Sad news - Tulsa closing

[luxexpress]

http://competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/19240-iconic-tulsa-raceway-park-closing Lots of great history there.

 

[mw6789]

That sucks. Sounds like from the way the article reads it is done---no hope of reopening like Memphis.

 

[TSK]

Dang, I really hate to hear that. The very first national event I ever attended was the 1972 National Challenge at Tulsa. I had been going to drag races since 1967, but was not prepared for what took place that weekend. Talk about overdosing on drag racing.
There will never be another race like that again.
The '73 National Challenge was good but it paled in comparison to the '72 race.
I was over there for a Division 4 meet a couple of months ago and was really impressed with the track.
The current owners had done a great job improving the facility. It's a shame it is being turned into a rock quarry.

 

[Von Halen]

Dang, I really hate to hear that. The very first national event I ever attended was the 1972 National Challenge at Tulsa. I had been going to drag races since 1967, but was not prepared for what took place that weekend. Talk about overdosing on drag racing.
There will never be another race like that again.
The '73 National Challenge was good but it paled in comparison to the '72 race.

Wasn't '72 the year John Wiebe and Jeb Allen crashed?

 

[Tony]

Dang, I really hate to hear that. The very first national event I ever attended was the 1972 National Challenge at Tulsa. I had been going to drag races since 1967, but was not prepared for what took place that weekend. Talk about overdosing on drag racing.
There will never be another race like that again.
The '73 National Challenge was good but it paled in comparison to the '72 race.
I was over there for a Division 4 meet a couple of months ago and was really impressed with the track.
The current owners had done a great job improving the facility. It's a shame it is being turned into a rock quarry.

I had been a fan of drag racing for several years from reading Car Craft, Hot Rod, Popular Hot Rodding, Super Stock, and Drag Racing USA for several years, and the 1972 National Challenge race was the first drag race for me of any kind. Ted is right, there will NEVER be another race like the '72 race. All Pros, all day long, lap after lap. I think it cost me $20 to get in, a LOT of money for a 15 year-old in 1972.

Here's a link from a local TV station that called Garlits for a comment:

Tulsa Drag Racing Track To Close - NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

 

[Tony]

Wasn't '72 the year John Wiebe and Jeb Allen crashed?

I believe it was '72, I missed the crash because I was in the pits, but it sure was loud.

JOHN WIEBE/JEB ALLEN TULSA CRASH - YouTube

 

[TSK]

Wasn't '72 the year John Wiebe and Jeb Allen crashed?

Vaughn, you're right. The Wiebe/Allen crash was in '72 almost directly in front of me. The fire was huge. Fortunately, since the wreck happened immediately off the line, neither car had a lot of speed when Wiebe's car hit Allen's. I believe Wiebe suffered a broken leg while Allen got burned.
I was able to take three pictures of the wreck in progress (not bad considering I didn't have a motor drive on my camera), but they were on Ektachrome slides. They turned out well but, I looked at them a few months ago and the dye had faded terribly and it's hard to make out details.
I wish I had shot Kodachrome. It doesn't deteriorate like Ektachrome.
There were plenty of opportunities to catch explosions and fires at that race because all the tuneups were set on kill for what, at the time, was big money.
While the carnage was incredible, the racing was beyond description.

 

[Kansas Stan]

sorry, but it was 73. Only year I made it to the race and I was sitting in stands on north side of track. Seemed like it took forever as it happened. Wiebe had a long way back as his leg was "crushed" where it was broken and the story I got was, they had to "lengthen" his leg a few inches at that point by replacing bone with plastic insert. Too bad he rattled the tires as he was low qualifier at 7.11.

 

[TSK]

sorry, but it was 73. Only year I made it to the race and I was sitting in stands on north side of track. Seemed like it took forever as it happened. Wiebe had a long way back as his leg was "crushed" where it was broken and the story I got was, they had to "lengthen" his leg a few inches at that point by replacing bone with plastic insert. Too bad he rattled the tires as he was low qualifier at 7.11.

Stan, you're right. I was there in '72 and '73 and got the two races mixed up.
I was also in the stands on the north side of the track.

 

[rocketman]

That's such a shame I was wondering when a track was going to close due to economics. People think the tracks have all the money but with high fuel costs keeping guys at home, high unemployment, the high cost of promoting big shows and insurance cost it's a balancing act.

 

[TSK]

I just found a picture I shot during the '73 race.