Dragstrips.org

Camden Drag Strip (Shepard)

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

Raced
late 1960s-early 1970s
State
South Carolina
What's left
You can still spot it in aerial photos, or broken pieces of the track surface remain.
Last race
at least 1974
Elevation
332 ft (101 m)
Coordinates
34.31672, -80.53503

On June 17, 1972, at what newspapers called the Camden Drag Strip, Eddie Bracey lost control of his ‘71 Ford Torino. He slid into his opponent’s lane, tried to pull back and hit a utility pole, then tore through a fence into a line of cars parked along the edge of the track. Two seven-year-old cousins were killed and five people were hurt, with about two hundred people watching. Little was known about the track until a local man identified its location and recalled some of how it ran, and more has turned up since. Racing went on at least through 1974.

September 17, 1968
September 17, 1968
Only a chicken wire fence and twenty feet separated spectators from the drag racing strip. This is the point where Bracey's race car crashed through the fence, killing two boys. Photo published in Charlotte Observer, July 3, 1972.
Only a chicken wire fence and twenty feet separated spectators from the drag racing strip. This is the point where Bracey's race car crashed through the fence, killing two boys. Photo published in Charlotte Observer, July 3, 1972.