Cecil County Dragway (Rising Sun)

Active

Also known as Cecil County Drag-O-Way

A quarter-mile NHRA track on 140 acres near Rising Sun that opened in April 1963. It is best known as the home of the Yellow Bullet Nationals heads-up race and runs from March to November.

Don Garlits defended his Mr. Eliminator title there in 1964
Jungle Jim Liberman set a 7.20 funny car record on March 15, 1970

Raced: 1963-present
State: Maryland
Raced on: Built as a drag strip
First race: April 1963
Sanction: NHRA Division 1
Track: 1/4 mile
Surface: Concrete
Address: 1916 Theodore Road
Rising Sun, MD 21911
People: Ron McNeal, track manager (1969)
South Jersey Timing Association, owner (1970-)
John F. Comer, owner (1980s-1990s)
Elevation: 323 ft (98 m)
Coordinates: 39.63733, -75.98870
Contact: cecilcountydragway.com (410) 287-5486

Big races

Yellow Bullet Nationals

annual · heads-up / street outlaw

The track's signature big heads-up event; the site bills Cecil County as its home.

Event page

SCSO series

spring through fall · heads-up series

A track-run heads-up series with its own pro and sportsman classes, points and payouts.

Event page

Street nights and test-and-tune

March to November · street / test and tune

Regular street-legal nights and test-and-tune sessions throughout the season.

Event page

Down And Dirty

Raced here 2026 · drag-and-drive

A drag-and-drive: racers drive their street cars from track to track over several days and race at each stop.

Event page

Hot Rod Drag Week

Raced here 2019, 2025 · drag-and-drive

A drag-and-drive: racers drive their street cars from track to track over several days and race at each stop.

Event page

Midwest Drags

Raced here 2023 · drag-and-drive

A drag-and-drive: racers drive their street cars from track to track over several days and race at each stop.

Event page

History

This strip opened in April 1963 as a fifth-mile track. A month later, on May 12, 1963, 21-year-old Tommy DePalma of Hyattsville, Maryland, was killed when his dragster’s brakes failed at an estimated 175 mph as he tried to slow for a curve, and the car left the track and hit a tree. On June 27, 1964, Don Garlits kept his Mr. Eliminator title by beating Jerry Baltes at 7.75 and 194.38 mph. Hot Rod listed Cecil County Drag-O-Way as an NHRA track in March 1969, with Ron McNeal as manager.

In 1970 the South Jersey Timing Association, owner of Atco Dragway, bought the track. Big events included the Cars Magazine Funny Car and Super Stock Championships, the Mr. USA Fuel Eliminator and the Ford vs. Chevy Funny Car Grand Prix. Jungle Jim Liberman set the funny car track record of 7.20 on March 15, 1970. John F. Comer owned the track in the 1980s and 1990s. It still runs as an NHRA quarter-mile track.