I lived near Atlanta but my grandpaents lived in Ware Shoals. I raced a 64 Ford Falcon Sprint back in 65 & 66 before I was drafted.

My Grandaddy was Hamp Crocker and ran an ESSO Station in Ware Shoals.

Starlite 25 was very unique and I raced there several times but I will never forget the first full power pass I made and the car diving down the deep hill at the end of the finish line - what a hair raising thrill!

Anyone ever having been there will know what I am talking about.

I raced there many times back in the 60's. You could do some great burnouts climbing that hill to the starting line. Great memories!

I was there one afternoon when Richard Petty was racing his 43jr Hemi Baracuda during the NASCAR Boycott. Unfortunatly a tie rod broke near the end of a run and the car swerved into the crowd and killed a small child.

Not a lot of track safety back in those days

Hi Rick, my name is Max Williamson.  I was very active in Louisiana Drag Racing from about 1955 though 1962.  There were no purpose built drag strips at the time so all of the racing was done on airfields.  Places such as Hammond, Houma, Lake Charles, Opelusas, Alexandria, and Mansfield.  There may be a couple more but that's all I can think of at the moment.  I remember your Grandmother and Grandfather very well, they were among my favorite people.  In fact did you catch their picture in a recent Hot Rod magizine.  In fact I'm not totally positive but I think one of the fellows standing next to the "tower" is me.  The real skinny one.

I left the state in Feb 63 to join the Air Force and did not return until Jan 2000.  I'm happy to see that there is some effort to find and retain some of the early Louisiana Racing history.  My family was not big into pictures so I don't have a trove hidden away.  However I do have a bunch of the early Tire Marks stored away with my magazine collection.  Soon I will dig them out and make scans available to whoever needs them.  I also have some of the NHRA early "Tie Rods" which was the early precusor to the National Dragster.  

I'm anxious to review old names many of which I have forgotten.  "Q Ball" Wales was one of my favorites driving the baddest dragster in Louisiana at the time.  Knott Farrington was another who was known for his drag racing in Louisiana but also known for his Bonneville records in his blown streamlined 55 T-Bird.  Friends like Bud Bailey, Jerry & Harry Chaudior and many others.

An interesting note.  When I left Louisiana I lost track of most of the racers of the time.  I did know that Wales and Candies went together and built a new dragster but then I lost track of "Q Ball" and Candies joined up with Hughes for the Hughes and Candies funny car.  Well in doing some research a few weeks ago I found out that "Q Ball" was killed in a racing accident at the then new Monroe Twin City Dragway.  Apparently his chute didn't open and on that short track he ran off the end and was killed.

Anyway that's enough for now, I will keep watching this site for more info.

Max Williamson
mmaxdw@aol.com

these are some awesome shots! but it makes me sad to see it run down and forgotten... love seeing some mopars in the mix also. shame im way too young to have even been able to experience it. i grew up going to the one in eunice. even though it wasnt in the best shape, i was sad to see it close down too. i recently drove by it and seen the building is still up. had alot of memories at that track growing up...wish we would have taken more pics but i guess we didnt think to because we didnt think it would be closed down. ahh ... life goes on

Made a visit to Thorn Hill on Saturday 10/24/09, and took some video & photos to use in a YouTube video as a Thorn Hill Dragway Track Tour. The video contains no on track action, but plenty of shots of the facility.

Thanks; I think about that weekend every time I was a fueler run.

Jim the track you are thinking of would be Southeastern Int'l. Dragway which was located in Dallas, Georgia.  Funny Cars were a popular attraction there back in the day.  It operated from 1955 thru 2005 and is still there awaiting development, or so I am told.  It's closure was hard felt as they always had a good turnout of both racers and spectators even for weekly bracket races and test and tune nights.  It was never a high dollar track, never changed from the time I first started going there in the late 70s after moving from SoCal up until the time it closed.  It is located 2 miles West of Hwy.92 on East Paulding Drive, just past a 4 way stop on the right.  If memory serve correct there is a recreational complex right across the street, plus the area is surronded by sub-divisions.

I am with the St. Louis Auto Racing Association and we are in the beginnings of incorporating the Midwest Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame. This is the sort of information and history that is getting away from us too often.
We would like information about the Alton Dragway to add to our list of long gone race tracks in the midwest. Also the White Hall Raceway. If anyone wants to contact me with information about these tracks please feel free to email me at wandak1776@att.net.  Thanks. Wanda Knepper, Membership Secretary - St. Louis Auto Racing Fan Club.

I lived in Marietta the summer of 1969 before I started college.  During that summer I went to a dragstrip near Marietta and saw the Coca Cola Cavalcade of Funny Cars.  I remember the staging lanes were at the bottom of a hill and you had to drive up the hill to the burn out area.  Anyone know the name of that strip and where it was exactly?  Thanks

the new tower put up between '69 & '70  to accomadate the new timing clocks. But your time was still hand written .