Buckingham Field/Drag Strip (Fort Myers)

Drag racing on a retired concrete runway at Buckingham Field, ten miles east of Fort Myers, goes back at least to January 1954, when races were held on Sundays and the fastest car was reported to be a 1940 Ford coupe with an Olds V-8. The Fort Myers Rod Rattlers sponsored the races. On February 27, 1955, almost 1,000 people saw Walter Carlton win top eliminator on his Triumph Trophy at 12.9 seconds. The NHRA southeastern regionals on July 3-4, 1955 drew about 2,000 people despite rain, and Charles ‘Pop’ Winslow won top eliminator on his Harley Davidson at 11.6. Ora Cook won top eliminator in his dragster on October 9, 1955 at 12.6 seconds, and Don Garlits won on December 18, 1955 at 12.8. At the Southwest Florida Championship Drag Races on September 2-3, 1956, before more than 1,500 people, Dennis Hess won top eliminator on a motorcycle, though Garlits was quickest at 11 seconds and 141 mph.

The Quarter Milers car club began running the races in 1959. That year a spectator died in a freak accident in the parking area that had nothing to do with racing. NHRA held a three-day Florida State Championships here on September 5-7, 1959, where about 1,800 people watched 150 racers and Ed Garlits ran 142 mph in his B dragster. Driving for Don Garlits, Art Malone ran an unofficial world record of 8.19 seconds on November 22, 1959. On March 27, 1960, the strip tried a combined foot and drag race for stock car drivers, who had to run 200 feet to their cars, start them and race to the finish. Organizers decided the foot race might be shortened next time, since most of the drivers were out of breath by the time they reached their cars. The first night drags ran on August 13, 1960, under searchlights rented from a Miami company. At the fourth annual Florida state championship, which ended September 5, 1960, Ed Pantley set a track record in competition of 174.001 mph in a dual-engine Chevy-powered dragster, though Don Garlits had run 189 mph in exhibition runs months before.

Dennis Cravero, 23, of Coral Gables, was killed on March 25, 1962 when he lost control of his Olds-powered dragster after a 157.985 mph run. Hot Rod Magazine’s 1963 schedules listed the track simply as Fort Myers Drag Strip. An NHRA southeast regional ran here May 2, 1965, and an NHRA points meet May 15, 1966. Bobby Wren was track manager when the last race ran on November 20, 1966. Jay Feener remembers watching a cow wander across the shutdown area during a race.