Action Dragway/Fulton Raceway

ClosedClosed No longer racing, but some of the track is still there.

Also known as Milray Speedway Dragway; Mil-Ray Raceway

Raced
1961-63, 1965-76
State
New York
What's left
You can still spot it in aerial photos, or broken pieces of the track surface remain.
First race
July 14, 1965
Last race
1976 (last documented)
Track
1/8 mile
Location
Route 57 south of Fulton, south side of the Fulton Speedway oval
People
  • Action Promotions, leaseholder and promoter (1965)
  • Raymond Benway, owner of Fulton Raceway (1967)
Elevation
369 ft (112 m)
Coordinates
43.28014, -76.38434

Milray had a third-mile dirt oval south of Fulton on Route 57, eight miles north of Three Rivers, with an eighth-mile drag strip on its south side. The two-lane strip opened July 9, 1961, with 177-foot concrete launch pads ahead of the asphalt. In 1962 the drags ran Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons, and Roger Hughes of Johnson City won top eliminator in his A/A on July 22. In 1963 racing moved to Wednesday and Saturday nights, and Don Fessinger of Solvay won top eliminator on July 6. Later that summer it raced Tuesday and Saturday nights. The 108-acre complex was put up for sale in 1964.

This ESTA-sanctioned eighth-mile strip ran along the south side of the Fulton Speedway oval, south of Fulton on Route 57, and was leased by Action Promotions. It opened on Wednesday night, July 14, 1965, when Gus Schmidt of Moyers Corners and Mike Paneblanco of Chittenango were the first winners. Schmidt won again the next week, taking top eliminator at 117 MPH among 85 entries. In early August racing moved from Wednesday to Thursday nights, and fields usually ran 70-90 cars. In 1967 Raymond Benway, owner of Fulton Raceway, asked the Oswego County Board of Supervisors about turning the county airport into a drag strip, but nothing came of it. In later years the promoter moved the drags among Friday nights, Saturday nights and Sundays looking for the best crowds. Racing has been documented up to 1976.