting your time and money to even try, I was with some people that had millions of $ and tried for years to open a strip in Michigan and could never get any place with the townships,no one wants to let a strip in their area.The last strip to open that i know of was Lapeer Dragway back in 1968.and i doubt if you will ever see another one open (sad ).Dave Don Campbell:  found this site just thinking back, merry christmas! my dad used to take my mom ,sister, and I every weekend. I still love that sound. dads gone now just like the strip, give anything to go back just once. really enjoyed the pics ,I cant thank whoever is responsible enough. way cool. by the way just turned 44 this year, and still never been to a greater show. Bruce: I only went to Tri-City Dragway once when i was 13 still remember vividly. Shirley was there.Still smell the Nitro. and rememder the junebugs !!!even though i was only there once i feel i was part of history. what a shame there isn't something like that in the Tri-City area today.i think it would take somebody with the land already & the ability to get it passed the city fathers of whatever township it would be located in. how about an informal poll. how many of you would support a track in the Tri-City area. what if it was 1/8 mile(its a start) rather than quarter. where would you like to see it. send me e-mails with your suggestions to Brucebodyman@aol.com or post your thoughts here. an effort has to start somewhere. who knows what could happen. Ron Wascher: redneckron3@hotmail.com with any info Ron Wascher: Hey every one some of you might know me as the kid with the yellow and orange el camino. me and a bud went to the drag strip the other night just to see it and i think we should get together all us gear heads and try to reopen the track i will help any one who has the same idea as me. also if any one has pictures or any info please e-mail me thank you all for the help Billy Thomas: I started going to tri-city dragway in 1966 with my dad (Mr.Gus). I was 14 years old, I had been racing go karts up until that time, where I began at the age of 8. My dad would have me at the race track every weekend, from the day it open to the day it closed. I met alot of people, I saw a lot of things, but one thing I will always remember, being african american at that time. Seem like black or white all racers were really good hearted people! I tried to get a high school race program started, with all the high schools in the Saginaw area. Those were times when a late nite in the garage was more fun than you could imagine. Times were simpler, and if somebody didn't tell you, you wouldn't know you were poor. I could go on and on, but I sure hate that something that was so great for this community and the youth. Was let go because of the politics..I'm 53 years old now I still have an IHRA topdragster. Terry B - 9/30/2006 I remember going there as a kid watching the dragsters get push started. I wish we had a local track aroung here Jeff Baird: awesome pics of the track and the cars! i have a friend that used to go out to the track all the time, and was wondering if anyone had pics of his old car. His name is Dave Shorkey, and the car was the Fang Tang, a 69 Shelby Mustang. does anyone have any pics of his car? id like to do something nice for him. thanks! p.s. has anyone ever thought of reopening the Tri-City Dragway? heck, id work there day and night to get that place back up and running. id even work the track during race days, as long as i wasnt in my own car! :) BOB JARVIS: GOSH I REMEMBER BACK IN THE 70S WE WOULD HIT TRICITY DRAGWAY EVERY SAT NIGHT AND HEAD TO LAPEER DRAGWAY EVERY SUNDAY. WE SURE GOT IN A LOT OF RACING IN THOES DAYS,I STILL GO TO LAPEER DRAGWAY. BUT I DONT DO AS MUCH RACING NOW AS I DID IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS.GETTING TO OLD, BOB Jon Mason: Great web site ... Just looking through some of the pics at the bottom of the forum and notice that my dad built headers on most of those cars including Garlits gas car and cha-chas car. The corvette with open pipes out the back, Seems kind of weird seeing those pics of the cars in action and having the same pics with my dad under the hood.... Great site guys keep up the good work. Lou: Wow, a friend I work with just showed me this site and Ive been reading everones comments. My best memories are of those beautiful Saturday nights with the big names, smelling that nitro and coming home with black specs of rubber all over my white t-shirt. What a thrill to see those trucks pushing those "rails" along the pit lane and then to hearem fire up and start bouncing to the starting line. And when those lights went out it was a totally different show. Only us who were there can truly appreciate it. Keep writing people its these memories that get us through those tough times. Bottle-Fed - 5/2/2006 I think wnem TV5 might be doing a story on the old track in the next few weeks. They did a segment on street racing and if you watch the video to the end they say they are going to go to an old drag raceing hot spot from back in the day. http://www.wnem5.com/Global/story.asp?S=4834405 Bill Ross: Im from Flint Mich.,now living in N.C. I use to race at Tri City in a 70 1/2 camaro.I ran in FX,mainly N/FX. I won and still have 2 trophies. In the late 60s in high school i went there everytime i could.I graduated in 71,worked at Automotive Parts and Machine Shop in Flint.They raced a C/G studabaker called Jungle Cruiser,painted yellow.I went there every weekend,weather i raced or watched.I have lots of photos from Tri City,the time the Little Red Wagon vs.the Fugitive,funny cars,local cars,Checkmate camaro,Pre-Staged Performance E/MP camaro,a friend of mine,Ron Michalik had a VW with a sb chev called The Flyin Beetle raced there,he also had a 64 dodge,bright red called Suspect 426 ,a factory SS car that a guy named Doug Kennish bought new in 64.Another friend of mine,Dick Ross(no relation) ran a string of novas there.I also have a photo of Victor George Olds stocker.taken at the Carl Casper car show at the IMA audotoriam in downtown Flint.I have photos from Lapeer Dragway of E.J Potters Widow Maker,I have photos from Milan Dragway of Bill Jenkins and Billy the Kid Steps Pro Stock Mopar.I grew up A mile from Kustom Equipment at the corner of Richfield and Belsay Rds.,have photos of Don Garlets fuel dragster that was there on display using Kustom headers,a front motored rail.I miss Tri City a lot.I have a photo of Dave and Ben Wenzels stock camaro taken at Tri city in 72.In the background is a female with long hair,brown leather jacket and bellbottoms.Low and behold thats my wife Vicki that i met in 1982!!Her and her boyfriend also went to Tri City to watch.The photos bring back lots of memorys for both of us.The photos of Tri City now with trees and weeds are sad.My wife said we should go back and get the sign off the timing tower! I also have a can/bottle opener that sayes Tri City Dragway on it.We moved to NC because I got a job in NASCAR,first with the #77 Jasper Engines car in the engine shop,now i work for Carl Wegner,Wegner motorsports building and leasing NASCAR and ARCA engines. AK: Hello there. Glad I found this site. Ive got quite a few photos from 1974-76 from Tri-City;raced and attended races there from 72-76. If they scan well,Ill get them posted. Keep up the great work,WWL! BUCK WOODS: HEY BOBK49 IS THE OLD TRACK MANAGER BILL MCKINA STILL ALIVE? I HEARD HE DIED A LONG TIME AGO.I HOPE HE IS STILL ALIVE.I THINK HE WAS A GOOD MANAGER.HE JUST DIDNT TAKE ANY CRAP FROM THE RACERS THAT THOUGHT THEY WAS SOME HOT SHOTS,WHICH ARE A LOT OF THEM .BUT IF YOU WAS GOOD TO HIM BILL WAS ALWAYS MORE THAN FAIR. Paul Wright - 4/17/2006 All you guys out there looking for Pictures if you go to Webshots.com Don Ruppel has many. Just type in Dons name or Tri-City Dragway for a search. Very cool, and Don if your out there give us more and thanks for the memorries. Fred Dempsey: Great site, the picturres brought back many good memories. I raced there from the late 60s through its closing. I drove the "Victor George Oldsmobile" entries for most of those years, and also drove a chevelle and camaro (Dempsey&Taylor) for the last couple of years. I am hoping that someone has some pictures of our cars from that era? Most of my pictures got destroyed, and I am trying to locate any that may still be around. If you can help me, please contact me. P.S. I would also like to locate any other pictures of tri cite racers from that era. There used to be many local "stockers" and "superstockers" that competed there each week, and it was so much fun. Chuck Kurzawa III: I just wanted to let people know that my father passed away on 1-29-06 and that I am trying to get some pics. or any other memorabilia that anyone might have out there it would be greatly appreciated. I also just want to say how much my Dad appreciated this site it helped him to keep the memories alive and put him in touch with old friends on his behalf I thank you. If anyone needs to contact me they can at 248-808-9249 or email me at lkurzawa248@comcast.net Richard Robinson: I raced my hot Honda 50 step through frame in 1966. I won "D" Bike and the next week I took off my fenders and won "D" Bike Modified. The starter told me that if I took longer than 29 seconds again, he was bringing his lawn mower to go against me. That was definetly a fun time. That dragstrip in its day was one of the finest ever built. Thanks for the memories! Randal Cronk - 1/2/2006 How sad to see the current state of the strip. My wife I used to go on dates there before it closed. The old days of booked in shows with big name drivers. Garlits, Muldowney, Beebe Bros, Blue Max, Pizza Haven F/C, Al Bergler, etc. I was there the night the Blue Max let go in the lights WOW what an explosion. I have memories that will last forever. Tri City was the first strip I went to. Since Sept of 1987 Ive taught high school students about the sport of drag racing. Southern Lakes is the former ITC. Its a sport I enjoy and I encourage others to get involved in a simular adventure. You wont regret it. Allen Orban: Finding this site was amazing, my father Vern Orban who drag raced at Tri City Dragway, Michigan from 1970-1974 with his 1970 lime-green plymonth GTX 440 six-pack. On the side of my fathers car it had "Swift Shifters" and "Lime-Time". He was in a club called the "Swift Shifters" members that I am aware of were Alan Labeau, Dale Labeau, Clyde Hartshorn, Vern Orban and Chuck Walker. If anyone as anymore information regarding this club I would greatly appreciate hearing from you. I currently have some pictures and a video that was taken with an 8mm back in the 70s and then of the race track after it closed down and its current condition. If anyone has any other pictures or video I would like to hear from you. My father "Vern Orban" passed away in October of 2004 and I have little knowledge or have very few photos of when my dad raced. If anyone can remember this club or my father or have photos of his car, I would love to hear from you. I know that Chuck Walker drove a 1970 plum color Plymouth Duster and Alan Labeau drove a yellow Mustang and his wife drove a Mustang as well but not sure what year or color. I am also sorry to inform you that Clyde Hartshorn also died years ago. You may contact me at flyboy63@charter.net or you may call me at (989) 855-9366. I continued the tradition of drag racing as my father did and I currently drag race at the Mid Michigan MotorPlex. Thank You. Allen Orban Dean Gaul: I would love to support the effort to re-open the strip. I belive it would have to be a different location though. Even if able to secure the property from the airport commission thre are many avation rules and regulations in place now that were not then. The FAA has strict regulations regarding runway thresholds, approch patterns, security envelopes and the like. When the strip was in operation, MBS main runway..E-W was much shorter. when the airport expanded the runway they were actually required to buy the property in order to conform to FAA standards. On another note, does anyone else remember a fellow that worked the tower by the name of Dick (Boyd) Hartley? he was from Freeland and worked at Freeland State Bank. Dick was a good friend of mine and passed away recently. I am trying to contact relitives, I am sure he had lots of pictures and other items of interest. Paul Wright - 11/13/2005 Well lets just say that it is not impossible. If they can put up a Wal-Mart in town that no one wants why cant they build a track? If the reopening of the old place is out of the question then how about another location in Bay County? Jason Greif: I recently talked to Rob Draper and yes its true the airport has total ownership of the dragway. Mr. Drapers dad uses to own part of it. Anyway Im interested in opening up the dragway so anybody else intrested let me inform you of my problem; MONEY. I have none but I make up for that in shear determination and some awesome ideas to make it go from memory to reality. A mere dream is what Ive started with. I know people who dont think Im capable of pulling this off but IF I can get volunteers of time to assist me and any person willing to donate time or even information please let me know about it. Im going to be clean and honest with everyone reading this. Im only 21 years old Ive never set foot on the dragway my whole life but I want to change that. I want to experience what my parents and their friends experienced THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME! Chuck Kurzawa: The airport owns the property, that cant be changed. There is no way this track can reopen. You cant even get on the property too browse, I have tried. And by the way Bill is still with us. Paul Wright - 10/25/2005 It is possible to bring this place back. Just got to have the right people in the right places to do the asking. Man, wouldnt it be great. Holly Orlik: My husband Rick used to race at Tri City, & when I found this web site & we looked at the pictures it brought back a lot of good memories. After 27 years of not racing Rick is getting back into it by doing demolition derbys & scrambles & he is going to get me a strip car to race at Kaleva. Thanks for the pics & the memories! Ron Gross/Michigandriveins.com: One of the nations newest and finest drag strips is now in full operation in Michigan. Called Tri-City Dragway, its located next to Michigans Tri-City Airport, serving Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City. Paved with the newest super traction mix, the strip is 4500 feet long, and 60 feet wide all the way down. Operated by Bill McKenna, the facility was designed with the aid of NHRAs Bob Daniels, and has a lot of "boss" features. The staging area is six lanes wide, and paved for 600 feet back. The competition cars pit area is 50,000 square feet, all paved and fenced in. From here, there is a 1,000 foot fire up road (34 feet wide and paved) leading to the staging area. Timing equipment is the latest Chrondek system, with the delayed foul-light setup, and all wires are underground. (Car Craft Magazine July 1967) BobK49: Web, you are right about all but one point, the strip manager is still with us, hes a very old man, but I see him often, working in his yard at home. I worked at the track for one summer (1972) and could tell some stories best left untold. One I can tell was on a sunny Saturday afternoon. I arrived at the track before the rest of the guys, grabbed the timing lights and put them in my pickup and drove to the 1/4 mile to start setting up. As I was down on my knees sighting the alignment for the lights some jets flew over, very close to the ground. It was the USAF Thunderbirds, arriving at the airport for the Sunday air show. They then preceded to do a warmup show. It was awesome. I jumped back in the truck and went up on top the tower, with several of the other guys whod shown up for work. Later that night, about the time racing was done for the night, the manager came around and invited all us employees to bring our families back on Sunday for the airshow. He was a good man to work for, but I do understand why the racers had no use for him. Anyway, thats my 2 cents. Bob Chuck Kurzawa: Wow, its nice to see those (now) pics. The track looks like its ready to run tomorrow, (what a shame). I drove cars there from 67-74,in 67 driving the Ramchargers digger on some show runs, I ran 224 mph, the chute failed, somebody forgot to bleed the brakes, and I still managed to stop the car. That track is 4500ft. long. I made a lot of runs down that track. Cars I drove there were The Ramchargers-Kurzawa Mcknew Olivio and Bobs Drag Chutes. I was there the night a good friend of mine (Rich Place) was killed in a re-digger. That was the last time I was at the track. The track was the best in Mich. TK: I remember being at the dragstrip in the 60s. Our family was neighbors of the Ray Martin family that owned the "Twister" it was a red Austin Healey with fuel injected BBC. If I remember correctly it ran B or C altered class. I know we went to Edmore more than Tri City, but I spent many a fine nights at Tri City. Mickey Hershey: All I can say is I grew up in that tower born 4/1/62 at the track4/20/62 my dad was the anouncer for Tri-city. I was at the end off the track by the fence the day the Lee bros Angela blew up had the front windshield till 80. Remember a story of Connie Kallitta landing his plane on the track,car waiting at the line, runs,wins,flys away. I still have a picture of myself in the Little Red Wagon running down the track. What a Great Place to grow up never forget it saw sooo many firsts in racing at that track. WaterWinterWonderland - 4/14/2003 Recent site inspection reveals that some structures of the old strip remain. Close inspection was not possible due to the site now residing on MBS Airport property and access is strictly forbidden. If anyone out there has a connection at the airport, contact us! Web - 1/16/2003 The Tri-City dragway was located in Saginaw MI. It was built in 1965, (as a 1/4 mile dragstrip) NOT a converted air strip. It Opened in 1966 and closed in 1978. Along with my brother, I worked as the starter, in the tech barn, in the wire wheel pits, and the crash truck in the shut down at the far end of the strip. Many of the heavies in the Detroit, Flint, Lansing and tri-city areas of the big three manufactures ran many super stockers, gassers and modified production cars there. Also top fuel, funny cars, and wheel standers were the hi-lights every weekend. There was also a Division 3 N.H.R.A. points meet every year. Fred Militello Web - 1/7/2003 As Jon Lunburg mentioned in another post, Tri-City closed down due to terrible management. The manager(name respectfully withheld since he has passed) was also a corporate pilot. The hands off owner of the track also owned a very large successful Saginaw GM dealership (son still runs it). The manager had little or no customer(racer) relations skills and cared little for any racer input or comments on how to improve the sportsman (or any) program. What brought it to a head in the spring of 1978 was several consecutive weekend rain outs and no compensation for the entries fees that had been paid. Any efforts by the racers committee to either up the pay out or get a free pass fell on deaf ears. A boycott was planned by a large group of racers. On that fatefull weekend, all the racers were instructed to pull into the spectators parking lot until the manager came out and talked to the group about some remedy. After several hours of silence from the still locked track, the manager came out and said if we didnt pay the entry and race he would close the track for good. At this point the majority of us (Im guilty)thought he was bluffing and pulled out of the facility thinking the next weekend he would be begging for us to return. Guess what, he wasnt bluffing...and the rest is history. The track remained in semi-race ready condition for years and was used by GM for testing purposes. In the 90s a local drag racing family (with significant financial resources) tried unsuccessfully to submit a plan to the Tri-City Airport board to reopen the dragstrip. Their permission was needed because the majority of the pit area of the track was leased from the airport(bet you didnt know that), only the track and parking area were part of the privately owned facility. Without their permission, the reopening was dead in the water. After several professional presentations demonstrating total financial backing to rebuild the track, economic impact projections on the local economy from large (points or national) events and NHRA involvement, the airport commission voted NOT to lease the property needed for the reopening. The project was DOA. Sometime in the late 90s, the airport bought the property from the owner. The "offical" end of an era. Web - 1/7/2003 Dont remember exact operating date spread, but the track DID NOT close due to airport expansion. Track operator so angered local sportman racers they boycotted track. Place was owned by millionaire car dealer. As a "get even" track manager wandered the track with a post-hole digger forever destroying the surface when place closed. One of the countrys most beautiful tracks, strange management. Unfortunate end. RG - 1/7/2003 Tri-City Dragway in Saginaw was open from 1966 to 1978, closed same year as Onondaga! Im working on the location. An excerpt borrowed from the message board about Tri-City: "Dont remember exact operating date spread, but the track DID NOT close due to airport expansion. Track operator so angered local sportman racers they boycotted track. Place was owned by millionaire car dealer. As a "get even" track manager wandered the track with a post-hole digger forever destroying the surface when place closed. One of the countrys most beautiful tracks, strange management. Unfortunate end....John Lundberg"