VIVA LAS VEGAS V

Jeff Foster, manager of The Strip at LVMS, brought home the coveted NHRA "Wally" trophy for the third consecutive year for the Summit E.T. Team Finals (Team Las Vegas is the 2013 Division 7 E.T. team champion.) Team Las Vegas won the Team Spirit Award at the Summit E.T. Team Finals. The Strip at LVMS also was named NHRA Division 7 Track of the Year.

As 2014 heads into March, we look forward to the NHRA Summit Nationals, and several other huge events at LVMS.

Following is a snapshot of pending action, with some feed-back to earlier times in the Vegas Valley.

While the present Las Vegas Motor Speedway fulfills every premise made by a racing venue, it was not the first such track in the valley. Long before Richie Cline and Mel Larson conspired to build a raceway with Las Vegas class, the suburb of Henderson built Thunderbird Raceway and hosted the AHRA Winternationals!  The track was just north of Boulder Highway (US 95) behind what was then the local Dodge dealership. It was asphalt and in good condition. That was it. There were no lights, no permanent rest rooms, and an open air tower; but it was in the ‘50s.

Thunderbird Raceway, Henderson: 4/26/1964. Taking top eliminator over Ed’s Muffler Shop was the Accessories Limited fueler from Glendale, Ca. They took $1,000 home. (photo from the archive of Jim Kelly)

That was THEN, 1964; and this is NOW, 2014; exactly 50 years later. The STRIP is shown at the top center of this photograph. A pic much like this adorns the wall behind Mel Larson’s desk at his office on Larson Lane.