Chandler Associated Drag Strip

Modifiers, Inc., a car club, got permission from Williams Air Force Base to race on a 10,000-foot airstrip three miles southwest of Chandler on Ocatilla Road. Built during World War II as Williams Auxiliary Airfield No. 6, also called Goodyear Air Force Auxiliary Airfield, it had two paved 5,500-foot runways, and the main northwest-southeast runway was lengthened to over 8,000 feet between 1952 and 1956. Sometime after 1966 it became a civilian field, Chandler Memorial Airfield (or Gila River Memorial Airport). Writing in Drag News on May 3, 1958, Dan Roulston called the strip a drag racer’s dream: ten thousand feet of smooth asphalt, nothing in a driver’s way, and room past the quarter mile for a scenic drive, ending in a left turn onto another asphalt strip about 5,000 feet long. Spectators still had excellent viewing.

The opening race was on March 23, 1958. On April 27, Odie Garrand and Larry Steinegger took top eliminator at 131.38 mph in their Buick-powered A/D. Racing paused after July 26 for the summer. The runway was resurfaced before racing resumed on September 28, and track records were apparently started fresh. The Valley Timing Association ran the races every fourth Sunday, with trophies in thirty-four classes. On October 12, Bill Hopper improved his own track record with 10.63 at 137.40 mph in his Chrysler-powered A/A Fiat, and on October 26 Jack Schnepf of Chandler set the A/R mark at 130.24 mph. On November 30, 1958, cam grinder Howard Johansen set a world mark of 9.3 seconds in the Howard Cam Special dragster, powered by two Corvette engines. The last race was on July 25, 1959, after the Air Force ruled the airstrip could be used only for military purposes. There have been several attempts to redevelop the field, but as of 2015 it sat idle and closed.