Unnamed drag strip (Casper)

A well-attended race was held on April 19, 1953, on a runway at Wardwell Field, an old airfield no longer used for flying, about four miles north of Casper off Highway 87. On April 26 twenty racers competed, and Gene McFarland was fastest at 16.6 seconds in his ‘52 Olds 88. The Casper Drag-Goons car club held a race in the fall of 1953. In early 1954 Wardwell Field became a private airfield, and racers had to make arrangements with the owners. An NHRA-sanctioned race was held there on June 20, 1954, but police halted racing in July 1954 because private planes were using the field. On August 14, 1955, 29 racers competed, trophies were given out for the first time, and Bob Whitman set a track record of 90 MPH on his Triumph. In 1956 racing went on at least five times at the old field, by then called the Bar Nunn Ranch. At the August 5, 1956, race, run under NHRA rules, the Central Wyoming Timing Association gave trophies to class winners. The association paid $65 for insurance per event and $20 to rent the field, timed cars with stopwatches, and drew racers from South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and Idaho. 1956 was the last year Wardwell Field allowed drag racing. By 1958 Casper had seven car clubs, which met with city officials from time to time in 1958-60 about a permanent strip.