Dolaca Motorplex (Meadow)

The Terry County Air Force Auxiliary Airfield, later called Reese Auxiliary Airfield, was built in 1960 about eight miles west of Meadow and closed by at least 1997. IHRA-sanctioned quarter-mile drag racing began there with the first race on Sunday, July 7, 2002, which drew 1,200 people. Phil Cornell, one of the strip’s sponsors, said that after Reese closed, a crop duster from Levelland bought the auxiliary field so he wouldn’t have to ferry loads all the way to the Brownfield area. It was far more than any crop dusting fleet needed, and he landed on the taxiway, which was nicer than most small airports nearby. A friend saw it and said it would make a good drag strip. Cornell believed the first half-mile was concrete 36 inches deep and 150 feet wide, something no civilian could afford to build, which made it a very fast strip that needed almost no maintenance. The crop duster was Ross Day, and Dolaca came from his family’s names: DO for his wife Donna, LA for his daughter LaShawn and CA for his son Calvin. One drawback was the dirt road from the highway to the track, and it’s not known whether it was paved before the track closed.