Before there was a Texas Motorplex in Ennis, the only NHRA track in North Texas (or at least the "main" one) was Green Valley Race City in rural dairyland in North Richland Hills, just south of Keller. It was the main "big time" NHRA track that was in the hot rod magazines from the early 1960s. When I finally found where it was and drove out there, I was shocked at how "basic" it was. This was where the national level NHRA events were held? Magazine-chronicled events? So, it was a let-down to see it. In the earlier half of the 1980s, I went to a road race event out there. I got to talk to Andy Pilgrim about road racing his Mustang GT against the more powerful and better handling Camaros of that time.
As civilization progressed toward the track, more noise complaints happened. As if the new residents weren't told about a famous drag race track being about 1/4 mile away! Complaints led to concessions as to operational hours, but it was obvious they were on borrowed time. So, when the "Last Race Weekend" was announced, myself and a group of friends decided to go. One took his car on a trailer.
We plotted to go in "the back way", but when we got to the exit on Loop 820, we encountered stopped traffic, which was all headed toward the drag strip. We were shocked, but not surprised, at everybody heading there. Cars parked on the shoulders kind of like the pictures I'd seen of the roads leading to Woodstock! We finally got there to find 4-abreast racing on the strip. Not too good. There was a band playing too. The staging lanes extended to the back of the property. Eventually, the starting line staff left and it was a big free-for-all race event. Seems like the local police were called to shut down the racing? I can saw I was there. Surprised that somebody did not get hurt, all things considered!
Word had come down that Billy Meyer and some investors were going to build what became Texas Motorplex, a "state-of-the-art" facility an hour away. Everybody was excited, other than the "neighbors" who protested the suspected noise at an area lake some likes to quietly camp at on weekends. The track got built, with some concessions, of course. It has been a boon to the local economy as a few convenience stores and gas stations sprouted up from the agricultural-use soil.
Several car events, the old Super Chevy Sundays, and many car clubs had Saturday morning events, over before the normal Saturday night program people got there at 3pm. The first beginnings of what became the NMCA national muscle car shootouts were there, too.
At several events, I managed to get "suite access" through work. I always expected them to be plush, but they were more like "good enough" than plush. Plus that for a national NHRA event, NHRA became the "owner of the track" for that weekend. That sounded a bit unusual until I thorught about it from the other side of things. Plus the reasoning behind an "access ticket" and a "seat ticket", too.
From the time stamp on the original post by
@Big_John and a similar time stamp of the notification in another forum, the track must have put out a mass message on social media after the close of business today.
More memories called up from the databank!
CBODY67
